Deep Time and Geobiological Design | Exploring Stone hosted by Vilnius Academy of Arts in Nida, Lithuania
Deep Time and Geobiological Design | Exploring Stone
hosted by Vilnius Academy of Arts in Nida, Lithuania
Title of course: Deep Time and Geobiological Design | Exploring Stone
Intensive course dates: May 4th – May 13th, 2026
ECTS: 5
Study programme: Product Design
Level: MA or BA final year students
Number of accepted students: 15
Hosted by: Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania
Location: Nida Art Colony, Nida, Lithuania
Application deadline: February 15th, 2026. Selection results will be announced by February 22nd, 2026.
How to apply: Please submit an online application by the deadline.
The application must include: a short letter of motivation (max 400 words) answering the question: How is lithic matter or deep time connected to your design practice or artistic research, or how would you like to engage with these concepts during the intensive course?
Up to 5 representative artworks or projects, which may also relate to the theme of the intensive course.
Intensive course description:
The course Deep Time and Geobiological Design | Exploring Stone fosters skills and knowledge that advance sustainability, innovation, and material literacy in the Nordic and Baltic region. It equips students with the competencies to address ecological and social challenges by engaging deeply with material agency, enhancing their ability to contribute to a greener, more competitive region.
This course addresses the pressing need for interdisciplinary education that bridges material science, sustainability, and design. By integrating vibrant materialism and ecological thinking into design practice, the workshop supports the Nordic Council of Ministers' vision of making the region the most sustainable and integrated in the world by 2030. It fills a critical gap in current curricula, empowering students to engage with non-human materials like stone in a way that promotes sustainable innovation and ecological responsibility.
The workshop complements existing Product design programs by introducing ecological material studies and sustainability-focused design practices. Outcomes such as concept designs, prototypes, and reflective essays integrate seamlessly into elective modules, studio courses, and research initiatives. These competencies are essential for fostering innovation, ecological responsibility, and competitiveness in the creative industries across the Nordic and Baltic region.
Course Leaders:
Mantas Lesauskas is a designer and researcher known for his limited-edition furniture and sculptural pieces that blur the boundaries between art, design, and material research. His practice engages deeply with ecological narratives and the agency of geological materials. During the intensive course, he will share insights and material interrogation techniques from his ongoing artistic research project Peripheria x Cor, working with stone, memory, and deep time.
Dirk Vis is a lecturer in art and design theory and currently develops a student manual for artistic research in the Graphic Design BA programme at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK), and in the Master Design programme at the Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam. His book Research For People Who (Think They) Would Rather Create offers a practical, accessible guide to research for creative practitioners and will serve as a conceptual backbone for the theoretical component of the course.
Aivaras Širvinskas is an industrial designer holding a BA from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and a lecturer–practitioner working at the VAA Design Wood Laboratory. His practice is grounded in hands-on making and explores toolmaking, care and repair, and material flows, with a strong emphasis on how objects are made, modified, and maintained. In this intensive course, he will support the realisation of our lithic aspirations, translating them into experimental, tangible outcomes.
Objectives and outcome:
By the end of the course, students will:
Understand the theoretical frameworks of vibrant materialism and its relevance to
sustainable design.
Develop skills to explore and address the ecological and cultural agency of materials
in design.
Produce design outputs integrating theoretical insights and practical material
experimentation, demonstrating innovative and ecological thinking.
IMPORTANT: 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 Nida Art Colony (NAC). It is a resourceful platform, which initiates art, education, and research projects, and aims to generate a creative confluence of academic and non-academic education, artistic and scientific practice. It prioritises contemporary art, design, and research projects on the topics of a greener future. NAC is a perfect place to discuss questions of sustainability, dialogue between (human) culture and (non-human) nature, and collaboration between incoming artists.
The workshop is funded under the Nordplus/CIRRUS network framework.
Contact for practical enquiries: lina.koseleva@vda.lt
Contact regarding course content: assoc. prof. Mantas Lesauskas mantas.lesauskas@vda.lt