The president made the decision taking into account the Citizenship Commission‘s recommendations and Kempinas’ activities deemed to be of special merit to the State of Lithuania, the presidential office said.
Kempinas is a worldwide-known representative of modern visual art who represented Lithuania at the Venice Biennale in 2009 and at the Liverpool Bienalle in 2010.
Born in 1969, Kempinas has had over 130 exhibitions at international modern art centers and actively cooperates with Lithuanian artists.
The 2015 amendments to the Lithuanian Law on Citizenship allow persons with special merits to Lithuania to keep their Lithuanian citizenship.