Upė Foundation

Curatorial Fellowship Open Calls are live! We're launching the first Open Calls in our inaugural 18-month Curatorial Fellowship Programme in partnership with two leading institutions, Southbank Centre's @hayward.gallery in London and @tallinnarthall in Estonia. These Fellowships mark the beginning of the Foundation’s work drawing currents between the Baltic region and international contemporary art communities by supporting the next generation of curators as they move across geographies, contexts and ways of working. Two Open Calls are now live: • Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Hayward Gallery For early-career curators from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, offering full-time work within the Hayward’s curatorial team across exhibitions, public programmes, research and interpretation, in a supporting role, while bringing Baltic perspectives into one of the UK’s most significant contemporary art institutions. • Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Tallinn Art Hall For early-career UK-based curators, offering a full-time curatorial role within Estonia’s largest and oldest contemporary art commissioner and producer, including the opportunity to curate the inaugural programme for its new black-box space opening in late 2026. Each Fellowship provides the conditions for curators to develop their individual practice, embedded in institutional life, supported by mentorship, and encouraged to open new directions between London and the Baltic region. Full details, job descriptions and application forms are now available at → upefoundation.org Application deadline: 12:00 (GMT), 12 January 2026

Meet the team! Adomas Narkevičius, Founding Director of Upė Foundation. Adomas Narkevičius is a Lithuanian curator and art historian based in London, and the Founding Director of Upė Foundation. He curated the 15th @kaunasbiennial , 'Life After Life' (2025), and is the co-curator of the Latvian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale (2026), represented by @mareunrols and @brunobirmanis . From 2021 to 2025 he was Curator at @cell_project_space , London, and previously worked at @rupert.vilnius Centre for Art, Residencies and Education in Vilnius, where he curated the Alternative Education, Public and Residencies programmes. 1. Photo: Anne Tetzlaff 2. Upė identity: Goda Budvytytė

Meet the team! Justas Janauskas, Founding Patron of Upė Foundation. With a background in software engineering, he co-founded @vinted back in 2008. Today, it is the largest second-hand fashion marketplace in Europe, with the mission to make second-hand the first choice worldwide. He was honoured by the President of Lithuania and received the esteemed Order “For Merits to Lithuania” for founding Lithuania’s first unicorn startup. Justas is an active investor and advisor in early-stage technology companies. After stepping back from the role of Vinted CEO, Justas co-founded Upė Foundation in 2025, a platform that supports exchange, dialogue, and discourse between Baltic and global contemporary art. He is an art collector, patron and producer. He is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu. Photo: Anne Tetzlaff Upė identity: Goda Budvytytė

Save the Date! On 10 December, we launch the first Open Calls in Upė Foundation’s inaugural 18-month Curatorial Fellowship Programme, made possible in partnership with the Southbank Centre’s @hayward.gallery (UK) and @tallinnarthall (Estonia) to support the next generation of curators across the UK and the Baltic countries. We will open calls for: • Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Hayward Gallery for early-career curators from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia • Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Tallinn Art Hall for early-career UK-based curators Each Fellowship will offer the chance to take up a full-time curatorial role within a partner institution, embedded in exhibition-making, public programming and research, with institutional support and mentorship. The programme provides the conditions to develop curatorial skills, experience and professional networks, while opening new perspectives between London and the Baltic region. Full info on the job descriptions and how to apply will be available from 10 December at upefoundation.org. Link in bio. Application deadline: 12:00 (GMT), 12 January 2026.

Hello from Upė Foundation! After months of preparation and eager anticipation, we are delighted to launch a new London-based platform for dialogue and exchange between the Baltic region and art communities internationally. Our work begins with the Curatorial Fellowship Programme, for which we partnered with @hayward.gallery @southbankcentre , @tallinnarthall and @camdenartcentre to support the next generation of curators across the UK and the Baltic countries. On 10 December we open the first calls for applications for the fellowships at two major institutions in the UK and the Baltic region, Hayward Gallery and Tallinn Art Hall, offering curators 12 to 18 months of full-time work and mentorship within the institution. In April 2026, we will open a call for a fellowship at the artist-centric and rigorous @camdenartcentre . The foundation takes its name from the Lithuanian and Latvian word for ‘river’ – upė, evoking movement and exchange of ideas across different contexts. This sense of flow underpins the fellowship model: a channel for young curators to move between ways of working and carry gained insights forward. Upė launches at a moment when global conversations in culture are becoming more decentralised and new relationships between places are transforming the art world. We believe articulating one’s own context and entering dialogue on equal footing are both an opportunity and a responsibility. We step into this uncertain moment with faith that it holds possibilities for self-determination, transregional collaboration and solidarity. The Curatorial Fellowship Programme, inaugurating Upė, is our first step in building these bridges, hoping that those who move through them will carry the river’s flow in many unanticipated, unruly directions. London, close to Baltic artists, students and wider diasporas, and to both of us, felt like a natural starting point. We are truly grateful for all the support we have received so far and could not be more thrilled for what lies ahead and where this river will take all of us. – Adomas Narkevičius and Justas Janauskas, co-founders, Upė Foundation Upė Identity: Goda Budvytytė Photo: Anne Tetzlaff