Vinted Co-Founder Trades in Fashion for Art with Upė Foundation
A curatorial fellowship between London and Tallinn is the first step for a new foundation aiming to facilitate international exchange with the Baltic art scene. Save to My OculaThe co-founder of Europe’s leading second-hand fashion marketplace has turned his hand to the arts, today launching a new foundation supporting curatorial development opportunities and exchange between the U.K. and the Baltics.
The Upė Foundation (upė meaning ‘river’ in Lithuanian and Latvian) aims to build bridges between the Baltics (encompassing Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and the global contemporary art world. Founding patron Justas Janauskas said he wants to ‘support the people who will write [the] next chapter.’
Janauskas is a co-founder of Vinted, the online resale platform launched in Vilnius in 2008, and stepped down as CEO in 2017. He remains a member of its board.
Lithuanian curator Adomas Narkevičius joins Janauskas as founding director, having previously worked at Cell Project Space in London and Rupert Centre for Art, Residencies and Education in Vilnius.
‘Over time,’ said Narkevičius, we see Upė as a driver of research, exchange and long-term dialogue between the Baltic region and a broader, shifting map of contemporary art through ideas and human relationships that go beyond preconceived identities or old notions of centres and peripheries.’
Narkevičius is co-curator of the Latvian Pavilion at next year’s Venice Biennale, which will feature Riga-based duo Mareunrol’s, alongside archives of Bruno Birmanis’ 1990s ‘Untamed Fashion Assemblies’. The Biennale has been a major opportunity for the international art world to see Baltic creativity in recent years, most notably in 2019 when Lithuania took home the Golden Lion for Best National Participation with its operatic performance Sun & Sea (Marina).
Upė hopes to increase opportunities for relationship-building and dialogue between the Baltics and the wider artistic community.
From Wednesday 10 December, emerging curators from both locales will have the opportunity to apply for the foundation’s inaugural 18-month exchange. One U.K.-based curator will take on a placement at Tallinn Art Hall in the Estonian capital, while a Baltic curator will undertake a role at the Hayward Gallery in London.
Next spring, Upė will launch a second open call for a curatorial placement at London’s Camden Art Centre for an early-career Baltic curator, with a view to collaborate with additional partner institutions throughout the year. —[O]
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on 3 December 2025 to accurately reflect the exhibiting artists at the Latvian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale.
Main image: Justas Janauskas and Adomas Narkevičius. Photo: © Anne Tetzlaff.
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