On 21-22 September 2023, the Vilnius Academy of Arts hosted a meeting of the participants of the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships project "Digital Mythologies-Mythological Digitalities" (2022-2024). The project is implemented by the Graphic Design Department of the Faculty of Vilnius together with academic partners from five countries. The initiator is Aalto University (Finland), which has risen to sixth place in the global ranking of art and design schools. The project partners are Vilnius Academy of Arts (Lithuania), Aalto University (Finland), Katowice Academy of Art and Design (Poland), Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dublin (Ireland) and the Royal Academy of Art and Design in Antwerp (Belgium).
On behalf of the Vilnius Art Academy, the participants were congratulated by the Dean Prof. Marius Šaliamoras, and the Head of the International Relations Department, Lina Košeleva. During the meeting, the lecturers involved in the project activities shared their experiences of how they have integrated mythological contexts into their academic tasks, how the students have accepted these challenges, and whether it is important to know what is common and what is unique in the mythologies of different countries. Representatives of the Department of Graphic Design - Prof. Aušra Lisauskienė and Assoc. Prof. Marius Žalneravičius presented the results of the Font Design, Communication Hybrid Game and Nida Practice assignments, which were related to Baltic mythology in various aspects and represented contemporary interpretations of it in academic assignments, and presented fragments of the international student exhibition "Dive into Mythology", exhibited at Telšiai Gallery. Gediminas Šiaulys, a VDA Master's graduate who has won several international awards for his work, shared his creative kitchen with the guests. After the meeting, the participants visited the "Young Designer Prize '23" exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts and Design and then had their 3D images scanned in Julijonas Urbonas' installation and became part of the virtual "Planet of People".
The second day was dedicated to an excursion to the Molėtai Ethnocosmological Museum. On their return to Vilnius, the guests took part in an event organised by the Centre for Ethnic Culture on Mindaugas Bridge, "Vilkas", dedicated to the autumnal equinox and the 700th anniversary of Vilnius.
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