Exhibitions

Liis Vares and Taavet Jansen’s new mixed reality production, Held in Human II: Rose in Your Brain, premieres on November 14 at the University of Tartu Library and will be open until November 28. This VR experience draws inspiration from materials collected from the public during the installation Held in Human at the EKA Gallery in the fall of 2023.

“Something is changing, I can no longer make sense of what here means, as I increasingly feel that while I am here, I am also always a little bit there. There, where my thoughts are, there where my imagination roams — and not only mine, but someone else’s as well, simultaneously. It is real. I am always inside a body, in this form that makes me visible and touchable; yet I am also always in a space, where no one can see me. It is a space of thought, an invisible space, but also an ever-present network, a movement. I am present, held in human.”

Held in Human II: Rose in Your Brain is a mixed reality performance, a collective thought space where linguistic thinking meets the instinctive physique. It is a physical reading experience, a choreography of thoughts that you can experience within your own body using mixed reality glasses. Plug in — let your body and thoughts carry you.

Authors: Liis Vares and Taavet Jansen

Mixed reality solution: Norbert Pape

Sound design: Mihkel Tomberg

Graphic design: Jaan Evart

Room design: Mari Möldre

Photographer: Alissa Šnaider

Producer: Anu Almik, elekrton.art

Premiere: 14.11.2024 at University of Tartu Library

Next performances: 15.-28.11.2024. UT Library is open Mon-Fr 9-21 ja Sat-Sun 12-18

Festivals: 26.-27.10 showing PAD festival Wiesbaden Germany

Supporters: Estonian Ministry of Culture, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Tallinn city, Dortmund Academy of Theater and Digitality, Estonian Academy of Arts through the ACuTe project, Erasmus program, VARES Valga Architecture Residency, University of Tartu

The production was developed as part of the ACuTe project, in which EKA is one of the partners.

Exhibition of small-edition books dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the EKA graphic art print studio. 

In 1924, a printing workshop  was opened at the Tallinn Industrial Art School, where Leopold Triumph took up his post as master. Two years earlier (1922), a printmaking department had been established, under the direction of Günther Reindorff until 1943.

For half a century, the face of Estonian book design was shaped by Paul Luhtein, who, after graduating from the Tallinn Industrial Art School in 1930, and after a few years of further training in Leipzig, took up teaching commercial graphics and book design in 1932, a post he held until 1982. Enno Ootsing was then head of the Department and the book studies, with breaks until 2005 (in the meantime, the Department was headed by Aarne Mesikäpp from 1983 to 1988 and Heinz Valk from 1988 to 1989). From 1938 to 1971, typography was taught by the legendary book historian and typographer Hans Treumann. From 2005 to 2023, Aarne Mesikäpp, who taught at the ERKI and the EAA for 55 years, was a master printer and typography lecturer. In the field of book illustration, Vive Tolli, who taught from 1982 to 2005, was a major influence. Urmas Viik, head of the department from 2005 to 2015, gave priority to book illustration.

During the Soviet period, students studied for six years, specializing in either book designer, book illustrator, commercial artist (tarbegraafika), poster designer or printmaker in the third year, with book designer and illustrator being particularly sought after (competitive) The department had its own printing house, but all copies were invoiced and passed through the Glavlit (Glavnaya literatura, in Russian more precisely Главное управление по охране государственного тайн в печати) or censorship. Every evening the master sealed the door of the printing house. 

The division into departments began to disappear in the department in the late 1980s. With today’s curriculum and volumes, the focus of the graphics department is on contemporary art and graphic techniques, but letterpress printing is still popular, and typography and the basics of graphic design are taught. Since 2006, an artists’ book course has been taught by Eve Kask. The binding was taught for many years by Lennart Mänd, from 2023 by Eve Kaaret. With few exceptions, the artist’s books will be produced in one-off editions and in author’s binding based on the idea of the whole. 

