Events

SISU is a major event in the field of Estonian interior architecture and spatial design, which deals with topics related to interior architecture. The symposium has become a meeting place for recognized theorists and practitioners in the field of (interior) architecture from all over the world. This year’s SISU will take place from the 13th until the 2oth of June  in the premises of the National Archives film archive in Pelgulinn. The focal point of SISU is an exhibition and the accompanying symposium, which will take place on 13th of June at 5.00 p.m.

The title of this year’s exhibition … And Nothing is Forever refers to the question of temporality in spatial design. Participants from all over Europe were asked to open up the current state of their profession through one artefact that was to be sent to Tallinn with the smallest size box of the international postal service. Both found objects and works created especially for this event will be on display at the symposium. However, the participants had to take into account the fact that after the end of the exhibition they wouldn’t get back their works. The objects will be put back in the boxes and they will remain in the building as a unified time capsule. 

The curators of the Time Capsule project, Aet Ader, Karin Tõugu Gregor Taul and Pavle Stamenovic, invited 50 individuals and offices from Estonia and abroad to participate in SISU this time, and half of them responded with an artefact. Among the participants are interior architects, architects, designers, artists, urban activists, material researchers, furniture makers, creative researchers as well as performance artists, all of whom have come into contact with the field of interior architecture in one way or another. Attempts have been made to capture the spirit of the era and the profession both through text-based manifestos and ephemeral mock-ups.

In the exhibition, the artefacts enter into a dialogue with the cells of the Ristiku 84 building, which was built as a prison for the Tallinn garrison in the 1950s. It is a unique horseshoe-shaped prison, which reflects the 18th century English enlightener Jeremy Bentham’s idea of a penitentiary as a panopticon. Although the neoclassical prison underwent a thorough renovation in the 1990s when it was converted into an archive, the cells on the first floor were left intact. Films have been shot in these rooms, and architecture enthusiasts have been able to get to know the house as part of the annual Museum Nights, but the house is unknown to the general public. It may happen that it will stay that way, because it is not known what the state will do with the building after the Film Archive moves out. It is not a listed building, moreover, the building is in poor condition, has a somewhat tainted history and is located on a valuable plot. Based on current practice, the entire complex – along with the “buried” SISU 2024 time capsule – is threatened with demolition.

The SISU exhibition opens at 3 p.m on the 13th of June. At 4 p.m there will be a guided tour in the Film Archives building led by its director Eva Näripea. The symposion will take place from 5 p.m to 7 p.m. The exhibition will remain open from the 14th to the 20th of June, Mon-Thu 9 a.m to 5 p.m, Fri 9 a.m to 4 p.m. Further information in English below.

SISU is supported by the Cultural Foundation, the Ministry of Culture, Film Archive of the National Archives of Estonia and the Estonian Association of Interior Architects. In addition to the curators, Gregor Taul and Annamari Nael from the EKA Department of Interior Architecture and graphic designer Anna Kaarma belong to the organizing team of the symposium.

Initial list of participants:

45 degrees (Greece/Germany) – https://www.forty-five-degrees.com/

Hanna Loora Arro

Ljubica Arsic (Serbia/Switzerland) – https://ljubicaarsic.com/

Masayo Ave (Japan/Germany) – https://www.masayoavecreation.org/

Jean Jacques Balzak (France) – https://www.instagram.com/jeanjacquesbalzac/

Laurens Bekemans (Belgium) – https://bcmaterials.org/

Katarina Bonnevier (Sweden) – https://mycket.org/

Janka Csernak (Hungary) – https://mome.hu/en/people/janka-csernak

Aleksandr Delev (Germany) – https://www.aleksandrdelev.com/

Davor Eres (Serbia) – https://ifdt.bg.ac.rs/dt_team/eres-davor/?lang=en

Failed Architecture (Holland) – https://failedarchitecture.com/

Caterina Figuera (Spain/Switzerland) – https://rotativestudio.com/

Ana Filipovic (Germany) – https://www.ana-filipovic.com/

Daniel Fuchs (Switzerland) – https://bach-muehle-fuchs.ch/

Atelier Gapont (Liechenstein) – https://ateliergapont.li/

Tinatin Gurgenidze (Georgia/Germany) – https://www.instagram.com/post_soviet_space/

