MASU at the «Arctic Sustainable Art and Design» simposium (Rovaniemi, Finland)

• 23.11.2017
• 2582

9-13 November 2017, the University of Lapland (Rovaniemi, Finland) held an international UArctic symposium «Relate North».

An opening speech was given by Timo Jokela, the dean of the Faculty of Art and Design. In his message, Timo presented the international network ASAD, whose goal is to stimulate cooperation between universities and society, focus on northern Arctic issues in the field of arts, design and visual culture; improving the practice of teaching art, design and visual culture among members of the UArctic.

Thematic network was focused on:

1. Cooperation between / or universities, institutes, industries and society in the north and in the Arctic
2. Modern and innovative practices in teaching, learning, researching and sharing knowledge in the field of education, art, design and visual culture
3. Various aspects of sustainability: environmental, economic, educational and socio-cultural.

To support the implementation of annual goals, ASAD will:

• hold symposia on education in the field of design, art, visual culture in the Arctic;
• Support joint presentations at national and international seminars and congresses;
• Initiate joint seminars and workshops for students, teachers and researchers of the Arctic
• Support educational cooperation in the field of design, art, visual culture and craft education through joint educational programs;
• Support exhibitions, events and publications;
• Initiate joint scientific and research projects;
• Support the development of research methods sensitive to the context of research projects and art and design practices in the Arctic.

The symposium gathered participants from more than 10 countries around the world. In their reports, participants presented the experience of northern design creation, the problems of the sustainability of art and design in the Arctic, the prospects for the development of the Arctic visual culture. In the dialogue and interaction, the network participants developed plans for further cooperation.

Murmansk Arctic State University was represented by the dean of the faculty of Art and Services Tatiana Ashutova and manager of international cooperation office Mikhail Uksusov. The international community learned about the strategic project of the MASU «Creative City — Development territory». The report aroused great interest.

One of the organizers of the symposium, Professor Glen Coutts, noted that the development of our region and the city of Murmansk reminded him of a story with the city of Glasgow, which became known after the city began its evolvement through design and tourism. One of the seminar participants asked if we were planning to bring the cluster of northern design to the international level. The cluster of northern design should appear on the territory of our region, and in the future we will think about its promotion at the international level, as planned.