Projects
1995-1998: one of the first collective research projects by the Institute “The Idiosincracy of Arts Culture in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania” (the Research Council of Lithuania, project leader dr. Rūta Janonienė), 1998: “Monastic Influence“ programme in the framework of European Cultural Routes (Council of Europe, project leader dr. Rūta Janonienė, with Dalia Klajumienė participating), later on developed into the educative documentaries project “Ancient Monasteries of Lithuania” (2006-2009, supported by: the Directorate for the Commemoration of the Millennium of Lithuania under the Auspices of the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania; the Culture and Sport Support Fund of the Republic of Lithuania; Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania; project leader dr. Dalia Klajumienė, with dr. Rūta Janonienė and dr. Tojana Račiūnaitė participating).
2001-2003: the interdisciplinary project in collaboration with other fields of humanities “Resources of Spiritual Culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania”, supported by the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation (project leader dr. Tojana Račiūnaitė; with. dr. Rūta Janonienė, dr. Rūta Butvilaitė, dr. Jolita Liškevičienė, and dr. Dalia Klajumienė participating). The project included search for resources important for the cultural history and the notion of art in GDL, followed by translations, analysis, commenting and publishing. The project aimed to research available resources in order to reconstruct the notion of art and the then society’s relation to visual culture, focusing on 17–18th centuries. Other projects related to old resources: analysis, interpretation and publishing of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych hagiographical and iconographical resources (2008 and 2013-2014, project leader dr. Jolita Liškevičienė), which resulted in the collective monograph “Images from the Life of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych: The Facsimile, Translation and Study of a 17th Century Resource” (ed. by dr. Jolita Liškevičienė, 2014).
A group of projects was dedicated to Lithuanian manor studies. The project “Lithuanian Manors: The Research of Culture and Historical Sources” (2006, Lituanistic research project supported by the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation, project leader dr. R. Butvilaitė; with dr. R. Janonienė participating) developed into editing and publishing of the multi-volume publication “Lithuanian Manors” (dr. R. Butvilaitė, dr. M. Iršėnas).
The researchers of the Institute also make individual research projects as well as participate in projects initiated by other research institutions.
Events
Every year the Institute organizes at least one academic conference. One of the earliest international conferences was “Baroque in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania” (1997), the first interdisciplinary conference of the Institute was “The type and the Individual in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania” (2001), followed by “Image and Narrative” (2002), “Laurynas Gucevičius and his era” (2003), “Historical Reality and Illusion” (2003), “A Prototype and a Copy” (2004), “Relics of the Saints in Lithuanian Culture” (2005), “The 100th Anniversary of Liudvikas Strolis and Stasys Ušinskas” (2005), “Celebrations and Everyday Life in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its Contexts” (2006), “Lithuanian Manors: The Research of Culture and Historical Sources” (2007), “The Artwork: Surface, Figure, Meaning” (2008), “Artistic Vilnius: Influences and Images” (2009), “Celestial Patrons and Terrestrial Benefactors” (2010), “Royal Component of Lithuanian Culture: Images, Symbols, Relics” (2011), “Cult Images in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Import and Dissemination” (2012), “Secular Interiors: Idea, Décor, Design” (2013). The international academic conference “Lithuania – Italy: Centuries-old Relationships” (2014) was organized in collaboration with the National Museum the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Vilnius University and the Lithuanian Institute of History. "Mural Painting in Secular Buildings: Relevant Theories, Methods and Problems of Restoration" (2015), "The Body: Out of Time and Without a Place" (2015), "(De)Coded History in Architecture" (2016), "Gardens: Traditions, Images and Symbols in Lithuanian Culture" (2017), "Arts in the State – The State in Arts" (2018).
