Saturday, July 29

DESIGN, ART, CRAFT, GASTRONOMY SESSIONS

12:30 - 14:30

“Physical elements in digital environment”

Anny Wang and Tim Söderström

WANG & SÖDERSTRÖM (DK)

“Micro factory – the new production methods”

Katharina Mischer

MISCHER ‘ TRAXLER STUDIO (AT)

“Art and environment”

Daria Melnikova (LV)

Break

15:30 – 17:30

“Art = Industry”

Oskar Peet and Sophie Mensen

OS ∆ OOS (NL)

“Melancholy of the disconstrued meanings”

Ádám Albert (HU)

“Experimental food experience”

Mārcis Ziemiņš, Gundega Skudriņa

UNTAMEDDINER (LV)

«On our planet, all objects are subject to continual and inevitable changes which arise from the essential order of things. These changes take place at a variable rate according to the nature, condition, or situation of the objects involved, but are nevertheless accomplished within a certain period of time. Time is insignificant and never a difficulty for Nature. It is always at her disposal and represents an unlimited power with which she accomplishes her greatest and smallest tasks», said French naturalist and forefather of modern biology Jean–Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829).

MAD 2017 focuses on traditional and urban farming. The methods of the traditional farming are expensive, and the cultivable land is limited. Already in the near future it will not be able to provide mankind with sufficient amounts of nutrients necessary for its existence.

During MAD 2017 the 19th century Sigulda castle will be turned into an indoor farming workshop, where six work groups will seek practical solutions for world’s overpopulation and nutritional problems. Main keywords of MAD 2017: biohacking, biohacking laboratory, bio printing, insect food, indoor farming, traditional farming, and agriculture.

In this work MAD brings together designers, artists, craftsmen and scientists – people who are unlikely to meet under different circumstances. Theories and hypotheses are tested in practice, creating new things and experiences, friendships and interactions that will continue well after the summer school. Physical work is essential for a wholesome human existence and physical and mental development. Only creative activity forms new values. MAD embraces soft definitions of design and art, creating useful and aesthetic objects during irresistible authentic work process.

From the very first day you will find yourself among open–minded people that are ready to die for good design. You will meet designers, craftsmen, artists and engineers as well as design, art and architecture students from all over the world. It will be a gathering of strong personalities that can rarely be found in one place.

The teachers and mentors of the summer school will become your friends; they will share their professional experience and knowledge with you. In their free time while playing football they will reveal how to navigate the uncharted waters of leading your own design studio.

You will have a chance to choose between woodwork, blacksmith, bark and ceramic workshops and get to know traditional techniques. You will also have access to design laboratory fitted for the manor and equipped with a 3D printer.

You will be working and staying at two 19th castles in two of the most beautiful towns of Latvia - Sigulda and Krimulda. The diversity of nature and culture will inspire you to create masterpieces and to understand that there ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no river wide enough.

Besides workshop activities and lectures on design, crafts, art, science, environment, sustainable lifestyle and nutrition you will go on exciting trips in the valley of Gauja to get to know your colleagues and teachers better, discover nature, local lifestyles and traditions.

you care about the environment and the people around you;
you are open to new adventures and knowledge;
you are fascinated by design, art, technologies, culture;
you are a keen explorer and enjoy working hands–on;
you are fluent in English and feel comfortable working in a team;
you have completed at least one year of bachelor degree studies — in a design, art, architecture or science program, or you are graduate of upper level secondary education school with specialisation in design.

Send your portfolio (max. 5 examples of best work in PDF file max 5MB) and a short motivation letter (max. 800 words) to rihards@designsummerschool.com

until June 6, 2017 (Midnight).

Selected students will be announced online on June 9, 2017

The tuition fee is 350 euro for student.

The fee covers:

access to MAD teachers, lectors, craftsman and mentors;
access to 5 workshops and a variety of materials and technologies;
participation in all workshops, lectures, master classes;
accommodation in Krimulda castle in rooms with shared facilities;
breakfast, lunch and dinner;
shuttle bus from Riga to Krimulda castle and back.
field trips.

