X YPP Book

10
YPP PATRONS
At the time when the Young Painter Prize was launched, the situation was not
very favourable for young artists and painting as such. At that time, painting
was regarded as an outdated medium. However, my wife Ina and I were already
involved in the world of art and were actively interested in contemporary art.
What we noticed during our extensive visits to various museums and galleries
throughout the world, was that contemporary artists paid considerable attention
to painting. Thus our decision to support this project came from our desire to
contribute to the popularity of painting among the young generation in our
country.
Another important aspect was our friendship with Vilmantas, whom we have
known for a long time and whom we hold in high regard. As soon as he shared his
idea about the Young Painter Prize with us, we realised that it deserved serious
consideration.
The support for this type of project was clearly in line with my personal
understanding of sponsorship. I believe that a young person can benefit even
from a small impulse that would motivate him/her to do what he/she loves to
do. The idea that the YPP project would aim at helping someone who is already
on their path and makes efforts to improve their skills but is not yet established
in the world of art, was especially appealing to me. The YPP a springboard that
helps young artists to take off and enter the wider waters — namely, go abroad
and start an international career, become recognizable and valued, discover
buyers of their works in their own country, and even become established players
in the global art world.
The main idea behind the Young Painter Prize project is helping artists to break
through by giving them an impulse, rather than by simply giving, which was
exactly what encouraged I become a part of this project.
Mindaugas Raila
Patron of the Project