Matilde Igual (Spain) – https://matildeigual.eu/

Silvia Ingver

Jüri Kermik – https://www.kermikdesign.com/

Keithy Kuuspu – https://www.keithykuuspu.com/

Kuidas.works – https://kuidas.works/

LLRRLLRR – https://llrrllrr.com/

Milica Lopičić (Serbia/Germany) – https://www.lopicic.de/

Urmas Lüüs – https://urmasluus.com/

Tom Vam Malderen (Malta) – https://tomvanmalderen.com/

Philip Mecke (Germany) – https://www.philipp-mecke.com/

Arnita Melzoba and Kārlis Melzobs (Latvia) – https://gaissarhitekti.lv/

Jelena Mitrovic (Serbia) – https://poligon.rs/

mitte_tallinn – https://www.instagram.com/mitte_tallinn/

Maria Muuk, Nele Kurvits, Aimur Takk

Platvorm – https://www.platvorm.ee/

Laura Pormeister

Miro Roman (Croatia/Switzerland) – https://miro.romanvlahovic.com/

Sampling (Latvia) – https://www.sampling.lv/

SPOLKA (Slovakia) – https://spolka.cc/

Sven Samyn

Dubravka Sekulić (Serbia/United Kingdom) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubravka_Sekulić

Sander Joosep Siigur

Linda Marie Zimmer

Pent Talvet – https://www.iseasi.ee/

Margus Tammik, Mari Möldre, Ulla Alla, Merilin Kaup – https://vares.space/

TEN studio (Serbia/Switzerland) – https://ten.studio/

Kristi Tšernilovski

Stuudio TÄNA – https://stuudiotäna.ee/

Mari Uibo

Linda-Marie Urke

Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla – https://www.vaiklastudio.ee/people/tuune-kristin/

Kristina Õllek – https://kristinaollek.com/

Mirell Ülle – https://www.tervislikruum.ee/

On 17th June Nina Stener Jørgensen, a PhD candidate of the Estonian Academy of Arts, curriculum of Architecture and Urban Planning, will defend her thesis “Participation as Data? Architecture and Cybernetics in Europe around 1968” (Osalus kui andmed? Arhitektuur ja küberneetika Euroopas 1968. aasta paiku).

A public defence will be held on 17th June 2024 at 11.00 at EKA (Põhja pst 7), room A501.
Defense will be broadcast on EKA TV.

Supervisor: Prof. Maroš Krivy (Estonian Academy of Arts)
External Reviwers: Dr. Tahl Kaminer (Cardiff University), Dr. Ingrid Halland (University of Oslo)
Opponent: Dr. Tahl Kaminer

This dissertation unpacks histories of participation and computer technology, through the analysis of the intersection of adaptable space and cybernetics in architectural practice around 1968, focusing in particular on the role of participation in this convergence.

The main body of the thesis comprises three articles studying projects spanning from 1965 to the time around the oil crisis in 1973. From a moment in European architectural history, where the political East-West divide was particularly tangible, the cases represent and cover a broad sample of attitudes towards participation and cybernetics from a Western-European perspective. From Paris, which in many ways is the ‘locus of 1968’, from London which at the time fostered a rapid development of new computer technologies and business models, as well as from Copenhagen, which at the height of architectural modernism witnessed the first critiques of the so-called Scandinavian welfare model.