Expenses that the students are expected to cover themselves:

travel expenses from your home country to Latvia and back;
health insurance. Students from Europe are advised to get a free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

Alexander Rondeau / BFA in Image Arts specializing in photography and curation from Ryerson University, Toronto

Alicija Konkol / Design Academy Eindhoven, Man and Identity department, 2nd year student

Alix Cohen / MA in Interior Architecture and Product Design from École Camondo, Paris

Ance Janevica / Design Academy Eindhoven, Men and Leisure Department, 2nd year student

Andrea Brisfjäll / Beckmans College of Design, Stockholm, Visual Communication department, 2nd year student

Andrejs Strokins / BA degree in graphic printmaking from the Art Academy of Latvia, Freelance photographer

Anete Sabule / Design Academy Eindhoven, Man and Identity department, 2nd year student

Anna Reingard / School of Form, Poznan, Alumni

Anthea Oestreicher / Hochschule Darmstadt, Communication Design department, Alumni

Barbara Drozdek / School of Form, Poznań, Process Design department, 3rd year student

Clara Roussel / Design Academy Eindhoven, Public & Private department, 2nd year student

Girts Reiniks / University of Latvia Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, BA in Geology, Freelance graphic designer

Isha Suhag / BA in graphic and media design from London College of Communication.

Joao Azevedo / Master in product design, ESAD.CR, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal

Kaitlin Kobs / BFA in Graphic Design from VCUarts, Virginia Commonwealth University

Kamila Kantek / School of Form, Poznań, Industrial/Process Design department, 3rd year student

Kitty Brandon-James / Masters in Contemporary Art and Politics, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London

Laila Snevele / Design Academy Eindhoven, Food non Food department, 4th year student

Laura Pazo / MA degree in Furniture Design at ELISAVA, Barcelona

Liisa Kivimäe / MA studies in Design and Applied Arts, Estonian Academy of Arts

Maximilian Mauracher / Graphic designer and art director from Vienna

Mies Loogman / Design Academy Eindhoven, 4th year student

Min Young Choi / Design Academy Eindhoven, Man and Activity department, 2nd year student

Niek van Sleeuwen / Technical University of Eindhoven, Industrial design department 4th year student

Olga Zelenska / School of Form, Poznań, Domestic Design department, 3rd year student

Roza Rutkowska / School of Form, Poznań, Industrial Design department, 3rd year student

Sarah Caraman / MA studies in Product Design, Ecole Boulle, Paris

Yara Valente / MA studies in Architecture at the TU Delft

An expert in both carpentry and filming, and having a great intuition when it comes to marketing, Jēkabs Dimiters is a real 21st century carpenter. Four years ago he founded a brand called John Neeman Tools and began producing workman’s tools that soon became widely recognized throughout the world for their high quality and an image of a mysterious team of craftsmen behind Jēkabs’ photographs and short films. In 2017, the brand changed its name to Northmen, a guild of northern master craftsmen that unites some of the best northern European bladesmiths, carpenters, woodworkers, tool makers, wood carvers, bowyers, leather workers, watch makers and jewellers.

After ten years in advertising and the film business, Jēkabs realized that the job lacked a concrete substance that he could hold on to. He wished to do a job that would make something essential, something that he could leave to his children. The idea to make tools came with a practical necessity: having begun building his own wooden house, the chisels he had turned out to be too small for the job.

Together with local blacksmiths he made replicas of historic carpenter tools, which were then deemed attractive enough to be sold on their own, and this was how the brand John Neeman Tools (now — Northmen) was born. The brand’s Vidzeme craftsmen use carefully selected materials from around the world to make the best quality tools: Latvian oak and elm, Karelian birch, steel from Japan, Sweden, Germany, and Russia; an oak that spent millennia buried in English swamplands, black and hard as rock. Over time the production was expanded to include kitchen and hunting knives, leather bags and belts, bows, and even watches. To have a Northmen branded tool customers are happy spend as long as one year on a waiting list.

WANG & SÖDERSTRÖM (DK)

Wang & Söderström is a Copenhagen based creative studio with a focus on digital explorations, design and production. The studio strive to create mind tickling and unexpected experiences through materiality and technology. With a background in architecture and spatial design Wang & Söderström combines, collects and explores physical elements in a digital environment. Utilising new technologies to shape tomorrow’s visual and spatial experiences.

The multidisciplinary studio operate within visual communication and digital/physical fabrication as an important part of developing and stretching the boundaries within other fields such as spatial design, art and crafts. Wang & Söderström’s hyper-real driven work has been realized on international range with commissioned work for clients such as The New York Times, Nike, Apartamento Magazine, FRAME, Refinery 29 and Chamber Gallery.

Wang & Söderström is founded by Swedish spatial/ furniture designer Anny Wang and architect Tim Söderström.

OS ∆ OOS (NL)

Design studio for small objects to larger spatial concepts;

Studio OS ∆ OOS tries to find the balance between form, material and their relation to the surroundings and the user. For the duo it is the constant search to find the essence in the complex that drives them, taking an initial concept and working it into an object that conveys only what is meant to.

