Rezydencja artystyczna w Wilnie

 DESIGN RESIDENCY IN VILNIUS 

22nd – 29th of April, 2025 

ABOUT RESIDENCY 

During this one-week residency, design professionals are invited to conduct design research and act as lecturers (one professional will work in a group of 2-3 young designers or students, who will also be selected), sharing their experiences and fostering collaboration among communities and designers. Our goal is to raise awareness of the role design plays in everyday life—how designers and design tools can address various social challenges, shape visions for the future, and solve complex problems. 

Residency details: 

● Residency is open to a wide range of design disciplines 

● Residency will be in English 

● Arrival Date: April 22, 2025 

● Residency Period: April 22–29, 2025 

● Public Sharing of Research Outcomes: April 27, 2025 

● Registration form: https://forms.gle/BnR3UjXFsEvjQCRA7 

● Deadline to fill in the registration form: February 21, 2025 

We will select 1 or 2 professional designers to take part in the residency. Designers will be selected by the LDA Board on the basis of their motivation to explore and work on the subject 

 What we offer: 

● Reimbursement of flight expenses up to 250€ 

● Accommodation in Vilnius: ○ Check-in: April 22, 2025 

○ Check-out: April 29, 2025 

● A project budget for one professional designer 800€ (materials included) 

THEME 

We aim to organize this international design residency every year, building it around the theme formulated by the International Council of Design (ICoD). This year, the theme is Outlandish Optimism (OO). 

Optimism feels unfamiliar—an outlandish way to be thinking right now. How dare we be optimistic in this time of ecological crisis, war, greed and looming garbage? Having an optimistic mindset has been proven to fuel positive outcomes. Optimism helps in human longevity, it creates a sense of wonder and re-enchantment with the world, and it stimulates a capacity to carry out concrete actions for change. As such, we hope to provoke something daring: what if designers embraced Outlandish Optimism (OO) as a speculative, wily attitude and radical design method?

Outlandish Optimism (OO) is a provocation to designers to embrace things unfamiliar and seemingly impossible: outrageous ideas, alien methods, and uncommon connections, to step out of the box and stay in the trouble of all kinds, listen differently, and to work in outlandishly optimistic ways. 

LOCATION 

This time the residency will take place at Museum of Wooden Urban Architecture (MMAM). The wooden house at 52 Polotsk Street was built in 1876. In 2006, the building was included in the Register of Cultural Properties. In 2022, the restoration work on the building was completed, and on May 18, the Museum of Wooden Urban Architecture opened its doors. This museum is located on the edge of the district called Užupis, which also has its unique history and community. The location will be a meeting point and the workspace for residents. There is a small workshop if needed and we will help find services or materials needed for this design research purposes. 

On the 27th of April we expect designers to share the results of their research ideas publicly during the design day event. 

The Design Residency in Vilnius is an initiative created by the Lithuanian Design Association in celebration of International Design Day. 

_____________________ 

Organiser Lithuanian Design Association - an independent creative union uniting professional designers. The residency are partly financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. If you have any questions, please contact comm@lda.lt.