With its focus on archival material and historic case studies, “Participation as Data? Architecture and Cybernetics in Europe around 1968” aims to show how the urban and its city dwellers were accessed through the practice of participation and how this extraction was framed and conceived by architectural and cybernetic means. Throughout the articles, the main research question ‘Participation as data?’ has served as a recurring method of analysis, aimed at comprehending how exactly the architects made use of cybernetics and participation, and how they aimed to intersect the two concepts in an architectural practice, looking at how cybernetic participation cut across multiple scales, from the singular room to the city, all potentially expanding to a global and networked infrastructure. Through the analysis of British architect Cedric Price’s feasibility study for Oxford Corner House (1965–1966), Franco-Hungarian spatial artist Nicolas Schöffer’s proposal Tour Lumière Cybernétique (1961–1973) as well as Danish architects Susanne Ussing and Carsten Hoff’s practice as Atelier Cyberspace (1968–1970), the thesis proposes the term ‘Cybernetic participation’ to encompass their programmatic similarity; mainly the treatment of participation as an information collection process, but also how the projects subsequently sidestepped a direct interaction with its users.

The thesis is available HERE.

Defence Committee: Dr. Siim Tuksam (Head of the Committee), Dr. Anu Allas, Dr. Renee Puusepp, Prof. Andres Kurg, Prof. Panu Lehtovuori, Prof. Klaske Havik, Prof. Helena Mattsson.

 

TASE ‘24
Estonian Academy of Arts Grad Show
30.05.–14.06.24
Open every day from 12 to 6 pm
tase.artun.ee

TASE is the yearly graduation show of the Estonian Academy of Arts, where the faculties of Architecture, Design, Art Culture and Fine Arts present current master theses and a selection of bachelor theses and portfolios. See the graduation works also on the website tase.artun.ee!

OPENING ON MAY 29

Schedule of the opening of TASE ’24 on Wednesday, May 29:

• 3 pm doors open at the Estonian Academy of Arts
• 4 pm opening of TASE ’24 at the graduation show of the Faculties of Architecture and Art Culture at the Estonian Academy of Arts
• 5.30–6 pm collective procession from the Estonian Academy of Arts to Tallinn Art Hall
• 6 pm opening of the graduation show of the Faculties of Design and Fine Arts at Tallinn Art Hall
• 7–11 pm party at Tallinn Art Hall

On the opening day, on May 29, the graduation show is open to visitors from 5–8 pm at the Estonian Academy of Arts and from 5–9 pm at Tallinn Art Hall.

 

LOCATIONS

Estonian Academy of Arts
Graduation works of the Faculties of Architecture and Art Culture
30.05.–14.06.24, open every day from 12 to 6 pm, free entry
Address: Põhja puiestee 7, Tallinn

Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn Art Hall Gallery, Vent Space
Graduation works of the Faculties of Design and Fine Arts
30.05.–14.06.24, open every day from 12 to 6 pm, free entry
Address: Vabaduse väljak 6 & 8, Tallinn

Design and Architecture Gallery
Graduation works of the bachelor students of Digital and Industrial Product Design and the master students of Product Design
29.05.–8.06.24, open Mon–Fri from 12 to 6 pm, Sat–Sun from 12 to 5 pm, free entry
Address: Pärnu mnt 6, Tallinn

ETC
Graduation exhibition “Do You Copy?” of the master students of Graphic Design
1.–7.06.24, open every day from 1 to 5 pm, free entry
Address: Niine 8a, Tallinn

Long Leg Gate Tower
Graduation exhibition “ETHEL IS GOD” by Ethel Ütsmüts, bachelor student of Ceramics
30.05.–14.06.2024, open Mon–Fri 10 to 14 pm, free entry
Address: Pikk Jalg 3, Tallinn

PoCoLAB.ai
Graduation works of the master students of Interaction Design (MIxD)
01.–08.07.2024, open every day from 3 to 8 pm, entry 5€/3€/0€
Address: Rotermanni 14, Tallinn

Põhja pst 2, Tallinn
Graduation exhibition “Where to Belong” by Laura Movits, bachelor student of Interior Architecture
1.–4.06.24, open every day from 12 to 6 pm, free entry

Uus Rada Gallery & Raja Building
Graduation works of the master students of Contemporary Art, participants Sandra Ernits, Mara Kirchberg, Sarah Noonan, Siim Preiman
31.05.–14.06.24, open every day from 12 to 6 pm, free entry
Address: Raja tn 11a, Tallinn

