Lithuania’s representatives at Dutch Design Week
Vygintas Gasparavičius (Vice-Minister of Culture) and Deimantė Zutelienė (Advisor to the Minister of Culture) attended events at Dutch Design Week, held in Eindhoven (the Netherlands), meeting with the event organisers and design industry professionals and decision-makers.
Dutch Design Week is the largest design event in Northern Europe, presenting the works and ideas of designers in various fields, featuring discussions, exhibitions, lectures and other events related to design. This European design festival draws visitors from around the world, including design professionals, representatives of industry and the general public.
The Vice-Minister’s and the Advisor’s agenda included meetings with the event organisers (the Dutch Design Foundation), Herman de Lange (Lithuania’s Honorary Consul in Eindhoven), and representatives of the Eindhoven Municipality, the support fund Orfėjos lyra (The Lyre of Orpheus), and Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE), as well as graduates of the latter institution, among whom are students from Lithuania. They presented their thesis works at the event. Two students from Lithuania chose Lithuanian themes for their thesis works this year: one was devoted to the so-called book-smugglers (at the time when Lithuanian-language publications were banned by the Russian Empire), and the other examined the topic of allotment gardens as a resource to supply food (a source of food security) in uncertain times.
DAE is one of the most prestigious and influential design schools in the world. The academy offers design programmes at the bachelor’s and master’s levels, in which the focus is on critical thinking, creativity and social impact. DAE is known for its innovative approach to teaching design, emphasising conceptual as well as practical aspects of design.
This year, among the arts and design institutions of higher education participating in Dutch Design Week is Vilnius Academy of Arts. In the exhibition Class of 2023, VAA presents the thesis works created by seven young Lithuanian designers (Paulina Vasiliauskaitė, Ieva Gudelaitytė, Emilija Globytė, Justina Stipinaitė, Dijuota Žilytė, Emilija Daraškevičiūtė, Marta Ilevičiūtė). Visitors to the exhibition can learn about traditional furniture and Lithuanian mythology, become acquainted with design and material research processes, and view performative and collectible design works.
According to Vice-Minister of Culture Gasparavičius, more and more attention is being paid in Lithuania not only to the increasing contribution of design to the national economy, but also to the added value it creates in solving issues relevant to the whole world, such as the circular economy, climate change, and accessibility, as well as general aesthetic culture.
In the last year, the Design Wings project in Lithuania was carried out, during which 15 design solutions were created. At present, the next stage of the project is being prepared for the years 2024–2027, planning that design solution beneficiaries will be not only companies, but also NGOs. With EU support funds, the pilot preaccelerator project Circuloop (in Lithuanian, Žiedis) will be launched, to develop products and services based on circular economy principles.
Seeking a faster breakthrough in this area, the Lithuanian Design Council was formed under the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is to contribute to making long-term, ongoing design policy: to provide proposals and recommendations on strategic planning, development programmes, measures, objectives and targets, and state funding priorities and sources in the area of design for use by the Minister of Culture and the Minister of Economy and Innovation as well as other institutions, as needed. The Council also makes proposals regarding preservation of design heritage, strengthening the competitiveness of Lithuania’s design industry, preparation and improvement of legislation regulating the design field, and other matters related to the design field.
Last updated: 07-11-2023