August 18-23, 2025
Stamerieno Castle Palace, Vecstamerienė, Latvia
The second international doctoral summer school was held in the historic Stamerieno Castle Palace in northern Latvia from 18 to 23 August, organized by the Latvian Academy of Culture, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, in cooperation with the Gulbene Municipality and Stamerieno Castle. This year, for the first time, doctoral students from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre also participated in the event, further expanding the international dimension of the program.
The aim of the summer school is to promote the professional growth of doctoral students, the development of artistic research, and international and interdisciplinary collaboration. The program provided opportunities to present their ongoing research, receive feedback, and draw inspiration from representatives of different fields.
Each day began with a lecture by a lecturer, after which doctoral students participated in practical creative workshops. During lunch, there was an opportunity to individually consult with selected mentors – this year, all five lecturers were mentors, as well as the Rector of the Latvian Academy of Culture Dāvis Sīmanis and the Vice-Rector for Arts and Science of LMTA Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramunė Balevičiūtė. The day was concluded with screenings of films and artistic research documentation, improvisation performances, and informal conversations and discussions.
This year’s lecturers and mentors represented various artistic fields: Dr. Annette Arlander (Finland) – performance art and artistic research, Dr. Rachel Garfield (UK) – visual art and documentary filmmaking, Dr. Theodore Lee Parker (Estonia) – experimental music and improvisation, Dr. Ondřej Vavrečka (Czech Republic) – multimedia art and performance, Dr. Kersti Grunditz Brennan (Sweden) – film and documentary filmmaking. Each of them not only gave lectures, but also consulted doctoral students individually, sharing their international experience and creative methods.
LMTA Vice-Rector for Arts and Science Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramunė Balevičiūtė emphasized the significance of the camp:
“It is difficult to overestimate how much this late-summer “escape” to an almost mystical place in the north of Latvia gives. The special spirit of the castle and its surroundings encourages us to think differently, communicate more sensitively, and listen more. In a normal academic environment, imprisoned by a strict daily routine, we often cannot pay as much attention to each other – a lecturer to a student, a student to a colleague, and especially – to a researcher in another field. In addition, this escape from the classrooms, meeting with researchers in other fields, getting to know experienced artist researchers, unexpected tasks in an unusual environment with newly met people – is the best engine of creativity. I sincerely thank our friend the Latvian Academy of Culture for this opportunity – we value our cooperation and intend to continue the project.”
Doctoral student in art Salomėja Petronytė shared her impressions:
“A week at Stamerieno Castle is a special journey, you will get rich moments of co-creation, moments of the birth of new ideas, significant acquaintances and joyful conversations. When you listen to various discoveries about lecturers inspired by the synthesis of art and science and the world of ideas of colleagues, you unconsciously begin to feel more confident in your own strength and get the impetus to explore the questions you are studying even more.”
Dominykas Vaitiekūnas, another doctoral student in art at the Lithuanian Academy of Arts, noted: “Encounters with other artist researchers are incredibly valuable. Five days at Stamerieno Castle allowed us to see how different ways of thinking about artistic research can be, to expand the field of perspectives and to discuss with our own limited imaginations what artistic research is.”
The Doctoral Summer School at Stamerieno Castle is not only about lectures and creative workshops, but also about creating international connections, disseminating artistic research, and the opportunity to draw inspiration in an informal and creative environment. The organizers plan to continue the project in the coming years so that even more doctoral students can experience this unique study and collaboration experience.