This selection of small-edition publications includes examples from the years 1946-2004. The books were produced in the department’s printing house, mostly as coursework or theses by students. There are also group works. There are some books designed by tutors (P. Luhtein, E. Okas, H. Treuman, A. Mesikäpp). Among the teaching works there are works by later prominent artists such as Anu Kalm, Silvi Liiva, Naima Neidre, Enno Ootsing, Urmas Ploomipuu, Andres Tali, Marje Üksine and others.

The book editions in the exhibition range from five to fifty (125 in one case and 300 in another, in most cases between 15 and 25). The student has chosen the literature work, made type-setting, designed and illustrated it himself. In most cases, the illustrations are also printed by the author. The printing techniques used for the illustrations include relief printing (linocut and woodcut), intaglio printing (ofort, aquatint) and lithography. Since the 1950s, the edition has been printed by Mihkel Enn, a master printer, and bound by Elsa Oolma, a typesetter (or a letterpress master), who also taught hand-lettering to students and helped prepare the type-setting for printing. 

The selection was made by Marju Vahter, Head Specialist of the Library, Karin Oolu, Head of the Library, and complemented by Professor Liina Siib, Head of the Graphic Arts Department, and Associate Professor Eve Kask. Exhibition graphics is done by Markus Laanisto.

Text by Eve Kask

Graduated from the Department of Graphic Arts by the degree of Book Design, ERKI, 1984. 

The last student of Paul Luhtein and the first student of Vive Tolli 

We are pleased to invite you to the opening of Kirke Kits‘s exhibition “Late in October” on Tuesday 29.10 at 18:00 at Täisnurga Gallery.

The exhibition “Late October” plays with the liberation of poetry from the regular print format. As a photograph, diary or painting, poems escape the anonymity of a book page for a while. The possibility of experiencing them is hidden in a specific time and space, and above all related to the present moment before the snow and the final devastation, the place of enlightenment of the senses and sensations before the soporific arrival of winter.

You can find Täisnurga Gallery by entering the back door of the Painting Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts (C201).

The exhibition is supported by the painting department of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

You can find the Täisnurga Gallery through the back door of the painting department (C201) of the Estonian Academy of Arts. The exhibition is supported by the Painting Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

The exhibition will remain open until November 8th.

We are pleased to invite you to participate in BLACKOUT, an event organised by the Jewellery and Blacksmithing Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the beginning of professional metal art education in Estonia.

Although the name of the university and the department has changed several times over the last hundred years, the fact remains that we have been teaching metalwork at a high level for a hundred years in a row. This is a good enough reason to call together friends from here and abroad to discuss where we have come from and where we are going.

Alongside the exhibition at the Narva Art Residency, a symposium, excursions, and sauna will encourage and initiate the discussions. All these activities are brought under the common title of BLACKOUT.

We do not imply mind-blindness or a serious hangover by this, but rather posing the question of how to arrive somewhere without knowing exactly where you’re going, as the essence of artistic quality lies in capturing the invisible. In discovering something surprising for yourself and others. The fear of being lost vanishes because even without knowing what you seek, you’ll recognize it when you find it.

At the symposium on October 25–26, we will approach the above-mentioned question from three different perspectives: PRACTITIONER, THEORIST, and EDUCATOR. The speakers will explore questions such as:

How do you create a relationship with students that would help them open up and inspire the courage to explore the world? How do I ask the right questions to discover something new and recognize the right things for myself? How do I deal with suspense? How do I maintain the courage to continue searching and working in a situation, where setting too clear goals could be an obstacle?

Speakers: Jorge Manilla (KHIO/NO), Olaf Hodne (KHIO/NO), Erinn M. Erinn (KHIO/NO). Cox (US), Daniel Strandow (HDK Valand/SWE), Siri Tolander (HDK Valand/SWE), Tarja Tuupanen (FI), Jenni Sokura (LAB/FI), Flora Vagi (MOME/HU), Taavi Hallimäe (EKA), Urmas Lüüs (EKA), Sander Haugas (EKA), Taavi Teevet (EKA), Hansel Tai (EE), Liisbeth Kirss (EE), Erle Nemvalts (EE).

