From September 16 to 20, 2024, the second phase of the DESIG*ness Summer School project took place at the Art Academy of Latvia (LMA). This phase continues to develop inclusive design solutions aimed at improving accessibility to higher education and cultural venues for blind and visually impaired youth.

The program includes three interdisciplinary workshops, developed in close collaboration with blind and visually impaired individuals to co-create accessibility solutions while expanding understanding of how other senses participate in the creative process.

Participants include students from various disciplines—representing Textile, Interior, and Graphic Design from the Art Academy of Latvia, as well as Communication, Fashion, and Architecture students from the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA), Milan, and the Vilnius Academy of Arts. The workshops also involve teachers, students, and alumni from the Rīga Strazdumuiža Secondary School Development Center, who are currently studying at various Latvian universities.

The program leader for the second phase of the DESIG*ness Summer School in Riga is LMA professor Barbara Ābele, along with project manager Vineta Kreigere.

Workshop leaders include: director Elīna Cērpa, architect Ieva Lāce-Lukševica, designer Rihards Funts, researcher Adele Bērziņa, artists Ūna Laukmane and LMA professor Ieva Krūmiņa.

Workshop Themes:

Movement and Space (led by director Elīna Cērpa and architect/designer Ieva Lāce Lukševica)
This workshop explores how movement helps individuals perceive and understand the surrounding world through the full engagement of the body. Movement is used as a tool to create inclusive scenography for a production at the Latvian Puppet Theatre. Through targeted movement exercises, participants will gain insight into how the entire body contributes to perceiving the environment, generating ideas for scenography that can be equally experienced by both sighted and visually impaired individuals. Scenography prototypes will be tested for different themes within the performance.

Materiality (led by artists Ūna Laukmane and Ieva Krūmiņa)
In this five-day materiality lab, participants will work with various materials, exploring how they tell their own stories. They will experiment with the reactions of materials, environment, and light, which can be both complementary and contrasting. The interaction between humans and materials will be examined, considering the emotional dimensions of this relationship.

Accessibility of Visual Arts for People with Visual Impairments (led by designer Rihards Funts and curator/researcher Adele Bērziņa)
This workshop takes place at the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMM) and aims to explore how to create inclusive multi-sensory solutions in collaboration with the visually impaired community. The goal is to enrich the existing experience of the Latvian art collection and enhance the museum’s educational programs for both visually impaired audiences and the wider public. The workshop will develop ideas and proposals for integrating auditory, tactile, and olfactory elements into the experience and interpretation of visual art.

The final presentations of the workshops will be held on September 20, 2024, at 1:30 PM in Building 2 of the Art Academy of Latvia (13 Kalpaka Boulevard).

The DESIG*ness Summer School consists of three phases:

• The first phase took place at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Milan, from September 2–6, 2024;
• The second phase is taking place in Riga at the Art Academy of Latvia, from September 16–20, 2024;
• The final phase is scheduled in Lithuania at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, from September 23–27, 2024.

The goal of the DESIG*ness project is to develop international teacher training courses and guidelines for creating inclusive environments in art and design schools. The project involves six partners from Italy, Lithuania, and Latvia. It began at the end of 2023 and will continue for three years.