VU Kaunas Faculty - Making and shaping things in creative economies

From history to present day

Dates: 28-30 November 2019
Location: Kaunas Faculty of Vilnius University, Kaunas, Lithuania
Confirmed keynotes: Guy Julier (Aalto University), Javier Gimeno-Martinez (VU Amsterdam)
Abstract deadline 20 May 2019

This symposium aims to research the ways design is organised and managed with different political processes and policies, both in past and present. Instead of focusing solely on the content of policies, politics and management, it attempts to create a wider debate within the framework of culture, creativity and economy, connected to the analysis of objects. The event looks at the impact that the specific policies and individuals, organisations or institutions behind them have on existing design culture. In addition to the act of designing, the possible subjects include policies shaping all stages in the life cycle of an object, for example promotion, consumption, collecting objects or recycling them, as well as positioning design in a wider political context.

The main questions are: how is design organised? By whom? Why? How are/were policies created and mediated? How did/do they function in real life? What is their legacy? A special focus is on the product of policies, design identity on various levels. How and by whom it has been shaped? How has design been used in shaping regional politics? How have politics shaped design? How to position the role of design within the wider systems of creative economies? How have politics influenced style?

We welcome papers and panels focusing on all time periods and geographic regions. A broad definition of design is adopted: in addition to industrial design, craft, applied arts and architecture are considered. Case studies and object-based approaches are accepted for an inquiry within the wider framework of design culture. We also welcome papers from practitioners or policy-makers contextualising their work within the wider local, national, transnational and global framework.

Please send a title, 250-word abstract and 50-word author biography (Microsoft Word file) to Triin Jerlei, , by 20 May 2019.

All abstracts are subject to a double-blind peer review.

Please email if you have any further questions.

Call for papers

Topics

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Politics, policies and design – How do different political systems organise and manage design?
Design policies – Discussion on the different design policies, their aims, methods and implementation through history.
Craft, policies and politics – Shaping the role of craft in a region or community, either through individual craft objects or craft as a practice.
Architecture – Interrelations of architecture and politics, either through policies shaping architecture culture or the role played by architecture in local, regional or national politics.
Management – Discussions on the contextualisation of management of design, arts, crafts, architecture in wider cultural, political and historical context.
Politics and local, regional or national design identity – How have different policies been used in order to shape a local, regional or national design?
Design events – The role of various design events, from exhibitions and trade shows to conferences, in wider cultural, political and historical context.
Organisations, publications and individuals – The role and practices of different organisations, publications and individuals responsible for design policies and management.
Politics and management of design institutions – Design institutions, including museums, and the politics shaping their practices.
Managing heritage design – Discussion on the management of heritage design, craft or architecture, either as individual cases or research of policies and actions.
Sustainability – How ideas and policies of sustainability shape the current design culture and vice versa.
Case studies – In-depth analyses of case studies on the cultural and historical contextualisation of design policies and management.

Keynote speakers and committee


Guy Julier is Professor of Design Leadership and Head of Research in the Dept. of Design at Aalto University, Finland where he works with researchers and students to investigate post-capitalist and hybrid design practices and possibilities. In 2019 he was Commissioner of 'Everyday Experiments', the Finnish Pavilion for the XXII Triennale di Milano, an exhibition highlighting institutions and communities who explore new configurations of sustainability and equality. His most recent book, Economies of Design (2017), provides an analysis of the multiple roles of design in the contexts of contemporary, neoliberal orthodoxies and beyond. Other books include The Culture of Design (3rd revised edition 2014), the Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Design since 1900 (3rd revised edition 2005) and New Spanish Design (1991). Guy Julier is also a co-editor of Design and Creativity: Policy, Management and Practice (2009) and Design Culture: Objects and Approaches (2019). Before moving to Finland in 2018, he was the Victoria and Albert Museum/University of Brighton Principal Research Fellow in Contemporary Design.		Javier Gimeno-Martínez is Assistant Professor at the Vrije University Amsterdam where he runs the MA in Design Cultures. He is a researcher and a member of the International Committee for Design History and Design Studies (ICDHS). He got his PhD in 2006 from the KU Leuven, was a visiting scholar in the department of Design History at the Royal College of Art for the year 2009–2010 and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Design History between 2008 and 2012. His research has been published in academic journals such as The Burlington Magazine,Design Issues and Urban Studies. He is author of the book Design and National Identity (Bloomsbury Academic, 2016).

