FestivaL’and 5.0 | LIVE!

“FestivaL'and” is a Summer School format developed in collaboration with the Valmiera Summer Theatre Festival and held for the first time in 2018. At the Summer School, experimental temporary architectural and design interventions become catalysts for significant change processes in the urban environment. The Summer School is dedicated to the creative synergy of art, design, and architecture, and develops as an urban laboratory, temporarily transforming certain places for the duration of the theatre festival, bringing them to life, offering unexpected experiences, changing perception and revealing the potential for new uses.

Course leader

Program curator: architect and researcher Dina Suhanova.

Target group

Applications are open to both Bachelor and Master level students in the humanities and engineering from fields of study such as architecture and urbanism, spatial development planning, construction, art and design, audiovisual arts and similar. If motivated, the participation of students from other specialisations in the summer school will also be supported.

Course aim

The 12-day course planned for 2024, will take place for the fifth time and is organised as a cooperation project between the Art Academy of Latvia, Institute of Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture and Architecture and Design faculty of the RISEBA University of Applied Sciences. In the context of climate change, circular economy principles and the quest for a humane, socially inclusive and natural environment, the summer school will highlight the theme LIFE, inviting students to experiment with the possibilities of using wood, other raw and natural materials and by-products of industry. During the summer school, participants will gain knowledge, skills and experience in the design creation process, from research, ideation, and tectonic experimentation to 1:1 scale construction in urban environments, becoming part of the theatre festival's annual event in Valmiera.

The course teaching staff consists of lecturers, and professionals in the fields of architecture, design and art with experience in both practice and pedagogy.

Financial support: State Education Development Agency Republic of Latvia, Municipality of Valmiera Region.