Participation in the symposium is free.

The event will be held in English.

Pre-registration is required at the following link: https://forms.gle/6djfdmw41XYnLtXd6

Timetable:

Friday, 25 October

10-12 Narva sightseeing for guests

14-18 presentations

19 Exhibition opening, party

Saturday, 26 October 

11 – 14 presentations

16 Narva sightseeing

Sauna and socialising in the evening

Information about the event will be updated as it becomes available.

Location:
Narva Art Residency (NART)
Joala 18, 20103, Narva

Contact: metall@artun.ee

“Paljassaare Palimpsest. A journey Through the Interstices of Trash and Treasure.”

On October 18 from 13:00 to 17:00 in Paljassaare

The first-year urban studies students have once again spent half a semester exploring Paljassaare peninsula – the very edge of the capital where today the entire city’s waste is directed… but also where the new focal point of the future Tallinn, the contemporary urban centre of the Nordic capital, is imagined. This Friday, October 18, the students invite everyone who is interested to join them on a journey between trash and treasures in the (post)industrial heart of Paljassaare, to explore what processes and value judgments shape today’s space.

Gathering on October 18 at 13:00 in front of the Maleva 2A building.

The approximately 5-kilometer journey takes place outdoors in changing landscape and weather conditions and ends around a campfire near Pikakari beach. The event is in English.

Things to bring along:

• snacks + drinks
• headphones
• a mug
• warm clothing
• waterproof footwear

More information on urban studies social media: https://www.facebook.com/urbantallinn

On Friday, October 18, at 1:00 PM, the new season of the Keskpuuri Gallery will open on the second floor of the Central Market’s meat hall with Marto Mägi’s video installation “7 liigutust suure potentsiaaliga”.

Marto Mägi, who graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts’ scenography department last year, primarily primarily explores rephrasing the discourse between the large and small, as well as the important and insignificant.

Curator: Kaur Järve

Keldrimäe 9, 10113 Tallinn- second floor

Exhibition open 18.-30. October. M-S 9-18.

More info: Kaur Järve, kaur.jarve@artun.ee

EKA Museum exhibition “Clothed and Nude. 110 Years of Figure Study at the Estonian Academy of Arts”
19.10.–29.11.2024
Open Tue–Sun 12–6pm, free entry
Opening: 18.10.2024 at 5pm

In celebration of the 110th anniversary of the Estonian Academy of Arts, a significant retrospective exhibition has been organised, highlighting a theme that resonates with all who have studied here or are currently students. The depiction of the human figure – through drawing, painting and modelling from live models – has always been a cornerstone of art education, and the Estonian Academy of Arts, along with its predecessors, exemplifies this tradition.

The exhibition of the EKA Museum, titled “Clothed and Nude. 110 Years of Figure Study at the Estonian Academy of Arts”, showcases works created in the school’s studios and stored in its archives. This collection includes standing, sitting and reclining nudes, clothed models and figure groups, as well as drawings of hands and feet and other anatomical details. The selection highlights the diverse and varied ways in which the human figure can be depicted, emphasising different approaches and techniques. Academically polished images with intricate backgrounds are presented alongside monumental human representations that challenged the traditional canons at the turn of the millennium. The exhibition features both black-and-white and colour works, where classifying them as drawings or paintings based on technique or medium is no longer significant in this context.

The exhibition primarily draws from the EKA Museum’s collection, although only a small fraction of the works accumulated over the decades could be included. To represent the early decades of the school’s history, additional pieces were sourced from the Art Museum of Estonia and private collections. Figure study has also been a central theme in sculpture. However, since the original collection of the sculpture department has been lost, curatorial efforts were necessary to locate works representing three-dimensional art. Despite being in the minority, sculpture is still represented in the exhibition. Additional works were requested from artists engaged in figure study during the early 21st century to cover the period between the conclusion of the methodological collection of works at the turn of the century and the establishment of the EKA Museum in 2019. As figure drawing has been an integral part of the curriculum across all disciplines at the academy, the selection process aimed to reflect this diversity.