 

PROGRAMME

EKA pop-up shop
29.05.–2.06.24 in the lobby of Tallinn Art Hall, open Wed 6–11 pm Thu–Sun 12–6 pm

Theses defences
27.05.–13.06.24

Guided tours about the graduation works part of Architecture with Gregor Taul at the Estonian Academy of Arts, starting in the lobby:
5.06. at 2 pm in English
5.06. at 4 pm in Estonian

Guided tours at Tallinn Art Hall, start in front of the building on Freedom Square:
8.06. at 1 pm by Anna-Liisa Villmann in Estonian
8.06. at 3.15 pm by Valeriya Ferschel in Russian
9.06. at 1 pm by Anna-Liisa Villmann in Estonian
9.06. at 3 pm by Anna-Liisa Villmann in English
14.06. at 4.30 pm tour about the stories of the building’s past with Kaisa Maasik in Estonian

TASE FILM, curated by Kaur Järve
11.06.2024 at 6 pm at the Estonian Academy of Arts, room A-101, free entry

28.05. at 5 pm opening of the exhibition by the students of Product Design at the Design and Architecture Gallery

30.05. at 4 pm opening of the graduation show of the master students of Contemporary Art at Raja 11a

31.05. at 4 pm opening of graduation exhibition “Where to Belong” by Laura Movits, bachelor student of Interior Architecture

31.05. at 7 pm opening of the graduation show „Do You Copy?“ of the master students of Graphic Design in the project space ETC

 

Public programme in the Design and Architecture Gallery:

1.06 at 1.30-3 pm workshop “Design quality time” for families in Estonian
1.06. at 12 & 3 pm guided tours in Estonian
2.06. at 12 & 3 pm guided tours in Estonian
8.06. guided tour at 12 pm in Estonian
2.06 at 1.30-3 pm workshop “Experiencing Design” in Estonian

 

SATELLITE PROGRAMME

Exhibition “Disruptive Dissonance” by the second year students of the department of Jewellery, Telliskivi 60, Telliskivi Kvartal
23.05.–5.06.24, open Tue–Sun from 12 to 7 pm, free entry
Opening: 22.05. at 6 pm
Participants: Emilia Santaella Barreto, Elisabet Kiverik, Alice Kupri, Lucie Pastyrikova, Liisu Saar, Jekaterina Šehovtsova, Ronja-Marjam Vene

 

Exhibition “With Love and Fortitude” by the first year master students of Contemporary Art, ARS Project Space, Showroom and Studio 53, ARS Art Factory, Pärnu mnt 154, Tallinn
25.05.–14.06.24, open every day from 12 to 6 pm, free entry
Opening: 24.05. at 6 pm
Participants: Yvette Bathgate, Mihhail Boitsov, Anna Broučková, Christina Gradtke, Katariina Kesküla, Yuko Kinouchi, Eleftheria Kofidou, Tea Lemberpuu, Sven Mantsik, Jana Mätas, Jane Muts, KitKit Para, Vitor Pascale, Merilin Põldsam, Jake Shepherd, Liza Tsindeliani, Elo Vahtrik, Kristi Vendelin

Screenings of Elle Lepik’s film “Agentic Glass Landscapes 1”, Energy Discovery Centre, Põhja pst 29, Tallinn
30.05.–14.06.24, Mon–Fri 11.15 am & 2.15 pm Sat 11.15 am & 3.15 pm, entry 15€/12€

Craft studies coursework, Kopli 70a, 2nd floor, Krull kvartal, Tallinn
31.05.–9.06.24, open Fri–Sat from 1 to 7 pm or by appointment
Opening: 30.06. at 6 pm
Participants: Sofiya Babiy, Iohan Figueroa, Rait Lõhmus, Juulia Aleksandra Mikson, Katariin Mudist, Maarja Mäemets, Alyona Movko-Mägi, Kati Saarits, Hannah Segerkrantz, Elias Sormane

