Confluence nr#3 ~ Nida Art Colony in Lithuania. January 14 till 24, 2026
"Now, bare riot of candles,
Dark fury of flowers,
Pure howling of hymns."
(From: For Renee Nicole Good-Killed by I.C.E. on January 7, 2026 - by Amanda Gorman)
A new year in a broken world......We know: existence is resistance ~ resistance is existence. We choose: solidarity over silence, courage over fear. May the force be with us in 2026.
Dear Friends,
Before drawing your attention to Confluence#3, our roaming academy's third landing of this academic year, we first wish to announce the opening of our
Admissions Trajectory 2026: A STUDENT IS SOMETHING TO BE
Now more than ever the Dutch Art Institute seeks to bring together a variety of praxes, languages, experiences, intuitions and queering positions, a plurivocal band of great people whom we believe will be able to connect with each other in an interesting, deep way through shared sensibilities, struggles and solidarities, rather than disciplining similarities.
Please take notice of the fact that we highly value informed and heartfelt recommendations from alumni, friends and comrades. We are looking forward to forthright and lively conversations with candidates brought in by you and will consider your endorsements with special interest and care.
We furthermore salute, with love and admiration, our incredible alumni who in 2020 initiated the DAI Friends and Alumni Grant as a grassroots fundraiser, and in 2026 continue to fundraise for the next generation of international DAI-students that are confronted with the painfully high tuition fees (which we, much to our regret, cannot change. Decision making in this regard rests with the government and the board of the overriding university)~ The solidarity between our alumni and students, extends far beyond the confines of the study trajectory and we have no words to describe how much this moves and motivates us.
Confluence#3 in Nida, Lithuania ~ January 14 till 24.
(Scroll for Protocols, Practicalities and Crew present on the ground.)
On the 14th of January, our students, tutors and crew returned to the warm premises of Nida Art Colony, at the outskirts of cold and wintry Nida, a town located on a remarkable small strip of land, wedged in between the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon.
During Confluence#3 our days in Nida will again unfold within the 4 defining curriculum components of our program, as always embracive of all gestures and movements extending within, around and beyond them:
Kitchen~ACTS
The third iteration of the Kitchen of this academic year, comes alive with the input of 16 student presenters, while our two esteemed guests Noah Brehmer and Jeanne van Heeswijk will share their improvised responses and reflections with the presenters and performers and with the student body at large.
The Kitchen presentations will be attended by Elisa Giuliano and Leire Vergara who will separately meet with 2nd year students (Elisa) and 1st year students (Leire) for feedback conversations. Kitchen ~ ACTS are convened by Gabriëlle Schleijpen, and supported by Peter Sattler.
Palestine Teach Outs#12
aimed at the entire DAI community, Vilnius based Noah Brehmer and Kamal Ahamada offer a two-part talk and discussion which unfolds as part of an ongoing correspondence on The Unavowable Holocaust (this text by The Anti-Denialist Coalition will be internally distributed as PDF, while print copies will be available for 1-5 eu donations).
How To Do Things With Theory
Accompanied by HTDTWT-education leader Dina A. Mohamed, the theory tutors present in NIDA are:
Dr. Sladja Blazan, Dr. Sarah Lewis-Cappellari, Dr. Amit S. Rai, Dr. Ghalya Saadawi, Dr. Hypatia Vourloumis, Dr. Grant Watson(present online) in close collaboration with PhD candidate Theresa Zwerschke (present on the ground).
Dina is to also offer the first iteration of Academic Writing sessions for the 1st year students steered towards the writing of their thesis proposal.
WEAVER
offers another beautifully wild compilation of student led classes, as well as this years second iteration of Sophia Zbinovsky Braddel's food research laboratory 'How To Cook Things While Roaming'. WEAVER's education leader is Nikos Doulos (this time remotely).
As always, our students are actively contributing to our modus operandi through their leadership of the Factory, the COUNCIL as well as the General Assembly.
COOP study groups
Supported by COOP-education leader Philippa (Flip) Driest, the COOP tutorial teams and their guests present in NIDA are:
Noor Abuarafeh, Eglė Bazaraitė, Frédérique Bergholtz, Santiago Calderón García, Marina Christodoulidou, Angelo Custodio, Jurga Daubaraitė, Alessandra Ferrini, Chiara Figone, Aziza Harmel, Daniellis Hernandez, Mokia Dinnyuy Manjoh, Harun Morrison, Jonas Žukauskas while Indrė Umbrasaitė, Pınar Öğrenci and Saba Innab join us remotely.
The DAI cherishes its 2025-2026 COOP partnerships with six core artistic research platforms & institutions, the driving forces behind the COOP study groups as commisioned by DAI:
*de Appel Amsterdam (Amsterdam)
*ARCHIVE ENSEMBLE (Berlin, Dakar, Milan)
*If I Can't Dance I Don't Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution (Amsterdam)
*Hosting Lands (Copenhagen)
*Neringa Forest Architecture (Vilnius, Nida, Basel)
*SAVVY Contemporary (Berlin)
DAI Confluence#3 ~ The Program From Day To Day:
Please check on a daily base, schedules + regular updates are to be found here.
DAI Confluence#3 ~ How To Live & Study Together at NAC
NAC (Nida Art Colony): A. Jonušo str. 3 Neringa LT-93127
Practical info and some agreements at NAC
Where and what in Nida and Neringa
STUDENTS: WHO TO CONTACT; WHEN AND ABOUT WHAT ?
DAI's Code of Conduct for Staff-Student Contacts
Support Structure ~ Crew present on the ground at Nida:
Hospitality & care facilitator Kastė Šeškevičiūtė assisted by Artūras Čertovas.
Senior co-ordinator for production & workspace facilities & study support: Peter Sattler.
Culinary input (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for this entire DAI Confluence by Jonas Palekas & Povilas Bužinskas, invited and supervised by DAI's 'chef de cuisine' Sophia Zbinovsky Braddel.
Remotely active to co-shape this third Confluence:
Study trajectory counsellor and education leader WEAVER Nikos Doulos, website curator, editor-in-chief Giulia Crispiani, house style designers Lauren Alexander & Hanna Rullmann, and last but not least: chair of admissions Marika Vandekraats.
The Back-Office (making it all possible!):
Our senior co-ordinator "roaming" finances, logistics and office management Jacq van der Spek along with our bookkeeper Corine van der Wal. Travel Support: Hemminkways.
Please consult our CREW page for a complete overview and more information about the division of tasks.
