Amsterdam-based visual artist Emma Milasiute talks to us about her work with Studio Raito, festival highlights, and how she got her start in the industry.
The name Emma Milasiute may sound unfamiliar to you, but if you have frequented any Dutch and Belgian festivals this year you may be familiar with her work. A close collaborator of the Amsterdam-based collective Studio Ratio, Emma’s contributions have been vital to the visual experiences of world-renowned festivals such as Dekmantel, Horst Arts & Music, Waking Life, and DGTL Amsterdam.
While studying architecture and spatial design at Rotterdam’s Willem de Kooning Academy, Emma began integrating her love for electronic music into her studies. Her ability to blend light, colour, and space adds dynamic, multi-sensory, and ethereal elements to any stage she operates.
Apart from her musical excursions, Emma Milasiute is pursuing her research through her independent project, AJNA. Utilising colour and space to guide people through varying mental states, this site-specific installation explores the links between colour theory and emotion. Emma has showcased her exhibition several times now around Rotterdam at venues such as Weelde, Mono Rotterdam, and Cultuurpodium Perron.
In her interview with //SNCMAG, Emma talks about her history, AJNA, electronic music, and more…
What was your life like growing up?
I’m from Lithuania, originally. I grew up as an artistic kid. I loved to draw, and I also took music lessons, so I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. Eventually, I decided to become an architect, and I moved to the Netherlands to study. This is where the journey really began.
During the course, I did a study called spatial design, which gave you more of an overview of the concept of space. Then, I discovered the world of installation art that features at music festivals. I thought it was really cool.
You did some VR projects whilst attending Willem de Kooning Academy. Was this when the digital world became a fascination for you?
Yeah, correct. Those were our school projects. We had to create a bar or club experience with an emphasis on its spatial design, but we had to do it in VR. At that time, I was already starting to like installation art and I had discovered an installation that had inspired me was being showcased at DGTL Festival. It was run by Studio Raito.
Afterwards, I returned to my project and began experimenting with small installations. That’s how it started. That was when I started going deeper into experience-based installations.
I’m guessing electronic music was a significant part of your life at this point.
I’ve always been listening to electronic music more than others. For instance, when I was in high school, there wasn’t really a big scene in Lithuania that I knew of. Most people I knew were listening to Eurovision or some pop, but I was listening to more electronic music. I guess I was one of the odd ones.
It was more like background music to me. I didn’t really give much thought to who was creating it or the culture behind it. Then, I moved here and witnessed this world of festivals and art. It wasn’t just the music. It was also digital art and architecture. The way it all came together was fascinating to see.
What type of stuff were you listening to when you first moved to Amsterdam?
I think it was more melodic techno and stuff like that. I would say it was maybe a bit more on the commercial side, and then slowly from there I started moving more towards the underground. Seeing all of these artists and live experiences was new and interesting to me. Seeing how it’s done and how you can collaborate with these artists. There is so much thought that goes into it.
How did these experiences influence your perspective on scenography and lighting performance?
I was always fascinated by the lights and lasers. I remember going to these events and trying to figure out the process behind it all. Was it time-coded or manually operated? I had no idea how it was done. I guess those were the thoughts that would occupy my mind whenever I went clubbing. That’s what influenced me to look deeper into how I could do this?
How did you get your first gigs?
I got into the industry at the weirdest time because it was during Corona. I had to get an internship as I was in my third year. It was kind of unfortunate for me as I was trying to enter the industry when nothing was happening. At one point, I had a few internships almost secured, then the second wave hit. It was a bit of a roller coaster, but in the end, I actually contacted DGTL Festival.
They were very kind to reply and told me about the designer of their venues. When I checked, all they had was an Instagram page. I just reached out to them and got the internship from there. This is when I started learning more about those processes that always fascinated me.
It was kind of lucky to start during Corona because I got to gradually settle myself into this fast-paced industry instead of being thrown in headfirst. I learned a lot at my internship, and when the restrictions started to lift, I got my first gigs through Studio Raito, whom I work with heavily to this day.
Is that how you ended up at Horst Festival?
Yeah, exactly. I think that was the first time I controlled the lights myself. It was a very tiny stage, but full of energy. In general, the Belgian crowd and the crowd at Horst is amazing! One of the best crowds you could get at a festival for sure. The vibe was extra special this time as it was the first edition after two years of nothingness.
Everybody was so happy to be there. To have the opportunity to meet people and finally do the thing that I love. It was the perfect stage to start working on because it was small yet comfortable. Horst was a really special moment for me.
Did your experiences at Horst come before or after AJNA?
So, it was before and after because I worked at Horst for 2 years. During my second year at Horst, I was also conducting research for my graduation project. It was about how colours and light affect people’s state of mind, and if they notice those moments. Do they notice when their state of mind is being influenced by their environment, for instance? It’s not only the music, but also the colours, the strobes, etc.
