Antanas Dilys. IŠ FOTOARCHYVO

Antanas Dilys is one of the pioneers of Lithuanian photography, dedicated to give meaning to his time in infinite history with works whose meaning is not yet understood and will be only fully revealed when viewed from a later time perspective. Having started the photographer's path in a time when creative photography in Lithuania was stagnating, A. Dilys soon stood at the forefront of the movement which was raging alongside with other photoactivists. However, he not only mobilized like-minded people to create, spread creativity, actively created himself, but also saw the meaning in commemorating the present time, to collect and preserve everything that represents him. He also looked back at the past, to the origins of Lithuanian photography, and began to actively collect the legacy of old masters of photography and relics of our past photographic culture, which was torn up and shattered by wars and upheavals. A. Dilys raised the idea of the Lithuanian Photography Museum and skillfully implemented it, laying solid foundations for the tradition of preserving our photographic heritage. The Photography Museum in Šiauliai, founded by A. Dilys, also preserves the legacy of his photographic works and creations, gifted to the museum free of charge. Given all of himself to the museum and the photographers community, he was modest when presenting his work. So for many, for the first time we will discover A. Dily's time and people in this first photographer's album.
Vilija Ulinskytė-Balzienė