Exhibition of the master students of Contemporary Art titled “AEGn/a: exhibition in the city centre of Tallinn”, Aegna Island, Tallinn
2.-26.06.24, visiting according to the ferry schedule
Opening: 2.06., guided tours at 11 am & 3 pm
Finissage: 26.06.
Participants: Yvette Bathgate, Chloé Geinoz, Katariina Kesküla, Eleftgeria Irene Kofidou, Jane Muts, Anumai Raska, Jake Shepherd, Melina Unterhauser, Elo Vahtrik
Curator: Keithy Kuuspu

Exhibition “Contemporary Drawing: Worlding in Layers” by the second year students of Fine Arts, NART studio and Narva Kreenholm Manufacturing Company
3.–30.06.24, NART studio open Mon–Fri from 3 to 7 pm Sat–Sun from 1 to 7 pm, Kreenholm can be visited on Saturdays at 1pm as part of a guided tour, free entry
Opening: 2.06. at 1 pm
Participants: August Joost, Maria Kallau, Laura Lillepuu, Triin Mänd, Elise Marie Olesk, Sandra Puusepp, Mia Mai Seppel, Hanna Vinter

Jana Mätas’ solo exhibition, Keskpuur, Keskturg, Keldrimäe 9, Tallinn
3.–23.06.24, open every day from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm, free entry
Opening: 8.06. at 1 pm

Graduation exhibition “Imprints of Being” by the photography students of the EKA Open Academy, EKA Billboard Gallery, Kotzebue 1, Tallinn
4.06.–25.08.24, open 24/7, free
Opening: 4.06. at 6 pm
Participants: Birgit Aitsam, Priit Jaak Sild, Karolin Kaplan, Reelika Helde-Mikkor, Geroli Peedu, Eveli Smitt, Liisi Tali, Grete Tuiken

Exhibition “I Hope You Don’t Mind…” by Rebecca Norman and Elisa Margot Winters, Cafe Ait, Vene 14, Tallinn
10.06.–31.10.24, open every day from 9 am to 7 pm, free entry
Opening: 8.06. at 5 pm

Screening of the graduation works of the Animation department’s bachelor and master students, Kino Sõprus, Vana-Posti 8, Tallinn
15.06.24 from 5 to 7 pm, free entry
Participants: Carlos Santiago Ordoñez Alarcon, Aurelijus Čiupas, Ditiya Ferdous, Naira Hatšaturjan, Kate Jansone, Elise Kruusel, Evridiki Papaiakovou, Inês Machado Sales Grade Pinto, Piret Potter, Kirke Ross, Xingpei Shen, Nicole Tanysh, Laura Andrea Gudiño Sosa, Kelli Tõnurist

Pille-Riin Valk’s artwork “Scent of Moments”, the facade of the Estonian Academy of Arts, Kotzebue 1, Tallinn
Open 24/7, free 

 

 

TASE TEAM

Organizer
Kaisa Maasik (kaisa.maasik@artun.ee, +372 5396 2524)

Assistant
Mia Tohver

Creative logisticians of TASE ’24
Vabaduse väljak 6 & 8
Brigit Arop, Johannes Luik

Creative logisticians of TASE ’24
Faculty of Architecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts
Anni Kärmik, Kairi Mändla

Curator of TASE FILM
Kaur Järve

Graphic design
Robin Raspel, Georg-Ander Sild, Ronald Trei

Communication
Pärtel Eelmere, Laura Jüristo, Triin Käo, Maarja Pabut, Andres Lõo (contact for press: andres.loo@artun.ee, +372 526 7253)

Technical director
Erik Hõim

Technical team
Katariina Kesküla, Ats Kruusing, Eke Ao Nattan, Reigo Nahksepp, Jake Shepherd, Mattias Jürgen Veller

 

SUPPORTERS

AkzoNobel, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Artists’ Association, Punch, Tallinn Art Hall, ERASMUS

We warmly welcome you to visit the Fair Enough (Art) Book Fair, happening for the first time on 18 – 19 of May in Tallinn!

