Anthony Dilys. FROM THE PHOTOARCHIVE

Antanas Dilys is one of the pioneers of Lithuanian photography, dedicated to making sense of his time in infinite history with works whose meaning is not covered by contemporaries and will only fully be revealed from a later time perspective. Having started the photographer's path in a time when creative photography in Lithuania was filled with stings, A. Dilys soon stood at the forefront of the organized photoman movement, which was raging alongside other activists. However, he not only mobilized like-minded people to create, spread creations, actively created it himself, but also saw the meaning not to last and to commemorate the present time, to collect and preserve everything that represents him. He also looked back at the past, the origins of Lithuanian photography, and began to consistently collect the legacy of the old masters of photography and relics of our past photographic culture, which was torn up and distracted by wars and upheavals. A. Dilys raised the idea of the Lithuanian Photography Museum and talentedly implemented it laid solid foundations for the tradition of preserving our photographic heritage. The Photography Museum in Šiauliai, founded by A. Dilis, today preserves and transferred the legacy of photographic activities and creation to the museum free of charge. Having given all of himself to the museum and the photographers' community, he devoted his work more modestly to presenting his work. So for many, we will discover A. Dili's time and people unfamiliar to many in this first photographer's album.
Vilija Ulinskytė-Balzienė