The majority of work borders the line of design (in the industrial/ functionality sense) and autonomous objects; best described as contemporary objects derived from concept, yet rationalized to give them purpose.

The concept is always our starting point for any new project, much effort goes into this stage to build up a rational reason for the projects existence, it has become one of our major goals and motivation to try and divert the urge to produce works only for the sake of making new work.

The conclusion of these efforts results in neither a product nor pure artistic expression but a culmination of the both. A product where art=industry.

Oskar Peet (NL/CAN) and Sophie Mensen (NL) are both graduates of the Design Academy Eindhoven (2009), and started the firm OS ∆ OOS in the Autumn off 2011. Both live and work currently in the city of Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Photographer Lisa Klappen

XIAMYRA DAAL (NL)

Xiamyra is the concept developer of the Open Wetlab at - institute for art, science and technology - Waag Society. She now coordinates the Do It Together Bio workshops and guides the Open Wetlab Evenings where she shares her fascination and enthusiasm for biology with everybody. Xiamyra studied Biomedical Sciences in Leiden during which she gained her laboratory experience. Xiamyra loves to make things herself. Currently she is building her own lab at home.

The Open WetLab is a leading place for bio-art, biodesign and do-it-together biology in the heart of Amsterdam. It works together with artists, designers, scientists, and hackers at public participation projects.

The Lab regularly organizes well-visited meet-ups. Beside that, artists and students can work in the lab as artistic researcher-in-residence and new biohackers are trained at the BioHack Academy: an international highly acclaimed course for biohackers, initiated by Pieter van Boheemen. The BioHack Academy learns individuals to build their own lab, create bio experiments, and teaches the basics of synthetic biology and critical reflection.

Waag Society explores emerging technologies, and provides art and culture a central role in the designing of new applications for novel advances in science and technology. The organisation concerns itself not only with technologies related to the Internet, but also with those related to biotechnology and the cognitive sciences. Because these areas that have a huge impact on our culture and identity, intuitive and curiosity-driven research by artists and designers is paramount. Artists and designers know better than anyone that they must question technology in order to get to the bottom of things, overthrow sacred cows, stimulate imagination and fantasy, create unexpected connections, and—above all—search for meaning.

Waag Society is always active in a social context. Every project involves several partners, each of whom bring their own, unique perspective. We also propose that new technological developments are made available to artists as soon as possible. In this way, Waag Society is a catalyst that brings to light new insights and solutions. The work that arises here is both innovative and iconic.

MISCHER ‘ TRAXLER STUDIO (AT)

KATHARINA MISCHER, ELISA POLNER

Katharina Mischer (1982) and Thomas Traxler (1981) founded mischer‘traxler studio in 2009 after graduating from the IM-masters program at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Based in Vienna they develop and design objects, furniture, processes, installations and more, thereby focusing on experiments and conceptual thinking within a given context. Balancing between handcraft and technology, they envision whole systems, new production methods and kinetic or interactive installations that question topics, tell stories or open up new ways of doing things. In 2016 Elisa Polner (1989), who studied Product Design at the Academy of Fine Art and Design in Saarbrücken in Germany, joined their team. She is supporting the studio, both in developing projects, concepts and prototypes.

mischer'traxler are giving talks about their work and heading workshops in various Universities and Institutions. In 2014 and 2015 they were leading the master course 'European Design Lab' at IED Madrid and in 2016 they were teaching a guest term at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Currently Katharina and Thomas are guest professors at the Kunsthochschule Kassel in Germany. Elisa occasionally joins them for workshops and talks.

Works by mischer'traxler studio have been displayed in numerous museums and at international festivals and fairs. Their projects are to be found in the permanent collections of the Art institute Chicago, the Vitra Design Museum, the MAK Vienna and others. Their projects have won several awards while as a studio, mischer'traxler was also honored with the 'designer of the future award' byDesign Miami/Basel and W-hotels in 2011 and recently with the 'Young talent award' by the Be-open foundation.

ÁDÁM ALBERT (HU)

He graduated in 2003 at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Budapest, where he currently works as an associate professor.

His artistic attitude is to reflect on a wide range of cultural‐intellectual transmissions (that is, the means and modes of knowledge production) that traverse through historical time and geographical space. These socio‐political problems, however, are not addressed directly, rather he places (or displaces) certain questions or aspects of socio‐cultural issues into the sphere of aesthetics.

In 2007, he won the 1st prize of the ESSL Award.

His latest solo exhibition was Dream of a Barn Owl in Kisterem Budapest (2017), and he participated in Ludwig Museum’s [Silence] - a holocaust exhibition, as well. His works are on display for example in the Hungarian National Gallery’s permanent exhibition, Hungarian Art After 1945.