Come by to buy a book, meet interesting publishers, listen to a talk and hang out with nice people! We will be presenting and selling publications made by over 30 different artists and publishers around the world. In addition there will be a public program consisting of talks, publication launches, radio and music!

The book fair is located at ETC. (Niine 8a) and is open between 11.00–16.00 on Saturday and 11.00–15.00 on Sunday.

Follow us on Instagram to get up-to-date information about our program @fairenough_bookfair

Fair Enough (Art) Book Fair is kindly sponsored by Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Põhjala Brewery.

Hope to see you soon,

Agnes Isabelle & Linnea from Fair Enough Book Fair

Portfolio Café is a portfolio feedback event held annually during spring semester as a satellite to EKA graduation show TASE. It is designed as a series of one-on-one meetings between invited art field professionals and EKA Fine Art’s BA and MA students. Each meeting lasts approximately 30 minutes. During these sessions, students present themselves and their work, while experts offer feedback, ask questions, and share insights.

Registration: Portfolio Café invites all fine arts students from the BA and MA levels to participate. Participants will be selected based on their submitted portfolios. Limited spots! To apply, please fill out this registration form lates on June 3.

Portfolio Café 2024 takes place on June 7 from 10:00-16:00 at EKA Library. All Portfolio Café sessions are held in English.

 

EXPERTS

Juliane Foronda (she/her) is a Filipina-Canadian artist, writer, and researcher. Predominantly through object, intervention and text, her practice is invested in radical care, feminist hospitality, and traditions of gathering. She’s influenced by (found and fabricated) structures, built environments, and hidden labour, and her work negotiates how these notions play with the tension between reality and possibility, truth and imagination, and knowing and not knowing. A significant aspect of her arts practice involves archival and collections research. Her investment in this work unfolds with her affinity of learning about what people choose to keep close and why, as well as how communities are built, maintained, and preserved. She earned her MA in Fine Arts from Listaháskóli Íslands/Iceland University of the Arts, and her BA in Studio Art from the University of Guelph. She is a current resident at the Helsinki International Artist Programme (FI). 

www.julianeforonda.hotglue.me

Jussi Koitela is an independent curator and Head of Programme at Frame Contemporary Art Finland and will move to a new position as a Director of M-cult in June 2024. His curatorial work intertwines art, embodied research methods, urban spatial contexts, collaboration, hospitality, and materiality in various forms of exhibitions and knowledge production. 

He is currently curator of the Pavilion of Finland at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia together with Yvonne Billmore (20 April -24 November 2024). Between 2019 to 2023 they also curated ‘Rehearsing Hospitalities’, Frame’s public programme. He is also curating “Measures” Survival Kit 2024 exhibition organised by Latvian Center of Contemporary Art, opening September 2024 in Riga. 

His selected curatorial work includes: Conflicting Relations at Vera List Center for Art and Politics, New York, Editorial Tables: Reciprocal Hospitalities at The Showroom, London, Secured – Politics of Bodies and Space at Vantaa Art Museum Artsi. Performing the Fringe at Konsthall C, Stockholm and Pori Art Museum, Pori Entangling Matter and Meaning/Intra-Structures – Monster of the Seven Lakes at Treignac Projet, Mattering City at SixtyEight Art Institute, Copenhagen, City Agents at Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art (EKKM), Tallinn, Skills of Economy Sessions at Finnish Theatre Academy, Baltic Circle Festival and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, and Untitled (two takes on crises) – You Must Make Your Death Public at de Appel Art Centre, Amsterdam.  

He has edited, among others, Rehearsing Hospitalities Companions 1-4 published by Archive Books, 2019 – 2022 with Yvonne Billimore, the Finnish Art Policy Handbook published by Checkpoint Helsinki/Publics and Baltic Circle Festival 2015, Falling In — Movement and Becoming in Curatorial Research with Dahila El Broul and Ksenia Kaverina, published by Mousse Publishing, 2024 and The pleasures we choose with Yvonne Billimore, published by k.verlag, 2024. 

