Augustina Lavickaitė. Visual research and storytelling.
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Research Night: Material Diplomacy, Gifts, Protocols, and Soft Power (2026)
Curation and organization
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Research Night (April 16th 2026)
Nieuwe Insituut, Rotterdam

Photography by Floor Besuijen Diplomatic gifts are more than just polite exchanges between states: they influence relationships, reveal power dynamics and expose the invisible rules that govern international relations. This Research Night will explore how objects, buildings and rituals form part of diplomatic codes, and how we can understand them in all their complexity. 

The evening is a collaboration with Pyeori Jung and Augustina Lavickaite. In their design and research project Material Diplomacy, they examine objects donated to the Vatican during moments of political conflict and change, viewing them as bearers of material, symbolic and political significance.

They will be joined by speakers Suzanne Schols, Nadim Choufi and Łukasz Stanek. In her work Polite Fictions, visual artist Suzanne Schols investigates how diplomatic gifts in the Netherlands and Europe are subject to strictly regulated forms of visibility.

Lebanese artist and editor Nadim Choufi approaches diplomacy as a physical and political practice, demonstrating how diplomatic structures influence people, landscapes and ecological systems.

Finally, Łukasz Stanek, Professor of Architecture at Taubman College, will share insights from the exhibition The Gift: Stories of Generosity and Violence in Architecture about the meaning of architecture as a gift.
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Last updated Jan 2026