What was the design process like for AJNA? What technology were you using, and how were you piecing things together?
So, I started with a pure interest in colour theory and how it affects your state of mind. Not only the colour itself but the colour of the space surrounding you from all sides in a similar fashion to light.
I had an LED strip in my home, and I would just turn on a colour. Red, blue, green, yellow, it didnt matter. Then, I would set it to run for around 10 minutes whilst I sat in complete silence with that one colour enveloping me. Afterwards, I would write down my stream of consciousness.
It got to a point where I would write for 10 minutes nonstop. I would write down how I felt and what was going through my mind. I would then kind of self-analyse and figure out which state of mind it brought me to.
I did this with other people as well. As you may know, one person is not enough for research, so I tested this on my friends and family. Eventually, I began to see similarities in the research. When I finally condensed everything gained from the experiments, colour theory, colour psychology, psychoanalysis and chakra theories, I found that lots of things were intertwined.
How did that project change your trajectory?
I think it defined not only my artistry but also the themes and topics that surround my work. I had to do a lot of re-evaluations of myself before I had even started the project. I was a bit lost with what I wanted to do, and the teachers always asked me questions like; who are you as an artist? What defines you? This project has to define what you are going to do for the rest of your life! It all sounded so scary.
I eventually came to terms with the fact that this is really close to me. Nowadays, when I look back, whatever I do is always about the correlation of space and people’s mindset in the psychological aspects of your experience.
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So, post-university you’re working for Raito?
Actually, I’m still freelance-based, but I collaborate with them a lot. I started working with them after my internship, but I was already working with them during my last year of university. I was trying to combine it with my studies, but I decided to focus on graduating before fully entering the working world.
What are some highlights of yours from working at festivals?
I loved working during Dekmantel festival this summer. It was the first time I worked with them and the stage I had was absolutely amazing. It was like a tunnel with two screens on each side of the room. I think it was around 25 meters in length. You could really play with the feelings of speed, motion, and movement in that room. Conceptually, I wanted to bring the visitors on a journey through space and time.
The whole experience was incredibly satisfying. I put a lot of thought into it, as I had time to work on the visuals and prepare each set for each artist. I think that really showed in the final product.
It was one of the better ones for me, for sure. Another one was Waking Life this year. I was programming and operating one of the bigger stages in the festival. It was fun because it was the first time that I had to program lights with a lighting console. I had never done it before, and I didn’t have any experience or knowledge going into it. I just watched a load of YouTube tutorials and had to learn how to program this large console on the spot.
There was no Internet either because the festival is in a remote location. It was a fun journey, but I still can’t believe it went as smoothly as it did.
What advice would you give someone looking to get into your line of work?
I think it’s about learning the software that you see others using. Whether it’s as a VJ or a visual artist, I think doing research and watching tutorials on the internet as much as you can is a good place to start. That’s already good enough. After that, I would say that it’s definitely networking. Make connections with the people who work in the industry and you can start slow.
Take build-up crew, for instance. You can learn so much from there. It’s really hard physical work, and sometimes you’ll have to bring so many heavy lamps that your arms are falling off, but so much knowledge can be gained when you have an understanding of how it all comes together.
That’s my advice. Just be open-hearted and offer your help.
What software or technology should people be researching?
When I began my research, I was really interested in Touch Designer. Its a node-based visual programming software and quite a difficult one to learn, but you can do a lot of stuff with it. I only know probably 5% of its full capabilities, but there is so much that you can do. Then, for VJing, I usually use Resolume. Those two are the main ones that I’m using as well as Mad Mapper.
Who are some of your inspirations in scenography and lighting design?
I would say I’ve always been heavily inspired by Christopher Bauder. He’s a Berlin-based artist who does a lot of kinetic light installations that have always inspired me.
Lumus Instruments have also been an inspiration for a long time too. They are also Amsterdam-based, and they create beautiful installations for festivals and exhibitions.
I’m also quite inspired by the work of Setup Designs. They create beautiful stage designs and visuals. It’s always interesting to see how other people do this.
I would also like to mention Boris Acket. He’s one of those people who you would call a complete package. He not only does visual art, but he also knows a lot about sound. He works with theatre and participates in pretty much every part of art direction you could think of. He thinks of every detail. I think that’s what makes him so special.
What’s next for Emma Milasiute?
So, I think the next one that’s quite soon is Dalma Festival in Malta. It’s actually going to be the biggest video installation that Studio Raito has made. It’s also the largest one I have worked on, so it’s going to be a very exciting project.
Other than that, I’m not yet sure about next year, but I want to work on some of my own projects. During the festival season, I’m very busy at the monent, and I don’t really have the time and space to think about my own projects, but I’m always writing down ideas. So yeah, that’s something that I’m working towards.
