Telšiai Faculty of Vilnius Art Academy dates back in 1926 when trade school was established. Later within decades it was reformed, and the name was changed several times. In 1998 school became a division of VAA. Having got deep traditions, this education institution is constantly open to development of conceptual ideas and possibilities of technology innovations.
VAA Telšiai Faculty consists of these Undergraduate and Graduate study programs:
Artistic furniture restoration BA
Metal artworks restoration BA study programme which covers specialisation of Art and interior restoration.
Applied art MA study programme has been launched since 2019.
Telšiai Faculty has VAA Telšiai Gallery and the Conservation and applied research centre of cultural heritage (both are established at 3 Kęstučio str. Telšiai)
The mission of all study programmes in Telšiai Faculty is to educate broad-minded personalities with critical thinking and specialists with general higher education who are able to use creatively general and professional competences, practical skills which allow them to work on their own or target at international industry. Graduates can continue further MA studies. During studies students are given an opportunity to increase their knowledge in other higher education institutions by the international mobility programmes such as LLP/Erasmus or Nordplus.
Academic staff of Telšiai Faculty consists of experienced professionals such as artists, architects, specialists of liberal sciences who are active participants not only of regional but Lithuanian art life as well.
Creative specialists, experts in their fields distinguished by their individual thinking, have been making Telšiai Faculty visible and known for many years. We can mention artists of contemporary jewellery and metal art such as Birutė Stulgaitė, Eimantas Ludavičius, Beata Zdramytė, Šarūnė Vaitkutė or conceptual sculptors Nerijus and Andrius Erminai, Mindaugas Šimkevičius and many others. Their works of jewellery, art blacksmith or installations can be seen everywhere – in the important exhibitions, museums, Telšiai (not only) public places or in the interiors of private customers. A part of academic staff is visiting lecturers from the other VAA divisions or visiting lecturers from foreign countries (designers, jewellers or restorers).
This education institution of artists is remote from bigger cities (the local call it as “artists’ blacksmith) and it has become an important centre of intellectual life. Only in Telšiai town there are estimated many art objects which are made by Faculty students, lecturers and graduates. Faculty, which is located in a cosy town place near Mastis Lake, is satisfied with developing creative and organisational relations with local art and business institutions (Telšiai Art Incubator, VAA Telšiai gallery), art education institutions (Telšiai, Skuodas, Salantai art schools, Palanga Old gymnasium, etc.), carried out joint projects with Lithuanian museums (History museum of Lithuania Minor, Telšiai “Alka“ museum, “Aušra museum“ in Šiauliai, etc.) where students are provided with access to the funds and collections of the museums. The relations are being developed with tens of social stakeholders, for example, with various public institutions (Telšiai, Plungė, Mažeikiai, Jurbarkas districts municipalities), enterprises (Ltd “Rūta”, Ltd “Linas”, “Mažeikių Lyra”, Ltd “Siuvina”) where students have an opportunity to get know to the particularity of the companies, make projects and prototypes which are further implemented in these companies.
VAA Telšiai Faculty is distinguished by one quality which can be rarely found in other similar institutions as there are prepared professional artists who are able to realise their ideas by themselves with their own hands. The objective of VAA Telšiai Faculty is compatibility of professional creative basis and qualified practical basis preparing and educating students as artists to-be.