Romualdas Požerskis
Garbės profesorius / Honorary Professor (Suteiktas vardas 2022-03-31)
Romualdas Požerskis (b. 7 July 1951 in Vilnius) is a renowned Lithuanian art photographer, educator, and professor at the Faculty of Arts of Vytautas Magnus University.
From 1957 to 1969, he attended Kaunas 8th Secondary School, and from 1969 to 1975, he pursued studies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of Kaunas Polytechnic Institute. During 1975–1980, Požerskis served as a methodologist in the Kaunas division of the Lithuanian Society of Art Photography. Since 1976, he has been a member of the Lithuanian Union of Art Photographers. Between 1980 and 1993, he worked as a freelance photographer. From 1993 to 2011, he served as a lecturer at the Department of Art History and Criticism at the Faculty of Arts of Vytautas Magnus University, and since 2011, Požerskis has held the position of professor at the Department of Contemporary Art.
In 1979, Romualdas Požerskis married his wife Virginija (b. 1954). They have two children – son Povilas Požerskis (b. 1980) and daughter Monika Požerskytė (b. 1981).
In 1964, the photographer began taking photos with a camera gifted to him by his father. Later, in 1973, he developed an interest in art photography and, together with his coursemate Virgilijus Šonta, organised a photography exhibition. In 1974, he began capturing photographs for the series “Pergalės ir pralaimėjimai” (Victories and Defeats), “Senamiesčiai” (Old Towns of Lithuania), and “Atlaidai” (Lithuanian Pilgrimages). A year later, he opened his first solo photography exhibition “Youth” at Kaunas Polytechnic Institute. In 1977, at the International Festival of Photography in Arles, France, Romualdas Požerskis was awarded two major prizes in the Young Photographers’ Competition – the Photographers’ Prize and the Audience’s Prize.
Among the awards and recognitions received by Požerskis, noteworthy mentions include the Lithuanian National Culture and Art Prize (1990), the honorary title of Art Photographer (AFIAP) granted by the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) (1994), the Knight’s Cross of the Order “For Merits to Lithuania” (2005), and the “Golden Cross of Merit” awarded by the President of Poland for his contributions to fostering collaboration between Lithuania and Poland (2006).
Požerskis has created nearly twenty photographic series, with some of the most notable ones including: “Atlaidai” (Lithuanian Pilgrimages) (1974–2001); “Lietuvos senamiesčiai” (Old Towns of Lithuania) (1974–1986 and 2010); “Vaikų ligoninėje” (Children’s Hospital) (1976–1982); “Atminties sodai” (Gardens of Memory) (1977–2002); “Paskutinieji namai” (The Last Home) (1983–1987); “Žalgirio vyrai” (Men of Žalgiris) (1985–1989); “Mūzos” (Muses) (1978–2009); “Lietuva” (Lithuania) (1988–1993); “Mažojo Alfonso vargai ir džiaugsmai” (Woes and Joys of Little Alphonse) (1992–2008); “Degantis Žmogus” (Burning Man) (2008–2018); “Tarp šviesos ir tamsos” (Between Light and Darkness) (2013); “Paslaptingas Bangladešas” (Mysterious Bangladesh) (2016–2018); and “Laura – spinduliuojanti tamsa” (Laura Radiates the Darkness) (2013–2022).
He began teaching at the VMU Faculty of Arts in 1993, just a few years after the Faculty was established. Throughout the three decades that Požerskis has been organising exhibitions, delivering public lectures, engaging in public meetings, and representing Lithuanian photography abroad, he has consistently presented himself as a member of the VMU community and promoted the University’s name. In 2010, when the Department of Contemporary Art was established at the Faculty of Arts, Požerskis assumed the role of the department’s lead professor, and his extensive creative experience has significantly contributed to shaping the distinctive nature of art studies at Vytautas Magnus University.
Romualdas Požerskis’ works are exhibited in Lithuanian museums, the National Library in Paris, as well as in private collections both in Lithuania and abroad. Institutions that have acquired his photographs for their collections include the National Library of France in Paris (Bibliotheque nationale de France), the Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki (Suomen valokuvataiteen museo), the Modern Art Museum in Stockholm, Sweden (Moderna Museet), the House of Photography in Burghausen, Germany (Haus der Fotografie), FIAP Collection in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Latvian Museum of Photography in Riga, Latvia, the Ackland Art Museum in NC, USA, the Lithuanian National Museum of Art in Vilnius, the National Gallery of Art in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the MO Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania, among others.
