2007 » Lithuania » Student section

The Ever-changing Landscapes of Theatre

The roots of Vilnius Art Academy’s Department of Monumental Painting and Set Design are traced back to 1793, to the Departments of Architecture and Painting at the University of Vilnius. Those traditions were re-established by the Kaunas Art School, where a studio of decorative painting was established in 1929. In 1944, art studies were concentrated at the Lithuanian State Institute, where there was also a department of set design. The traditions of the Institute were extended to the Vilnius Art Academy, established in 1990, where the Studio of Set Design is located, offering two stages of set design programs – bachelor and master level. The program itself consists of basics in staging, the technical and technological aspects of stagecraft, the history of costume, the composition of set design, the specifics of the puppet theatre, the history of the theatre, etc. The main courses are taught by Professor Virginija Idzelyte-Dautartiene, Professor Adomas Jacovskis, the guidelines of the work with the puppet theatre productions are being established by Julija Skuratova. The students of the Vilnius Art Academy’s Department of Set Design are very active in the creative life of the Vilnius Art Academy, organizing exhibitions of their work, collaborating with the young artists of the Lithuanian theatre, creating experimental and independent projects during the Lithuanian based “New Drama Action” and “New Baltic Dance” festivals, also participating in the events at the “Art Printhouse”, which functions as an art lab. Helmutas Sabasevicius