Events

Online launch of Memory Studies journal Special issue “The Return of Suppressed Memories in Eastern Europe: Locality and Unsilencing Difficult Histories”

Online launch on Facebook

29 September 17.00–18.30 EEST time, 16.00–17.30 CET time and 15.00–16.30 BST time
How are suppressed memories returning in Eastern Europe? What role does locality play in this process? How has this process been theorized and studied? And what kind of impact has Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine had to these articulations?

We are happy to invite you to the online launch of the recent Memory Studies journal Special Issue “The Return of Suppressed Memories in Eastern Europe: Locality and Unsilencing Difficult Histories” that was published in June 2022! During the launch authors will briefly introduce their articles that were published in the special issue by focusing on the notion of locality, one of the main keywords in this issue. The response of memory scholar Natalija Arlauskaitė will follow.

The special issue is part of the project “Communicating Difficult Pasts” (2019–2023), a project initiated by Estonian Academy of Arts and Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art and curated by Margaret Tali and Ieva Astahovska, who are also the editors of this Memory Studies Special issue. It grows out of the symposium Prisms of Silence organized in Tallinn, Estonian Academy of Arts in 2020.

Participants: Roma Sendyka (Jagiellonian University/Humboldt University), Asja Mandić (University of Sarajevo), Shelley Hornstein (York University), Mischa Twitschin (Goldsmiths, University of London), Ieva Astahovska (Latvian Centre for Contemporary Arts) and Margaret Tali (Estonian Academy of Arts). Natalija Arlauskaitė (Vilnius University) will act as a respondent.

LE–GEN–DAR–Y EKA FOX PARTY IS HERE!

It’s time to hold one of the craziest and most artistic EKA FOX PARTIES you’ve ever seen. The star of the event is the tradition of freshmen’s punch-performances, where the freshmen of each department prepare a punch drink in an extravagant performative presentation.

The party will be especially long and stripey, because this year Hartwall Original is here to be the main sponsor of the event! Several activities are planned, where everyone has a chance to win free long drinks. In addition, Hartwall puts out proper prizes for fox performances.

TICKETS

• EKA FOX 0€
• EKA TICKET*
  Early fox (until 22.09) 3€
  Sleepy fox 5€
• REGULAR TICKET
  Early fox (until 22.09) 7€
  Sleepy fox 10€

It is possible to pay in cash, by card or through Fienta system: https://fienta.com/et/eka-fox-party.

*Ticket is valid for all EKA students, workers and alumni who have to proove their connection with EKA at the event.

TIME
18:00 – DOORS
19:00 – EKA FOX PUNCH PERFORMANCES
21:00 – erootika303
22:00 – ants1
23:15 – YASMYN
00:10 – White Gloss
01:00 – Karl Martian
02:00 – Fake Versace

Event highlights will be captured by Enlil Sonn
Aftermovie will be made by Urmet Piiling

The event is by: EKA Üliõpilasesindus
The main sponsor of the event: Hartwall Original Long Drink Estonia

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/615222919956341/

Please join us for the launch of Flawless, Seamless – a new monograph by Marge Monko – on Friday, September 23 at 6 pm at Kai Art Center in Tallinn. At the launch Marge Monko will premiere her film Window on the Visible World, which is followed by a conversation with Maarin Ektermann. The film and book are in English, discussion is held in Estonian. During the launch the publication will be sold at a special price of 25 euros. 

Flawless, Seamless is the first monograph of Marge Monko, encompassing works from 2014 to 2021. The book presents nineteen works that explore what the artist calls “the architecture of desire,” drawing inspiration from public banners, print advertisements, shop displays, show windows, etc. These ubiquitous promotional strategies, designed to evoke an abiding, aspirational desire, suggest that the products they represent will fulfill the promise of luxury, romance, and happiness. Monko’s interest in these inseparable elements of capitalist society can be traced back to her childhood in the 1980s, which in the context of the Soviet Union was marked by the shortage of commodities.

