The research and artistic creation agenda within the study field “Arts” systematically advances practice-based, interdisciplinary methodologies that strategically mobilise digital innovation to foster social inclusion, the expansion of creative industries, and drive comprehensive educational transformation. Institutionally, this field operates within a rigorously structured three-cycle ecosystem, culminating in the doctoral programme “Media Arts and Creative Technologies”, wherein both international and national dimensions are strategically leveled through formal partnership agreements and established academic networks.
The programme’s official institutional partners encompass the SMARTlab PhD programme at University College Dublin, Ireland, and the Holon Institute of Technology, Israel, complemented by sustained collaborative relationships with the Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC/LKA), Riga Technical University’s (RTU) Liepaja Academy. This institutional consortium consolidates academic mobility initiatives, facilitates joint scholarly events, and enables doctoral-level academic exchanges. Within this comprehensive framework, the field systematically develops prototypes and validates immersive media technologies (VR/AR/MR/xR) and artificial intelligence-driven applications, positioning creative practice and critical reflection as fundamental research methodologies and primary sources of scholarly knowledge.
Non-governmental organizations constitute integral components of the programme’s research ecosystem. The Centre for New Media Culture RIXC substantially contributes to collaborative content creation, research dissemination strategies, and the organisation of conferences and creative laboratories, thereby reinforcing the field’s commitment to public scholarship and strengthening industry-academic interfaces. Scholarly publication and research dissemination are anchored by the peer-reviewed journal ADAM arts (Architecture, Design and Audiovisual Media Arts), which serves as the pre-eminent regional platform for both theoretical investigations and practice-based research, regularly featuring scholarly contributions from doctoral candidates and international researchers.
The field’s intellectual capital demonstrates exceptional international scope and academic distinction. Faculty members and associated researchers include, inter alia, Dr. Ellen Pearlman, a New York-based pioneering scholar in immersive and AI media arts; Dr. Christopher Hales, renowned for pioneering work in interactive film and experimental cinema; Professor Rasa Šmite and Professor Raitis Šmits, distinguished media arts scholars affiliated with RIXC; Dr. Pierre Jolivet, an internationally acclaimed music composer and Dr. Raivo Kelomees, an esteemed media-arts scholar based in Tallinn. This distinguished academic architecture ensures that research outputs—particularly in the domains of immersive media and artificial intelligence—consistently meet the rigorous international academic standards while delivering demonstrable impact across creative industries and contributing substantively to the broader economy.
Dean of the Faculty:
Assistant Professor, Dr. Aigars Ceplītis (Senior Researcher)
Head of the Study Field “Arts”:
Mg.Art., Daira Āboliņa (Researcher)
Participants:
- Dr. Ellen Pearlman (Senior Researcher)
- Dr. Christopher Hales (Researcher).
- Dr. Pierre Jolivet (Researcher)
- Mg.Art. Sabrina Durling-Jones (Faculty, Researcher)
- Dr. Ieva Gintere (Faculty)
- Dr. Rasa Šmite (Faculty)
- Dr. Raitis Šmits (Faculty)
- Dr. Raivo Kolomees (Faculty)
- Doctoral students
Partners:
Simona Orinska and Multimedia Performance Group (Margita Zālīte, Ineta Sipunova, Laine Kristberga, Alvis Misjuns); Dr art Raitis Šmits (assoc. prof.); Liepaja University