Scientific committee:

Guy Julier (Aalto University)

Javier Gimeno-Martínez (Vrije University Amsterdam)

Virginija Jurėnienė (Vilnius University)

Jette Lykke Jensen (University of Southern Denmark)

Joana Ozorio de Almeida Meroz (Vrije University Amsterdam)

Jesse O’Neill (Glasgow School of Art)

Katarina Serulus (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)

Organisational committee:

Triin Jerlei

Dovilė Balevičienė

Registration

Full registration 30€ until 30th of September, afterwards 50€

Student registration 10€ until 30th of September, afterwards 15€

Register

Payment details:

Name: Vilniaus Universitetas
Address: Universiteto 3
Town/City: Vilnius Lithuania
Postcode: LT01513
VAT number: LT119508113

Bank name: AB SEB Bankas
Branch address: Gedimino 12
Town/City: Vilnius Lithuania .
Postcode: LT01103
Account number: LT247044060001101392
SWIFT: CBVILT2X

Under payment reference, please write KnF-2019-11-0006

Practical Information

The symposium takes place in Kaunas, Lithuania’s second largest city. Kaunas has around 300 000 inhabitants and is located at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris. The interwar architecture, an amazing example of Art Déco, has received the European Heritage Label and the city is designated as a UNESCO City of Design. In 2022 Kaunas will serve as the European Capital of Culture.

Reaching Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty

Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty is located at Muitines gatve 8, in the Old Town. The nearest bus stops are Vilniaus gatve and Karaliaus Mindaugo Prospekta.

MAP

Getting to Kaunas

Kaunas has a small city airport which is easy to reach from city center, either by public transportation (bus no 29) or by taxi. There are direct flights to the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Netherlands. Alternatively it is easy to reach Kaunas from Vilnius airport.

From Vilnius:

From Vilnius Airport there are direct flights to UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Malta, Israel, Georgia, Cyprus, Morocco, Jordan and Turkey. The aiport is centrally located and easy to reach bus station or train station, which are located side-by-side. The fastest way is by minibus Toks, which leaves every 20-30 minutes and takes approximately 10-15 minutes to reach bus station. Ticket can be purchased from the driver and costs 2 euros. Schedule can be found here: https://toks.lt/en/marsrutai/airport-express/

Public buses 1 and 2 also connect the airport and train station. Ticket costs 1 euro and can be bought from the driver. Journey takes around 20 minutes.

Trains to Kaunas: Train is the most comfortable way to reach Kaunas from Vilnius, although they do not run very frequently. Schedule can be found here: https://www.traukiniobilietas.lt/portal/en .

Ticket prices range between 4.80 and 6.60 euros. Tickets can either be bought from the ticket office at the train station or on board the train (with a 1.50 euro service charge).

Buses to Kaunas: There are buses between the two cities every 15-20 minutes. Schedules can be found here: https://www.autobusubilietai.lt/?lang=0 .

Prices are around 7 euros, tickets can be purchased directly from the driver or from the ticket machines inside the bus station. The most comfortable bus companies are Kautra and Toks, both of which have WiFi on board.

From Kaunas bus or train station to the city centre: Walking from the bus or train station in Kaunas to the Old Town takes around 20-30 minutes.

There are frequent buses and trolley buses. The bus stop to get to Old Town from the bus station is in front of the station building; to reach Old Town by public transport from the train station one must cross the road through the tunnel in front of the station building, exiting through the righthand exit.

Information about public transport: https://www.stops.lt/kaunas/#kaunas/map/en . The easiest is to choose a trolleybus, as almost all of them (except number 4) go from the station to the Old Town. The most central stop is Vilniaus gatve. Tickets can be bought from the driver for 1 euro.

For using taxi services, the easiest is to use an app, either Uber or the locally popular system Bolt.

Kaunas is also a bicycle-friendly city. For renting a bicycle you can either use the DROPBYKE application or Citybee.

Student symposium

On Friday, parallel to the symposium presentations we are hosting a student symposium on the same subject, Making and Shaping Things in Creative Industries. For this event we will look at the concept more broadly, involving not only design, but art, architecture, films, music, and other material and immaterial things that exist within creative industries. We welcome all MA and final-year BA students working in the field of creative industries to send in abstracts, to present their work to their peers and to gain experience in public presentation of their research.

All fields of creative industries are considered. The research can be presented as an empirical study, as theoretical research or as a review of implementation of new ideas within creative industries. It can be focused on the larger framework or on local context. We also warmly welcome interdisciplinary research from students who combine the empirical or theoretical study of creative industries with other subjects within humanities, social studies and sciences.

There are two possible formats for your presentation:

10-minute presentation
Poster presentation accompanied by a 5-minute talk.

To submit an abstract for a presentation to the student symposium, please send a title and an abstract of 100-150 words (Microsoft Word file) to Dr Triin Jerlei, by 30 September 2019. Poster presentations should be sent in PDF format.

Please email if you have any further questions.

We look forward to receiving your submission.