Making and shaping things in creative economies

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

Virginija Jurėnienė

Ugnė Pavlovaitė

This symposium was supported by the European Union structural funds under Grant 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-08-0001.

Registration

Event is free of charge

Register

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.

Making and shaping art in creative economies and industries

Within the international symposium “Making and shaping things in creative economies” an event is dedicated to the study of art and culture within local creative economies and industries. The aim is to research the ways art is managed and organised with different strategies, processes and policies. Instead of focusing solely on the content of policies, politics and management, it creates a wider debate within the framework of culture, creativity and economy. The event looks at the impact that the specific policies and individuals, organisations or institutions behind them have. Thee focus is on specific case studis to develop a discussion between academics, students and practitioners.

“Making and shaping art in creative economies and industries” focuses on creative industries in Lithuania and in nearby regions, to create a platform for the recontextualization of the relationship between local creative industries.  The presenters come from a range of backgrounds, disciplines and organisations to discuss on a common problem: how to contextualise, study and manage local contemporary creative economies? Subjects include a variety of topics from past to present and future.

Workshop: Exhibiting local culture through objects

Exhibiting local culture through objects 

It is our pleasure to invite local professionals of working in galleries, museums and other related fields for a day of discussion on the subject of local identity and the way this identity is shaped in museum sectors through design – be those objects the exhibits, objects used in the design of the exhibitions or souvenirs, catalogues and other commercial products. The event focuses on the question: what is the role of objects in creating a local identity? How is local design introduced in museums? How to exhibit applied objects? How to explain interiors and use them for a discussion of a wider cultural context? How to produce and sell meaningful souvenirs? What are the possible perspectives of design exhibitions and design of exhibitions in future Kaunas? Lithuania? Baltic region?

The intention of this workshop is to contextualize the mediation of local design through exhibition culture. The target group is museum professionals working with material culture.

While design is the main focus of this workshop, a major task of the event is to discuss the inclusion of design and craft objects into museums and galleries working in neighboring fields: art, history, literature etc. The event consists of a lecture by Triin Jerlei, PhD, and a discussion on the experiences of other regions with an exchange of ideas how to use these experiences in local context.

This workshop takes place on 29 November, 9.30-11.00 during the international symposium

“Making and shaping things in creative economies. From history to present day”, hosted by Vilnius University 28-30 November. Participants are also warmly welcome to attend other events of the symposium. 

Event is free of charge and participants will receive a formal certificate of attendance, issued by the Vilnius University. Working language is English. 

Please register by November 24 by e-mailing .