Tara: Then and Now, Here and There

Archives and Practices of the Experimental Design Bureau in Vilnius 1960s–1980s

“Tara” was the nickname given by artists working in the graphic design field for their place of employment – the Experimental Package Design Bureau, established in the early 1960s in Soviet-occupied Lithuania. It was related to the modernisation processes, the increasing range of goods, the Soviet “Art for Everyday Life” programme, and the objectives of the Cold War. During its most productive period, from 1964 to 1984, the bureau employed over fifty designers, including a particularly large number of women, who shaped the aesthetics of everyday products. While many of the designers’ names, events, and works sank into obscurity, the editors’ extensive research has initiated an ongoing exploration, compiled and showcased in this comprehensive publication. With around 350 illustrations, the book introduces a playful way of exploring the Tara bureau’s projects through thematic ABC chapters and Glossary navigation that contextualize Tara’s narratives, stories, and identities.

Editors: 

Karolina Jakaitė, Deimantė Jasiulevičiūtė

Texts: Karolina Jakaitė

Reviewed by:

Prof. dr. Lolita Jablonskienė (Vilnius Academy of Arts)

Prof. dr. (hp) Giedrė Jankevičiūtė (Lithuanian Institute for Culture Research)

Additional essay:

Paul Gangloff 

Graphic design: 

Zuzana Kostelanská with Oriol Cabarrocas

Editorial design: 

Deimantė Jasiulevičiūtė

Translations from Lithuanian: 

Laima Bezginaitė

English language editing: 

Tania Theodorou 

Proofreading:
Laima Bezginaitė, Anne König

Image correction: ScanColor Reprostudio GmbH Leipzig

Printing and binding: Druckhaus Sportflieger Berlin

Financed by:

Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie

Lithuanian Council for Culture

„Grafobal Vilnius" Lithuanian and Slovak Public LLC

Translation was financed by: 

Lithuanian Culture Institute

Institutional partners:

Design Foundation (www.dizainofondas.lt)

Vilnius Academy of Arts

SODAS 2123

LAPAS Publishing House

Published by:

Spector Books

Harkortstraße 10

04107 Leipzig

 HYPERLINK "http://www.spectorbooks.com/"www.spectorbooks.com

Distribution: 

Germany, Austria: GVA, Gemeinsame Verlagsauslieferung Göttingen GmbH&Co. KG,

www.gva-verlage.de

Switzerland: AVA Verlagsauslieferung AG, www.ava.ch

France, Belgium: Interart Paris, www.interart.fr

UK: Central Books Ltd, www.centralbooks.com

USA, Canada, Central and South America, Africa: ARTBOOK/ D.A.P., www.artbook.com

Japan: twelvebooks,  HYPERLINK "http://www.twelve-books.com/"www.twelve-books.com

South Korea: The Book Society,  HYPERLINK "http://www.thebooksociety.org/"www.thebooksociety.org

Australia, New Zealand: Perimeter Distribution, www.perimeterdistribution.com

Baltic distribution: Lithuanian publisher LAPAS ( HYPERLINK "http://www.leidyklalapas.lt" www.leidyklalapas.lt) 

© 2025, authors, editors and Spector Books, Leipzig

First edition: 2025

Printed in the EU

ISBN 978-3-95905-860-5