Open Design Lecture: Kai Lobjakas

Art historian and curator Kai Lobjakas will give an open lecture, “Was there design in Eastern Europe? Retrotopia Case,” on Tuesday, 24 September, at 16:00 in room A501. In her lecture, she will discuss the research and exhibition project “Retrotopia. Design for Socialist Spaces” (2023).

“Retrotopia. Design for Socialist Spaces” was a project that led to a comprehensive exhibition during the summer of 2023 in Berlin at the Kunstgewerbemuseum, initiated by Claudia Banz. The aim was to search for the traces of the almost unknown visions, design practices and contexts both for the public and private spehre of the former Soviet bloc and Yugoslavia in order to add a layer to the prevailing Western perspective in design history and research.

The Design Open Lecture series 2024 is part of Sandra Nuut and Ruth-Helene Melioranski’s Design Issues course. It is public and open to all.

Kai Lobjakas is an art historian and curator, from 2014 head of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (ETDM). Her focus of interest lay both in the post-war and contemporary applied art and design practices, especially the intersections of these fields. Besides building the design collection at the museum, she has compiled and edited catalogues with a focus on Estonian design phenomena, including the Between Art and Industry. Art Products’ Factory in Tallinn (2013), Local Beauty. Tarbeklaas (2016). She has initiated and curated exhibitions, such as Design as Experiment. Tõnis Käo (2014), Kitchen. Changing Space, Design and Applied Art in Estonia (2016). A permanent exhibition of Estonian design curated by her was opened at ETDM in 2022. She was the chair of ICOM ICDAD, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Decorative Arts and Design during 2019-2022 and is chairing the national committee ICOM Estonia.