Students of HSE University–St Petersburg School of Art and Design Paint Transport of Indian Partner University
Students of the School of Art and Design at HSE University–St Petersburg went on an art expedition to India together with Dean Mitya Kharshak and senior lecturer Ekaterina Filipenko. The delegation not only visited the partner university LPU and met local visual artists but also left their artistic mark on the campus territory. Read on to find out more.
The local visual phenomenon of painting got the attention of Mitya Kharshak, Dean of the St Petersburg School of Art and Design, during a trip to AICGS (the Annual International Conference and Global Summit) in October 2025. Almost immediately, he had the idea to create a partner course, and in December, anyone interested could apply for the first intake.
The main part of the course is a trip to India, where students participated in the traditional transport painting. Before the trip, they studied Indian mythology and visual traditions. The expedition will result in a film and a book, which are to be presented at HSE International Partners' Week in St Petersburg in late May.
For LPU students, Mitya Kharshak held his famous workshop on monograms, and Ekaterina Filipenko held one on animation and illustration.
'We gave the participants the chance to work with modular fonts using stencil plates created by Fedor Abroskin (curator of the Communication Design track): the students wrote their names and the word "design" in English, and then duplicated the names in Hindi. Delivering a class in a foreign language is an interesting experience. But was also surprising to hear Russian speech and a playlist featuring Russian songs from our Indian colleagues,' shared Angelika Sarkisyan and Elizaveta Ostrovskaya, first-year students of the Art Direction of Cultural Institutions track of the Master's in Design.
The participants are now working on materials based on the results of the trip, and the School of Art and Design is preparing to welcome the guests in St Petersburg.
Mitya Kharshak
Dean of the School of Art and Design
'Our presentation of the St Petersburg School of Art and Design at the partner university was very effective. The students' presentations in English were great, and Indian colleagues showed a strong interest in their projects, asked questions, got to know them, and talked a lot,' highlighted Mitya Kharshak, Dean of the St Petersburg School of Art and Design. 'I am thrilled by this region because of my personal interest and well-developed partnerships. This time, our students could immerse themselves in this culture as well. I hope the course will be a good start for future expeditions. I am grateful to the administration of HSE University–St Petersburg and LPU for their support. This is just the start!'
The School of Art and Design continues to develop international partnerships: the project with LPU was the first experimental attempt at creating a course in which students directly interact with colleagues from all over the world. Its positive results demonstrate the potential of such a practice in the educational process.
On March 15, HSE University–St Petersburg is holding an Open Day for bachelor's and master's applicants to the School of Art and Design. Find out more about studies and extracurricular life at the school at the Rope Shop Educational Space on Vasilievsky Island. More details are available via the link.
