Poster Design Summer School II

hosted by Vilnius Academy of Arts in Nida, Lithuania

Title of course: Poster Design Summer School II Intensive course dates: June 14th – June 18th, 2026 (arrival to Vilnius on June 13th, departure from Vilnius on June 19th) ECTS: 3

Study programme: Graphic Design, Visual Communication Design, Graphic Art

Level: BA/MA

Number of accepted students: 5 Hosted by: Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania

Location: Nida Art Colony, Nida, Lithuania

Application deadline: May 17th, 2026. Selection results will be announced by May 20th, 2026.

How to apply: Please submit an online application by the deadline.

The application must include: a short letter of motivation (max 400 words) as well as a link to your portfolio (with open access).

Intensive course description:

Today’s information landscape is dominated by negative news: wars, ecological crises, inequality, injustice. This constant exposure shapes a collective emotional state marked by anxiety, helplessness, and fatigue.

The goal of this workshop is to explore how graphic design can identify, construct, and communicate evidence-based hope – grounded in real-world developments, initiatives, and possibilities that demonstrate positive change is not only possible, but already happening.

We are surrounded by narratives of collapse. Some of them are true. Most of them are incomplete. This workshop is not about positivity. It’s about taking control of the story.

Design posters that expose, question, and rebuild how we see the world –

not by ignoring problems, but by revealing where change is already happening.

Course Leaders:

Marion Robinson is a Finnish graphic designer, lecturer and visual artist. Her creative work has been exhibited in museums and exhibitions internationally. Senior Lecturer of graphic design at Lahti Institute of Design, LAB University of applied sciences. She studied graphic design at the Lahti Institute of Design (BA) and Aalto University School of Arts,

Design and Architecture (MA) in Finland.

Marius Žalneravičius is a Lithuanian graphic designer, lecturer, and visual communicator. His creative work focuses on poster design, cultural communication, and socially engaged visual narratives, and has been presented in exhibitions and design contexts in Lithuania and abroad. He is a lecturer of graphic design at Vilnius Academy of Arts. He studied graphic design at Vilnius Academy of Arts (BA and MA) in Lithuania.

Pijus Burakas is a Lithuanian graphic designer and visual artist, widely regarded as one of the most prominent poster designers in Lithuania. His creative practice focuses on contemporary graphic design, visual communication, and experimental approaches to typography and image-making. His work has been presented in various cultural contexts, exhibitions, and design-related projects in Lithuania and abroad.

Objectives and outcome:

Workshop objectives

1. To look critically at how negative narratives are shaped in media

2. To explore hope not as blind optimism, but as something grounded in reality

3. To find and communicate alternative, more balanced perspectives

4. To turn complex topics into clear, engaging visual messages

5. To build strong ideas and express them through design, not just aesthetics

6. To experiment with different visual approaches and take creative risks

7. To use real facts, examples, and signals of change in the work

8. To question sources and avoid empty positivity

9. To gain confidence in expressing a point of view

10. To learn through discussion, feedback, and collaboration

11. To think about what it means to be a designer today Workshop Outcomes

1. A series of 3–4 poster proposals per student, developed individually and in small groups

2. 1–2 selected works per student refined for public presentation

3. A final exhibition at Nida Art Colony, showcasing the strongest outcomes of the workshop

4. Selected posters presented in Vilnius, including display on a historic advertising column in the old town

5. Hands-on experience working with three professional designers/lecturers, combining practical, theoretical, and historical perspectives on poster design

6. A stronger ability to move from research → idea → visual execution

7. Better understanding of how to build a clear, convincing message, not just an aesthetic solution

8. Experience working both independently and collaboratively

9. Confidence in presenting and defending creative decisions

10. A finished body of work suitable for portfolios and future exhibitions

The course is organized in collaboration with the Lahti International Poster Triennial and partnering design universities.

The theme in this year’s summer school is ‘Designing Hope’. Where do you see hopeful glimmers? Or would you rather investigate the threshold of hope/hopelessness?

Summer school provides a platform for investigating how poster design can visualise societal issues and future possibilities—through composition, visual storytelling, and visual influence.

The final posters will be exhibited at the end of the course in both Lithuania and Finland. One exhibition will take place immediately after the workshop in Vilnius, and another will be organised in Lahti, in early October.

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.

Home

The workshop is funded under the Nordplus/CIRRUS network framework.

Contact for practical enquiries: lina.koseleva@vda.lt

Contact regarding course content: assoc. prof. Marius Žalneravičius

marius.zalneravicius@vda.lt