The works are accompanied by an essay by curator and writer Moritz Scheper and three conversations with Monko’s fellow artists and friends, Erika Hock, Maruša Sagadin, and Paul Kuimet. In his text, Scheper makes connections between Monko’s earlier and more recent works, and elaborates on different femininities prevailing in East and West. The conversations touch upon the subjects such as artist’s work, materiality, collaboration, and bookmaking. The publication is edited by Laura Toots, designed by Indrek Sirkel, and published by Lugemik. The publication was supported by Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (Foku). 

The conversation with Maarin Ektermann is preceded by the premiere of Marge Monko’s film Window to the Visible World at 6.15 pm. The 21-minute film made in 2021 reflects upon the role of the window in architecture and visual culture. It is accompanied by a voice over written and read by the artist. A view from one’s window has been a recurrent motif in the history of visual art. Focusing on the legacy of the modernist architecture, the film draws parallels between the views from windows recorded in São Paulo and Tallinn. It follows different modes of images that equally serve as metaphors for the window – from engravings and paintings to virtual images on our computer and cell phone screens. The film was commissioned by Videobrasil in Context and Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center.

Marge Monko is a visual artist who lives and works in Tallinn. She has studied at the Estonian Academy of Arts, University of Applied Arts Vienna, and Higher Institute for Contemporary Art (HISK) in Ghent. Monko works with photography, video, and installation. Her works are inspired by historical images and theories of psycho-analysis, feminism, and visual culture. She works as a professor in the Department of Photography at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Maarin Ektermann is an art worker who deals with creating points of contact between contemporary art, more and less experimental education, art criticism, etc. In addition to managing several projects in the field of art, her focus has also been mediating what is happening in the field of art – both through writing art criticism and organising public debates. She has been one of the initiators and leaders of the art criticism blog Artishok, and hosted the show Kultuuriministeerium in Klassikaraadio (with I. Grigor). She has taught several different courses at the Estonian Academy of Arts, where she also works as the head of Centre for General Theory Subjects.

In the fall of 2022, Narva Art Residency’s international artists are going to give online lectures to tell in detail about the practice of a professional artist, what the everyday life of art residencies looks like, and how to take part in the opportunities offered. It’s a possibility for the wider English-speaking audience to get to know 6 professional artists and learn their tricks and tips as well learn about their artistc practices. Online lectures take place every two weeks starting from the 15th of September. Each time at 18 o’clock in the evening.

The lecture series is broadcasted at the EKA TV webpage – a platform of the Estonian Academy of Arts. The lectures will be available also for viewing later.

EKA TV link:  https://tv.artun.ee/nartavatudloengud/7reYLVjZtv

Schedule:
15.09 at 18.00 Kenneth Bamberg

29.09 at 18.00 Jacque Falcheti 

13.10 at 18.00 TBA

27.10 at 18.00 TBA

10.11 at 18.00 TBA

24.11 at 18.00 TBA

The first lecture is by Kenneth Bamberg, who is spenting a 3-month residency in Narva. He is a Finnish photography artist from the Åland Islands who explores the different angles cultural and traditional ways of expressing masculinity.

The second lecture is by Jacque Falcheti, a singer and songwriter from Brazil. She already took part in the Station Narva festival and will write 6 songs during the time of the residency about Narva.

The EKA School Fair has started in the EKA lobby

30.08–02.09 & 05.09–07.09

Lots of EKA merch – things that you can wear, give, use, lose and find again. Mainly buy.

See you at the EKA Fair!

Fashion design from here and there. The opening of DiMa. 

There has been a little cell of circular design working around in the corridors of the Estonian Academy of Arts for many years now. It has done science, created new materials, experimented with different design solutions and mapped out textile waste, and eliminated it by circulating it back by using different design methods. The 19th of September is the day for bringing it all into the spotlight and making it official. It is the opening of DiMa.  