He lives and works in Budapest.

RIHARDS FUNTS (LV)

Rihards is the founder of design studio Rijada. Specific character of Rijada is formed by combining design, art, craft, science, and social responsibility, at the same time ensuring high quality of products. Besides his work at the studio Rihards is a tutor and mentor at international design and entrepreneurship workshops. He has been a lecturer of design thinking at the Design Department of the Art Academy of Latvia and at the Wood Design Department at Riga School of Design and Art. Design studio Rijada has been awarded in several local and international product and graphic design competitions, its work has been published by Gestalten, Laurence King Publishing, Rockport Publishing.

Claude Oprea is a certified Permaculture designer and facilitator and member of the Permaculture Association. He teaches Permaculture design courses, runs workshops in schools, foraging walks in the city as well as acts as consultant for projects like Terra Perma in Montreal, Canada. Claude is also a healer and owner of Bear Hands Holistic Massage and plant artist, having created immersive large scale plant installations at Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Arts and at Boomtown Fair. He is passionate about creative approaches to big themes such as dealing with computer waste, growing food in urban environments with Permaculture ethics and principles, creating and

sustaining community in London and being off grid. Claude originated Biomodd in London and co-led Biomodd [LDN 5 ] at TEDX London City 2.0.

I am curious about the natural world, and I use that curiosity to inspire my art and teaching. I get excited about plants, fungi and creatures of all kinds and I am on a personal mission to decipher the ways they communicate and to share my findings with you! The dream is to help plant many edible forests around the world!

In 2012, I co-created Biomodd London, where technology (in the shape of e-waste) meets with plants to create hybrid living computers. Plants are inserted in and around the electronics. Through gaming, the stunning sculptures demonstrate the potential for a meaningful relationship between these seemingly opposing worlds. It now exists in the capital as an open source, experimental art project.

I curated and co-led a multidisciplinary team, and we presented a thought provoking installation at TEDx London City 2.0 in December 2013. It was an experiment on plant intelligence, communication and sentience. My goal with the project was to ensure that all the scientific data and knowledge was delivered in an engaging way, where a 5 year old and a 95 year old left feeling stimulated and having learned something new. With a six week deadline and no budget it was both a great success and one of the best days of my life!

GUNDEGA SKUDRIŅA (LV)

Gundega is fashion stylist, TV personality and event management professional. Taking eating and nature as a source of inspiration Gundega established Untamed Dinner - an immersive food-related experience for people that are interested in discovering other ways of social activities and knowledge through various media. Untamed Dinner combines gastronomical experiments with music, scenography and design. Gundega recently published book on creative event planning.

ANDRIS JUGĀNS (LV)

Andris has acquired his fondness for culinary at the premier gourmet establishments in Europe. His culinary journey began in Düsseldorf, Germany where he took the position at 5* Radisson Blu Hotel restaurant and continued to Michelin starred Tom Aikens Restaurant in London. After polishing his cooking skills abroad, Andris returned to Riga and opened his own restaurant KUK BUK. Driven by his love for food and innovative cooking techniques, Andris designed flavoursome and exciting meals for Untamed Dinner, leaving guests feeling more than satisfied.

Sabina is designing and realising learning experiences for adults and children since 2009. She facilitates workshops and interventions within companies, universities and cultural institutions. Her work is rooted in the quest for innovating education and is dedicated to human creativity, collaboration, personal sustainability and wellbeing. Learning tools she uses come from the intersection of embodiment training and visual arts, movement and awareness, contemplation and expression. She also grows LaForesta.co - a forest of stories and interdisciplinary encounters based in Berlin.

Every moment in life we function through our bodies. Our breathing, posture, movement, the way we hold ourselves altogether, influence our whole presence, the way we think, feel and perceive the world and ourselves. In academia often more importance is given to a person’s mind, to knowledge, explanation and understanding. Without being integrated with the body this knowledge becomes abstract and distant from life. In such a situation we do not really feel involved and truly fulfilled. Disembodied, we become ungrounded in ourselves and can easily feel lost in the information flow, options seem infinite: what to focus on, where to go, what is our path and true interest. Reintegration of the body is also a way towards our own authority, our own truth. In the body we find out what is real for us, what really matters. Generally speaking, through practices of embodiment we train a kind of synchronisation between the body and mind.