Mailis Timmi is a curatorial MA student at Estonian Academy of Arts and the founder and director of Tütar Gallery. Prior to her immersion in the art world, Mailis spent 17 years in strategic communications and advertising, where she gained experience in supporting younger generation artists in their quest to be seen and recognised. 

www.tutar.ee

Florian & Michael Quistrebert are an artist duo whose recent work explores the paradoxes between the sacred and the material through immersive exhibitions that combine paintings and videos. Both artists graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Nantes and have collaborated since 2007. The duo focuses on the power and fascination of light, often creating immersive experiences that provoke extra-optical and synesthetic perceptions among viewers.

Florian & Michael Quistrebert’s works are included in numerous public and private collections. Their notable exhibitions include “Visions of Void” at Dundee Contemporary Arts in 2015, “The Light of the Light” at Palais de Tokyo in 2016, “ZigZag” at CCCOD in Tours in 2019, and “Silent Symphony” at Dirimart in Istanbul. The artists often design their exhibition spaces to resemble a luminous opera, featuring dynamic elements such as blazing torments, lightning rays, serene shimmers, and crescendos of illumination.

http://www.quistrebert.com/

Kaarel Kurismaa. Beyond the Limits of Timelessness
Documentary
59 min
Estonia 2024

A documentary about the Estonian artist Kaarel Kurismaa shows the viewer an insight into the world of artists.

Kaarel Kurismaa laid the foundations for Estonian kinetic and sound art. He is a highly versatile artist whose creative energy is divided between painting, sound, installation, monumental art, and film. Kaarel has changed his creative direction several times; he has explored different artistic styles. 

On the crest of the avant-garde wave of the 1970s, he created several important sound and kinetic objects in Estonian art history. From the mid-1970s, Kurismaa worked as an artist, director, and cinematographer at Eesti Joonisfilm and Nukufilm. In the 1980s, Kurismaa became more interested in making space and monumental art. He created a number of remarkable public space objects that synthesised the key elements of his work – sound and movement. Only one of these objects has survived to this day – the Tallinn tram.

The 1990s marked another turning point in Kurismaa’s work. Sound objects inspired by pop art aesthetics were replaced by contemporary site-specific space and sound installations.

The film features friends and colleagues of Kaarel Kurismaa: Tiit Pääsuke, Tamara Luuk, Olga Temnikova, Ragne Soosalu, Sirje Helme, Andres Kurg and Kiwa, who share their experiences and talk about their collaboration with the artist. We can see unique archival footage and private archive photographs, get a glimpse of the work of various artists, and follow the process of creating art. 

Director: Aljona Suržikova

Producer: Sergei Trofimov

diafilm.ee

he Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.

 

The lecture series aims to engage with values, imaginaries and systems of knowledge that shape the contemporary fields of architecture and urbanism. Unlearning is coordinated by Maroš Krivý, professor of Urban Studies.

According to Gayatri Spivak, for example, unlearning concerns not only what is said, but also what is not said as part of an ideological formation. There is now a broad push to transform design from a practice subservient to elite interests to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary practice capable of responding to a range of social and environmental urgencies. As part of this transformation, the four lectures engage with existing architectural imaginaries while proposing alternative ones.

 

On May 2, Lara Almarcegui will present in the EKA hall a lecture “Construction Rubble, Wastelands and Mining Rights: who owns the ground and who can extract it”.

The work of Lara Almarcegui poses questions about the current state of the construction, development, use, and decay of spaces that are apparently peripheral to the city. In her large- scale projects she provokes a dialogue between the different elements that make up the physical reality of the urban landscape, in its constant transformation through demolitions, excavations, construction materials, and contemporary ruins.

Reflecting on extraction for the production of space, the raw material installations by Lara Almarcegui underline the relation between the constructed, the city, who owns its geology and the ground where it is settled. To highlight the large volumes involved and the materiality of the built environment, Almarcegui made piles of the gravel extracted each day by a quarry in the city of Basel, 1 000 tons. (project commissioned by Creative Time, Messe Basel, 2018). Inventories of construction materials were carried out to analyse the origins of the built environment: Sâo Paolo is built out of 446 million tons of concrete (Sâo Paulo Biennial 2006). M+ in Hong Kong, one of the most recent major museum projects, is made of 168 938 tons of gravel. 

