Long-standing Lithuanian–Ukrainian cultural cooperation gains new momentum
For more than five years, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA) has closely collaborated with the I. K. Karpenko-Kary National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television in Kyiv. This spring, LMTA lecturers visited Kyiv on “Erasmus+” teaching mobility visits, and from June 4 to 14 they received a reciprocal visit in Lithuania by a delegation from that Ukrainian university, also under the Erasmus+ mobility programme.
The Ukrainian delegation included director and Honored Artist of Ukraine, Head of the Department of Puppet Arts, Associate Professor Dr. Ruslan Neupokoyev; director and set designer, lecturer in the same department Mariia Pohrebniak; and the university’s Head of International Relations, Olha Poltavets.
During the visit, the guests met with Ilona Balsytė, Dean of the Faculty of Theatre and Dance; Žilvinas Vingelis, Head of the Acting and Directing Department; Associate Professor Vytautas Dambrauskas, Head of the National Film School; and Loreta Jonavičienė, Dean of the Klaipėda Faculty. In Klaipėda, the guests also met with actor and director Professor Valentinas Masalskis, theatre director Árpád Schilling, and Karolina Chomičienė, Head of the Puppet Theatre study programme, discussing very concrete possibilities for collaboration.
A notable meeting was held with LMTA Film School administrator Jurga Mačionytė and Theatre and Dance Faculty administrator Kristina Kazilionienė—the guests had the opportunity to see up close LMTA’s new buildings, modern cinema and theatre halls, and classrooms.
According to the guests, the impressions were so strong that they have no doubt they will return here several times, bringing their students and fellow lecturers with them.
It also emerged during the visit that, at the initiative of LMTA’s Film School, the Kyiv university has become an associate partner of the European Film University Alliance “FilmEU.” This opens new opportunities for even closer cooperation with all eight Alliance members, both in academic and creative spheres.
The guests had the opportunity to observe final examinations of acting, film, and puppet theatre students, participate in a master class led by the renowned Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi, and attend the solemn ceremony in which the director was awarded the honorary doctorate of LMTA.
“It seems impossible to list everything—so many concrete arrangements have already been discussed,” Olha Poltavets shared in an interview on LRT radio. One of the most important outcomes is a joint theatre project this summer in Klaipėda involving Ukrainian students together with Professor Valentinas Masalskis. They also discussed the possibility for students from the Kyiv university’s Film Department to take part in a creative residency at the home of the famous Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi (now also an honorary doctor of LMTA) in Poland. Cooperation was agreed with the Head of the Puppet Theatre programme at the Klaipėda Faculty in the field of puppet theatre festivals—specific steps for the future have been outlined.
“We lived here, observed and learned every day. It’s beyond belief how much we saw and learned,” said Olha Poltavets.
This visit once again confirmed that the long-standing cooperation between Lithuanian and Ukrainian art schools not only strengthens academic and creative ties but also contributes to a vibrant, meaningful international cultural dialogue.
International Relations Office
2025 06 13