On stage, you can see fashion design that has been made from industrial leftovers and post-consumer textile waste that has seen more countries than passionate travellers can dream of. As one of the research topics of DiMa is circular design, specifically upcycling and recycling the show brings you design that has been made by using the before-mentioned design methods. An enormous amount of textile waste has been brought back into circulation through design. 

Participants:
Dr. Reet Aus
Cärol Ott
Sandra Luks
Kristel Aimee Laur
Marta Konovalov
Maria Kristiin Peterson
Yvette Agani
Bibi Mwanzala
Loise Wangari
Olivia Njeri
TOKU shoes  

The event is co-funded by Estonian Environmental Investment Centre and European Regional Development Fund 

On the 2nd of September the recent graduates and current second years of the Masters of Contemporary Art Program will hold a studio sale at Uus Rada, Raja 11a.

Participating Artists include: Brenda Purtsak, Eero Alev, Heli Haav, Jamie Dean Avis, Janne Lias, Johannes Luik, Junny Yeung, Katariin Mudist, Kati Müüripeal, Lily Marleen Verilaskja, Maris Paal, Marleen Suvi, Maryliis Teinfeldt-Grins, Noah E. Morrison, Olev Kuma, Samuel Lehikoinen, Solveig Lill, Sophie Durand, Triin Türnpuu, Tõnis Laurson, Zody Burke

The aim of the event is to help generate sales of works to support the transition into professional practice following graduation and financing of projects to be produced in the final year of graduate studies. 100% of the money generated from sales will go to the artist. It will be a salon style exhibition, each artist will participate with up to 3 works in a salon style exhibition which will be held at Uus Rada (Raja 11a).

Available artworks can be seen AT THIS LINK 

Opening Reception:

2nd September 2022 – 19:00 – 22:00

The exhibition will be open to the public

3rd September 2022 from 12 – 18

4th September 2022 from 12 – 18

Sold works will be available for collection on the 5th of September.

Please contact Sophie Durand for more information at sophie.durand@artun.ee or +37256256468

FB: https://fb.me/e/2HiBXu8cc 

Social Design Days

8-9 September, EKA

In Estonia, 40.000 children are affected by mental illness. €164 million worth of food is discarded every year. And there is an urgent need to understand the difficult experience of the over 45.000 Ukrainian refugees that have arrived to our country. How could an expertise in social design help us to deal with these issues?

Twenty-two professionals in the field are meeting at the Estonian Academy of Arts to discuss questions such as: 

• What is the political impact of design?
• Why is design a social practice?
• And can we understand social transformations with design techniques?

The frontiers of design are rapidly expanding within society; In the recent years, design practice has moved beyond the ideation of commercial products and is more and more considered as a set of techniques for engaging with complex problems.  Hence, there is a need to open up the roles of design within wider economic and political issues.

As explained by Bori Fehér, leader of the Social Design Research HUB at MOME: “This event will contribute to giving form to a rapidly expanding field of study, developing new ways of inclusive design and social intervention in Estonia”.

EKA is opening a new MA programme in Social Design. Students will gain an understanding of design as a political force, while expanding their capacity to intervene in contemporary issues and comprehend social transformations.

Experienced colleagues from all over Europe are joining us to discuss the key questions in the field. For instance, Guy Julier has written about activism and the economies of design; Jesko Fezer about architecture and community making; Eeva Berglund about how to research environmental activism; Adam Drazin about design anthropology; Jussi Koitela about hospitality and interdisciplinary projects; Maija Rozenfelde about design institutions; Liene Ozoliņa about social theory; Bianca Herlo about bottom-up politics and civic infrastructures; and Alvise Mattozzi about innovation and sustainability, just to name a few key topics of expertise. 

Likewise, we are organising a series of experimental workshops and fieldtrips with local and international colleagues, exploring a wide range of issues, such as multi-species communication, mental health and indigenous rights.

As a result, Tallinn will become the European capital of Social Design in September.

Thursday, 8 September A-101

10:30 Round table: What can social design promise?