The exhibition features 138 artists showcasing a total of 187 works. The chance to glimpse into the formative years of well-known artists and designers is undoubtedly intriguing, while the masterpieces of lesser-known or unknown creators offer their own delightful surprises. The arrangement of the exhibit enhances this excitement by juxtaposing works not along a traditional chronological timeline, but instead focusing on the harmony and interplay between the pieces.

The artists participating in the exhibition:

Eero Alev, Jüri Arrak, Raivo Behrsin, Britta Benno, Teddy Böckler, Rem Dementjev, Olga Dubrovskaja, Herald Eelma, Jaan Elken, Herlet Elvisto, Merike Estna, Margarita Feofanova, Nikolai Guli, Heikki Halla, Gerda Hansen, Inga Heamägi, Hugo Hiibus, Aleksander Igonin, Ants Jaanimägi, Andrus Johani, Aivar Juhanson, Iris Jurma-Kangur, Sandra Jõgeva, Pille Jänes, Villu Järmut, Heli Jürissaar (Kase), Jüri Kaarma, Katrin Kaev, Catlin Kaljuste, Maria Kallau, Anu Kalm (Anderson), Elin Kard, Gleb Karlsen, Saskia Kasemaa, Alice Kask, Eve Kask, Jüri Kask, Maret Kernumees, Ando Keskküla, Kaalu Kirme, Tiiu Kirsipuu, Raoul Koik, Epp Maria Kokamägi, Ellen Kolk, Luule Kormašova, Nikolai Kormašov, Orest Kormašov, Aimar Kristerson, Mart Krull, Epp Kubu, Viive Kuks, Leili Kuldkepp, Laura Kõiv, Andrus Kõresaar, Tõnis Kärema, Annika Künnap, Allex Kütt, Vello Laanemaa, Heldur Lassi, Pille-Riin Lass, Tõnu Lauk, Emil Lausmäe, Malle Leis, Tea Lemberpuu, Ly Lestberg, Mihkel Liinat, Silvi Liiva, Bruno Lillemets, Ivika Luisk (Kivik-Luisk), Anu Maarand, Aet Maasik, Viktor Madison, Ülle Marks, Vladimir Matiiko, Aarne Mesikäpp, Rein Mets, Gregorio Migliaccio, Peeter Mudist, Maarit Murka, Tõnu Mäsak, Arseni Mölder, Reigo Nahksepp, Mall Nukke, Liisa Nurklik, Lydia Nüüd, Evald Okas, Kaido Ole, Jaan Paris, Ede Peebo, Imbi Ploompuu (Karu), Urmas Ploomipuu, Mari Prekup, Mark Antonius Puhkan, Aapo Pukk, Kaie Pungas, Brenda Purtsak, Laura Põld, Matti Pärk, Katrin Pärt, Liisi Pääsuke, Tiit Pääsuke, Tiit Rammul, Tiina Reinsalu, Uno Roosvalt, Eesi Rosenberg, Peeter Rudaš, Sirje Runge (Lapin), Tõnis Saadoja, Hugo Sepp, Kati Simpson, Piret Smagar, Jaak Soans, Tõnu Soo, Aleksander Suuman, Silja Šergalin, Juri Šestakov, Vladimir Taiger, Mari-Liis Tammi-Kelder, Endel Taniloo, Anne Tapper, Olga Terri, Evi Tihemets, Tiina Tiitus, Ilmar Torn, Margus Tõnnov, Maria-Kristiina Ulas, Peeter Ulas, Anne Vaher, Katrin Vaher, Valentin Vaher, Silver Vahtre, Mall Valk (Sooster), Janika Vesberg, Heldur Viires, Hanna Vinter, Ekke Väli, Eduard Wiiralt, Elisa Margot Winters

