The VDA Klaipėda Faculty is the only university-level institution of higher education in the Klaipėda region that trains design professionals and researchers.
The faculty’s vision: to be among the world’s leading universities in fine arts, design, and architecture.
The Faculty’s mission: to shape the future of art, design, and architecture in Lithuania.
The VDA Klaipėda Faculty offers the following degree programs:
Graphic Design (BA)
Interior Design (BA)
Visual Design (MA)
During their studies, students are encouraged to participate in academic mobility programs: Erasmus+ (studies and internships) and others. Students can choose from nearly 200 of VDA’s international partner universities and international networks. The VDA Klaipėda Faculty operates two centers of excellence: the Design Innovation Center (DIC), which helps students commercialize their ideas, accelerates design startups, and assists in seeking and securing funding through the Innovation Agency, the Lithuanian Council for Culture, and other channels. There is also the Open School of Fine Arts, Design, and Architecture (ADDAM), where prospective students can prepare a portfolio of creative work required for admission to fine arts and design programs at higher education institutions. Since 2020, the school has also offered short courses for adults focused on fostering creative personalities open to change and innovation. Classes for both university students and ADDAM students are held in the renovated study and practical training workshops in Klaipėda’s Old Town.
History of the faculty
In 1974, the Artists and Designers Section was established in Klaipėda as part of the Department of Club Activities at the Klaipėda Faculty of the LSSR State Conservatory. Prof. Vytautas Jakelaitis, then dean of these faculties and the initiator of the section’s founding, welcomed its establishment: “We were honored to be the founders, and the city of Klaipėda benefited from it.” In 1979, the section was incorporated into the then-Lithuanian SSR State Art Institute. Following the merger, the section was reorganized into the Department of Visual Agitation in Klaipėda, and in 1986 it was renamed the Department of Visual Communications. When the institute regained the name Vilnius Academy of Arts in 1990, the department was known as the Department of Visual Design at the Vilnius Academy of Arts in Klaipėda starting in 1991. The department was led by a distinguished group of professional artists and educators: senior lecturers Algis Kliševičius (1974–1979), Vytautas Jakštys (1979–1981), Vytautas Dūdėnas (1981–1982), Petras Šadauskas, who served as an associate professor (1982–1983), associate professor and later professor Vytautas Jonas Kasputis (1983–2010), and designer Prof. Alvydas Klimas (2010–2025). The current head of the faculty is Associate Professor Martynas Lapas. The first faculty members were Vytautas Jakštys, Aloyzas Banaitis, Giedrė Fledžinskienė, Jeronimas Pakriaušis, Antanas Paukštė, Alvydas Broga, and Adomas Skiezgelas. Later, the faculty included architect Gytis Tiškus, jeweler Saulius Bertulis, painter Algimantas Jusionis, art historian Veronika Taurinskienė, and many others. The current faculty consists of some of Klaipėda’s most prominent artists, designers, and theorists.