Participants: Bori Fehér (MOME Budapest), Guy Julier (Aalto), Alvise Mattozzi (Politecnico Torino), Ruth-H. Melioranski (EKA)

13:30 Open formats A-307

• Feral Tracking / Multispecies Conversari by Hermione Spriggs (UCL)
• Design for advocacy in the Global South by Nathaly Pinto (Aalto)

16:00 Field visit to Paljassaare by Andra Aaloe

Friday, 9 September A-306

10:15 Round table: When, where, with whom, what for? The social is not singular

Participants: Eeva Berglund (Aalto), Jesko Fezer (HFBK Hamburg), Bianca Herlo (UDK Berlin), Liene Ozoliņa (Latvian Academy of Culture)

13:15 Round Table: How do we evaluate interdisciplinary projects?

Participants: Adam Drazin (UCL), Jussi Koitela (Frame Finland); Maija Rozenfelde (Art Academy of Latvia), Indrek Sirkel (EKA)

15:00 Open Format: Social Design projects in EKA

• Ott Kagovere & Sandra Nuut: snail mail, redesigning the times and spaces that we give ourselves to say and understand things
• Eva Liisa Kubinyi & Maarja Mõtus, mitigating mental health problems among youth 
• Kristi Kuusk, social design for children with special needs
• Urmas Lüüs, loneliness of elderly people

16:15 Field visit to Lasnamäe by Maria Derlõš

Please, register here.

For more details, please contact:
Francisco Martínez
francisco.martinez@artun.ee / +372 58038079

This project of the Baltic-German University Liaison Office is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic Germany.

On Friday, September 2, starting at 12:00, the opening ceremony of the 2022/23 academic year will be held. The ceremony lasts approximately 1.5 hours.

On September 6, 2022, the Estonian Academy of Arts will organize a conference analyzing the vast scope of possibilities for innovation in the era of digital reality, looking more specifically into the fields of architecture, spatial design, creativity, innovation, and design education in relation to the possibilities offered by the means of digital reality.

PROGRAM

There is no fee for the conference, but you are kindly asked to sign up in advance.

The previous conference of the Estonian Academy of Arts Faculty of Architecture dissecting digital reality took place in 2019. In the years since, the world around us has changed – many say, irreversibly.

The pandemic hit the global economy and culture with unprecedented force, forcing all to restructure our lives, businesses and leisure habits. The global wave of lockdowns catalyzed e-commerce, distance learning and work-from-home, as well as all digital platforms. Innovations in digital reality have gained momentum and have now become a source of completely new possibilities.

The concept of innovation radiates throughout the economy and culture today. It has been argued that for innovation to be radical, it must be design-based. We can trace logical steps from creativity and invention to design and innovation in our lives. It can be assumed that the design thinking that was highly promoted in recent decades was a bit premature. Only now, with the emergence of digital reality, has it become fully meaningful – through digital platforms, most human labor is being pre-designed.

At the conference, we will speculate on the future of space, architecture, creation, innovation and design education in the age of digital reality. Dr. Roberto Verganti will dissect innovation as the keynote speaker at the conference with his lecture titled “Design-Driven Innovation and Radical Invention of Arts”. Speakers include Emil Adamec (Brno University of Technology, Charles University), Gao Xu (Taiyuan University of Technology), Cheng Lu(Cardiff University), Max Eschenbach and Prof. Dr. Oliver Tessmann(Darmstadt University of Technology), Prof. Roemer van Toorn (UMA School of Architecture), Dr. Siim Tuksam (Estonian Academy of Arts) and Martin Melioranski (Estonian Academy of Arts). The sessions are moderated by Professor Toomas Tammis and Professor Dr. Andres Kurg. The panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Jüri Soolep.

The conference takes place within the TAB Tallinn Architecture Biennale, always aimed at looking boldly into the future.

More about the conference.

The conference is supported by the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Estonian Association of Architects, the Estonian Cultural Endowment, the Estonian Ministry of Culture, and the European Regional Development Fund.