Curated by: Reeli Kõiv
Exhibition design and co-curation by: Britta Benno
Graphic design by: Pärtel Eelmere
Assistant:Anna Birgitta Erikson

The exhibition is accompanied by an eponymous catalogue featuring large reproductions of all the displayed works. In addition to a historical overview relevant to the theme, the book is enriched with interviews from drawing instructors Tiit Pääsuke, Matti Pärk, Maiu Rõõmus, Maria-Kristiina Ulas, Ülle Marks and Tõnis Saadoja, discussing the significance and meanings of learning to depict the human figure. These interviews are complemented by an essayistic reflection on figure drawing at the academy by printmaker and drawing instructor Britta Benno. Additionally, recollections of their student years from Peeter Ulas and Herald Eelma, gathered by Jüri Hain, are also republished.

The catalogue is authored and compiled by Reeli Kõiv, the head of the EKA Museum, and includes a foreword by Rector Mart Kalm.

The publication is a bilingual edition that combines both Estonian and English in a single volume, with language editing by Elo Rohult and translation by Epp Aareleid. The 288-page catalogue was designed by Stuudio Stuudio and printed at Tallinn Book Printers.

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Sadolin Estonia.
Opening drinks from Põhjala Brewery.

Exhibition of the Department of Accessory and Bookbinding
of Estonian Academy of Arts

“Captivating bind” at EKA Library
05.10 – 05.12.2024

Satellite of the 9th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial “The Fine Lines of Constructiveness” Tallinn Applied Art Triennial.

The artist’s books of seven students of the accessories and bookbindings department are completed during the studies. These are stories from the chain of memories of the authors formed into bindings.
When starting the course, the goal was to reach deeper than a mere cosmetic level in binding. As soon as the initial beauty methods no longer worked, the students were forced to look into the book as if into a mirror. Who reflects back from there? We tried to find ways to tell stories through binding, and how to bind the reader. We looked at bookbinding as a bridge between the reader and what is being read, which wordlessly mediates thoughts.

–Urmas Lüüs

Participants in the exhibition:

Anna Abrosimova, Hanna Eliise Lahe, Meeli Kombe, Julia Korovina, Helina Raud and Jürgen Sinnep.

Tutors: Urmas Lüüs and Eve Kaaret 

There is a lunchtime opening this Saturday at Vent Space, 05. October 13.30 – 15.30. The exhibition will then be open until 13.10 – by appointment, DM @ventspace.project on instagram or email yvette.bathgate@artun.ee to meet at the space.

“Transmissions” by Caitlyn Holly Main

Caitlyn Holly Main is an interdisplinary artist, working with and between text, drawing, moving image, sculptural artefact and printmaking. She is concerned with care and intimacy, notions of emotional labour, consumption and desire. Her recent work is focused around modes of communication – the physical embodiment or remnants of connection.

Expect things like… Mating dances & traffic signals. A medium translating words and sentences and histories from a distant spirit and a Whatsapp message that reads ‘omg NO way!!!!’. A post-it with a lopsided smiling face, echolocations, an act of transcribing, and a sign held above a head during a protest. An enthusiastic gesture, my friends hands point and turn and twist, & the movements punctuate the story that they’re telling me.
Morse code, smoke signals, a phone number written on a napkin with a lipstick kiss. People like echos because they want to hear a familiar voice rippling back to them from the void or the cavern or the tunnel. A lighthouse, a radio antenna, first words and ironic slogan t-shirts. Clicking fingers, waving through the window of a moving vehicle. A kiss blown, a salute, a postcard pinned to the fridge.

Vent Space project space

6/8 Vabaduse Square, Tallinn

Vent Space is an experimental project space of EKA, which offers EKA students a public exhibition space and collaboration opportunities. Many students have had their first solo exhibition at Vent Space, as well as numerous group exhibitions, discussion groups, workshops, concerts and other events.
The international team brings together different disciplines, media, practices and skills, encouraging collaboration, spontaneity, courage and experimentation. 

FB:

https://www.facebook.com/ventspace.project