Intensive course dates: Sep 8th - Sep 13th, 2026*
(*Arrival in Lithuania on September 7th, departure from Lithuania on September 14th)
ECTS: 5
Study programmes: Textile Art, Textile Design
Level: BA & MA (except the final year students). Please note that you must maintain active student status for the duration of the course.
Hosted by: Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania
Project partners:
Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia
University of Bergen, Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design, Norway
University of Gothenburg, HDK-Valand – Academy of Art and Design, Sweden
Location: Panemune Castle, Lithuania
Eligible students:
4 students at BA or MA level from each of the following institutions:
EKA – Estonia
HDK-Valand – Sweden
KMD UoB – Norway
VDA – Lithuania
Additionally, 4 slots will be open to other students from across the KUNO network.
Application deadline: April 19th, 2026. Selection results will be announced by the 27th of April 2026.
How to apply: Please submit an online application by the deadline. The application must include a short (max 400 words) letter of motivation answering the question – “Why this intensive course is relevant to your areas of interest in textile related practices and concerning the future of the field of textile art and design?” + (max 5) representative artworks/projects, that may also be related to the topic of storytelling in textiles.
Intensive course description:
The emerging state of art and textile culture in the world today is marked by various crises which together are igniting a vivid discourse amongst art practitioners, pedagogues and students concerning the genuine openness of textiles to adapt to an ever-changing world. Reimagining textiles and its significance in today's art and design practices, the intensive course aims to stimulate new collective and individualized scenarios related to storytelling practices by developing and applying textile creativity in practice through exploring materiality and weaving methodologies. The programme will focus mostly on the ‘gathering’ and ‘thinking together’ – in the vein of a creative ‘think-tank’.
Objectives and outcome:
The main goal of the course is to create scenarios for the future of textiles on the theme of cultural interactions and connect them to different locations and historical contexts of the participating institutions. Students will gain experience by applying their practice in a specific context, maintaining a dialogue with the topical issues of a specific site. VDA offers Panemunė Castle as a location for this second year of the intensive course. Students’ proposals for scenarios and visions for the future of textiles will develop through storytelling based on the ancient tradition of tapestry. The focus is on the concepts of thinking and creating – being together and activating ideas that may yield only foundational practical results, but materialize ideas and visions as the beginning of much more. In addition, this intensive course program will contribute to the basis of a planned scientific publication on the future of textiles as a discipline.
Learning outcomes:
1) Experience of textiles-based practice-led working in an international team context.
2) Building an understanding of the interface of textile media in the context of a given site and learning environment.
3) Building and advancing a flexible understanding and openness to the need for textiles to be adaptable in different contexts.
Provisional course outline inclusions:
MASTER CLASS: Tapestry Weaving with Guest Artist-Teacher Kristin Saeterdal
https://www.kristinsaeterdal.com/
LECTURES:
ONLINE LECTURE with guest artist Erin M. Riley
https://erinmriley.com/home.htm
ONLINE LECTURE with guest artist Shelly Goldsmith
https://www.shellygoldsmith.com/
LECTURE: Semiotics and Narratives in Tapestry by Dr. Ieva Jadzinskaitė -Kuizinienė
https://issuu.com/m.puidokas/docs/gobelenai
TALKS BY TEAM TUTORS:
KMD Prof. Tim Parry-Williams
EKA Assoc. Prof. Krista Leesi
HDK Senior Lecturer Emma Linde
VAA Assoc. Prof. Monika Žaltauskaitė Grašienė
VAA Assoc. Prof. Rita Kaupelienė
TOPICS:
Craft: Tapestry weaving
Cultural Context: Local history and culture - activation of narrative expressions.
Semiotics: Signs and meanings in textile imagery
CULTURAL/CONTEXTUAL PROGRAMME:
National M.K. Čiurlionis Museum archive , Kaunas.
Devils Museum, Kaunas
Spinning and weaving factory “Teksrena”
https://teksrena.com/main-english/
EXTRA ACTIVITIES: Evening films, discussions.
IMPORTANT: As far as possible, applicants are expected to check that participation in the intensive course will not clash with scheduled activities in their home academies, BEFORE submitting their application.
About the location:
This intensive course will take place at the Renaissance Panemunė Castle, which today is the museum-gallery and artist residency of the Vilnius Academy of Arts. There is also a hotel and a restaurant in this castle, where you will be offered accommodation and full-board.
Panemunės castle | is always open to curious minds
The workshop is funded under the Nordplus/KUNO framework.
Contact for further enquiries: lina.koseleva@vda.lt
