Project partners:
Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia
Iceland University of the Arts, Iceland
Art Academy of Latvia, Latvia
Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania
Level: BA & MA
ECTS: 5
Eligible students:
4 curatorial (and related fields) students at BA and MA level from each of the following institutions:
VDA, Vilnius
EKA, Tallinn
AAL, Riga
IUA, Reykjavik
Additionally four slots will be open to further students from across the KUNO network.
Application deadline: January 31, 2024
How to apply: please submit an online application by the deadline. The application must include a short (max 400 words) letter of intent answering the question – “Why is this workshop relevant to your areas of interest and curatorial practice?”
Location: Panemunė Castle, Lithuania
Lecturers: Taught by academic curatorial staff from VDA, EKA, AAL and IUA
Intensive course description:
Interaction between Culture and Nature II will be held in Panemunė Castle. This newly restored site is a part of Vilnius Academy of Arts and works as a museum-gallery and artist residence. The course will focus on the following question: how can we curate ethically in the present time by choosing means that support sustainable life and greener future? This might include new innovative ways of working, or re-thinking old habits, or both. Borrowing ideas from circular economy, teaming up with the needs of the natural environment, or finding ways to adjust the standard format of an exhibition are just some alternatives. All this can lead to questions around production, and the choices that a curator makes in terms of new commissions, using works that have already been made, revisiting already existing collections, zero-waste production, using local and organic (bio) materials or moving away from the physical permanent format. The course will expand the ideas and make visible the challenges of curating at the present time, arguing that curators can and perhaps must be cultural agents or communicators of the present environmental crisis. Therefore, taking into account the listed topical issues and topics, Panemunė Castle is a particularly interesting venue for developing new ideas, providing conceptual guidelines which could be implemented.
Objectives and outcome:
Course objectives are to give students: 1) experience of curatorial practice while working in small international teams 2) a case-study of exhibition-making and artist residence and gallery strategy concept guidelines within the context of the location (Panemunė Castle) 3) understanding the needs to adjust the format of an exhibition in the context of new climate conditions.
The main goal of the course is to create an exhibition on the topic of Interaction between Culture and Nature in small teams composed by students at different art academies and to provide Panemunė Castle’s artist residence and gallery strategy concept guidelines.
Panemunė Castle and its garden is not an easy location for curatorial practices. Being a highest national-level architectural monument site and with its historical English garden (14,5 ha) which are a part of the wider regional park, creates a number of restrictions which must be taken into consideration before planning and during the implementation of an art event. Therefore, we have no doubt that this intensive course, especially in this thought-provoking but also recreational space, will be an excellent platform for work and discussions. The students will work closely within this cultural and natural environment and troubleshoot the issues of curating in a collective think tank alongside fellow students, lecturers, and curators from VDA, IUA, EKA and AAL. This critical discussion and research will help students to form their future projects and establish a collective one.
The main outcome of the course is a detailed proposal of the exhibition in a written form, which includes the title, the concept, the form of exhibition, the list of selected artists/art projects, and the calculation of financial needs.
The course is based on learning by doing. It will include individual re-search for information; teamwork during the course: ‘mind mapping’, on-site discussions, lectures, the consolidation of working group proposals to the joint project of an exhibition, and writing individual reports after the course.
About the location:
The Interaction between Culture and Nature II will be held in Panemunė Castle. This newly restored site is a part of Vilnius Academy of Arts and works as a museum-gallery and artist residence. Panemunė Castle is unique for its remarkable size and its surviving mural paintings that dates back to the era of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The institution regularly hosts symposiums, exhibitions, debates, lectures and seminars conveying reflective thinking in step with current times and raising current issues.
http://www.panemunespilis.lt/?lang=en
The workshop is funded under the Nordplus/KUNO framework.
Contact for enquiries: lina.koseleva@vda.lt