Who owns ground and resources and who has the right to extract them? Legally, natural resources are publicly owned, but governments can grant them to mining companies in the form of exploration or extraction rights. As part of the inquiry on underneath ownership and who has the right to exploit these natural resources, Almarcegui has been acquiring exploration rights (Mineral Rights, Graz, 2015-ongoing). Tveitvangen, nearby Oslo, (2015-ongoing), the exploration mineral rights extend over an area of one square kilometre, and reach from the subsoil down to the centre of the earth.

 

Lara Almarcegui’s artistic practice explores the material aspects of land and urban space. She has worked in different cities, identifying abandoned, unused, or forgotten sites and examining the contemporary transformation processes brought about by social, political, and economic change. In recent years, Almarcegui has turned her attention to construction sites, in particular the composite materials used in the construction of new buildings and the cyclical relationship between land and architecture. Almarcegui represented Spain at the 55th Venice Biennale (2013).

 

The lectures are intended for all disciplines, not only for students and professionals in the field of architecture.

All lectures are held on Thursdays at 6 pm in the EKA main auditorium. All lectures are in English and free of charge.

 

Schedule of the spring lectures:

March 14 at 6 pm Jess Myers

April 4 at 6 pm Oulimata Gueye

April 18 at 6 pm Henriette Steiner

May 2 at 6 pm Lara Almárcegui

 

Within the framework of a series of open lectures, the Faculty of Architecture of EKA presents a dozen unique practitioners and valued theorists in the field in Tallinn every academic year. See all the lectures: www.avatudloengud.ee

 

The lecture series is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

On Wednesday, April 24, from 17:30 to 19:00, there will be an information session on the master’s degree program in interior architecture. The meeting will take place in the common area of the Faculty of Architecture students of the EKA study building on the fourth floor (C-400). We will also broadcast the meeting on Zoom, which will also be recorded. The event will take place in Estonian.

In the information session, the head of the curriculum, Gregor Taul, will give an overview of the courses and projects that have taken place so far, on the one hand, and give a more detailed overview of the plans for next year. In addition, we will talk about admission and try to answer your questions.

You can familiarise yourself with the curriculum in advance in Tahvel. We also recommend looking at the department’s latest newspaper. Current information about student activities can also be found on the department’s website and on Facebook and Instagram.

If you are interested, please register via the Google form.

EKA Pop-Up is the spring festival of the Estonian Academy of Arts in Telliskivi Creative City. We invite young and old to various workshops conducted by EKA students!

REGISTRATION

The following workshops are planned:

22.04 at 17:30 Abstract painting workshop (suitable for both young and old). Instructor: Santa Zukker
23.04 at 15:00 Painting with glass balls (suitable for both young and old). Instructor: Kaisa Uik
23.04 at 17:00 Painting with glass balls (suitable for both young and old). Instructor: Kaisa Uik
24.04 at 17:00 Crafting from leather strips (suitable for both young and old). Supervisors: Mariann Henrikson and Karolin Eks
25.04 at 15:30 abstract painting workshop (suitable for both young and old). Instructor: Santa Zukker
25.04 at 17:00 Textile printing with home tools (suitable for both big and small). Supervisor: Mari Maiste
28.04 at 13:00 Crafting from leather strips (suitable for both young and old). Supervisors: Mariann Henrikson and Karolin Eks
08.05 at 17:00 Textile printing with home tools (suitable for both big and small). Supervisor: Mari Maiste
The cost of the workshop is 10 euros – this amount includes the cost of materials. You can pay on the spot in cash or by bank card.

If you want to take part in the workshop, REGISTER HERE.

Also keep an eye on the EKA POP-UP Facebook page!

The event is supported by the Estonian Cultural Foundation.

Additional information:

I shook Leokin’s hand
katlin.leokin@artun.ee