The basis of this workshop is learning to pay attention to the body, its subjective experiences and how they influence who we are, and thus to be actively responsible for one’s own life and well-being. This process involves paying attention to the present moment, without trying to make it be different than what it is – this way of being honestly present can be described as embodied and unified attention. Training attention we expand our choices: when we become aware of what is happening our choices move from unconscious automatisms to mindful decisions. With our choices we sculpt our lives. This class will combine movement, awareness and other embodiment practices, as well as give some theoretical insights. We become what we practice, so training awareness, expanding our movement and breathing capacities, we learn to embody new ways of being, because body is not a fixated being, it is a process, in constant movement.

The summer school will take place in Sigulda — a mid–sized town on the ridge of the Gauja river valley. The surroundings of Sigulda have a charmingly aristocratic feel due to the old manors of Sigulda, Krimulda and Turaida. The scenery of Sigulda has inspired many painters and sculptors, and we are confident that it will stir your imagination as well. Sigulda lies only 50 km from the capital city Riga and delivers outdoor adventures in all seasons. The omnipresent nature is the town’s greatest asset, but the old crafts, perfected in tens and hundreds of years, is something to learn from, to study and to apply in new ways.

Sigulda New Castle together with its surrounding premises and a garden creates area for people of Sigulda and their guest to spend time, interact and learn. It provides space and infrastructure for everyone no matter if local craftsman, creative person, thinker or a dreamer. Reconstruction of ancient buildings of Sigulda New Castle area has started, idea of business incubator is just approved and will be implemented till the end of year 2016, four workshops with different crafts and used materials are open and some more are to come. It is a great will and hard work ahead to revive Sigulda New Castle area within next few years.

RIHARDS FUNTS

Co-Founder, Program director

Rihards is a founder of design studio Rijada. Specific character of Rijada is formed by combining design, art, craft, science, and social responsibility, at the same time ensuring high quality of products. Besides his work at the studio Rihards is a tutor and mentor at international design and entrepreneurship workshops. He has been a lecturer of design thinking at the Design Department of the Art Academy of Latvia and at the Wood Design Department at Riga School of Design and Art. Design studio Rijada has been awarded in several local and international product and graphic design competitions, its work has been published by Gestalten, Laurence King Publishing, Rockport Publishing.

LIENE KUPLĀ

Co-Founder, Administrative director

For the past six years Liene has been involved in a number of projects that have advanced the growth of creative industries in Latvia. Up until the end of 2015 Liene served as managing director of Riga creative industries business incubator, helping over 150 young businesses grow and create new products. Liene took 1st place in a competition on the making of the first state–owned creative quarter in a former tobacco factory in Riga as well as won a contest on developing a creative quarter in the Sigulda New Castle area. At the moment Liene is the manager of the Sigulda New Castle area and a mentor for creative start-ups in Latvia.

JĀNIS GAILĪTIS

Design management

Jānis post graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design. His expertise is based on systematic and integrative design thinking management approach. Jānis works as innovation consultant and design strategist pulling together professional knowledge in the areas of design, business and technological fields to make sure business strategy is represented in the solution. Since 2010 Jānis is a lecturer and project manager at the Design Department in the Art Academy of Latvia.

International Summer School of Design

28 JUL – 6 AUG 2017

Sigulda, Latvia

PUBLIC LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS AT SIGULDA OLD BUS STATION

BIOREVOLUTION

BIOREVOLUTION 2017

MAD PHILOSOPHY

THE SUMMERCHOOL

APPLY TO MAD IF:

Selected students will be announced online on June 9, 2017

STUDENTS 2017

The master

JĒKABS DIMITERS

Workshops

ANDRIS ŠČEGLOVS

ELIZABETE CĀNS, OSVALDS CĀNS

and GATIS KLEINBERGS

VIZMA ZVIRBULE

Tutors and lecturers

WANG & SÖDERSTRÖM (DK)

OS ∆ OOS (NL)

XIAMYRA DAAL (NL)

MISCHER ‘ TRAXLER STUDIO (AT)

KATHARINA MISCHER, ELISA POLNER

DARIA MELNIKOVA (LV)

ÁDÁM ALBERT (HU)

RIHARDS FUNTS (LV)

MĀRCIS ZIEMIŅŠ (LV)

Supervisor

Claude Oprea

Mentors

GUNDEGA SKUDRIŅA (LV)

ANDRIS JUGĀNS (LV)

Into the Body Morning Sessions

with SABINA ABDULAJEVA (DE)

MAD LOCATION

The team

RIHARDS FUNTS

Co-Founder, Program director

LIENE KUPLĀ

Co-Founder, Administrative director

ELĪNA DRĀKE

Project manager

JĀNIS GAILĪTIS

Design management

TOMS LUCĀNS

MAD Lab leader