Open Lectures
22.05.2024
Open Lecture: Nadir Tati
In connection with African business forum in Estonia renowned Angolan fashion designer Nadir Tati will give a public lecture in EKA on Wednesday May 22 in room A501 at 17:00
Nadir Tati is a leading figure in contemporary African fashion. As a champion of African customs and traditions she delves into the depths of African heritage, blending the past with the present and the future, exploring its vibrant colours, intricate patterns, and lush texture, revealing the essence of the continent.
Her work is characterized by a contemporary approach to traditional artisanal techniques with modern and innovative designs, reinventing Africa’s iconic patterns, such as wax print and kente. Vital to her work is the use of materials and production practices that respect the environment and local communities.
Nadir has been awarded the Best Designer in Angola in 2010, 2011, and 2012. She has also received various other honours for contribution to national culture and for excellence in business and industry, as well as awards for representing Angola on the world’s runways.
Open Lecture: Nadir Tati
Wednesday 22 May, 2024
In connection with African business forum in Estonia renowned Angolan fashion designer Nadir Tati will give a public lecture in EKA on Wednesday May 22 in room A501 at 17:00
Nadir Tati is a leading figure in contemporary African fashion. As a champion of African customs and traditions she delves into the depths of African heritage, blending the past with the present and the future, exploring its vibrant colours, intricate patterns, and lush texture, revealing the essence of the continent.
Her work is characterized by a contemporary approach to traditional artisanal techniques with modern and innovative designs, reinventing Africa’s iconic patterns, such as wax print and kente. Vital to her work is the use of materials and production practices that respect the environment and local communities.
Nadir has been awarded the Best Designer in Angola in 2010, 2011, and 2012. She has also received various other honours for contribution to national culture and for excellence in business and industry, as well as awards for representing Angola on the world’s runways.
13.05.2024
Screening: “Kaarel Kurismaa. Beyond the Limits of Timelessness”
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
Screening: “Kaarel Kurismaa. Beyond the Limits of Timelessness”
Monday 13 May, 2024
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
02.05.2024
V.S. : Conflict And How Videogames Are Contextualising It
Ukrainian designer Pavlo Stepanenko is invited by EKA New Media department to give a talk about fighting games in room B305:
“As for me, this kind of interactivity between people, often presented as a conflict in a negative light, is not always so. I would like to invite you to discuss the genre of video games, which, for me, helps solve this problem.”
Place EKA room B-305 Time: 17:00
V.S. : Conflict And How Videogames Are Contextualising It
Thursday 02 May, 2024
Ukrainian designer Pavlo Stepanenko is invited by EKA New Media department to give a talk about fighting games in room B305:
“As for me, this kind of interactivity between people, often presented as a conflict in a negative light, is not always so. I would like to invite you to discuss the genre of video games, which, for me, helps solve this problem.”
Place EKA room B-305 Time: 17:00
02.05.2024
Open architecture lecture: Lara Almarcegui
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.
Open architecture lecture: Lara Almarcegui
Thursday 02 May, 2024
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.
19.04.2024
EKA Photography 25!
On this occasion, we would like to invite you to the party on April 19 at 7 p.m. in the Botik bar (Põhjala factory, Marati 5a, Tallinn).
In the Program
19:00 Doors
19:30 A welcome by the Professor Marge Monko
20:00 Quiz – registration on the spot!
21:00 Kristjan Glück
21:30 Cake
DJs:
Ahto Külvet (Psühhoteek)
Elisa Margot Winters
Charlotte Chapuis
Taavet Kirja
Follow us:
FB: EKA Fotograafia
IG: @eka_fotograafia
EKA Photography 25!
Friday 19 April, 2024
On this occasion, we would like to invite you to the party on April 19 at 7 p.m. in the Botik bar (Põhjala factory, Marati 5a, Tallinn).
In the Program
19:00 Doors
19:30 A welcome by the Professor Marge Monko
20:00 Quiz – registration on the spot!
21:00 Kristjan Glück
21:30 Cake
DJs:
Ahto Külvet (Psühhoteek)
Elisa Margot Winters
Charlotte Chapuis
Taavet Kirja
Follow us:
FB: EKA Fotograafia
IG: @eka_fotograafia
18.04.2024
Open Architecture Lecture: Henriette Steiner
The 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 April 18, Henriette Steiner will present in the EKA hall a lecture “Before Copenhagen was “Livable”: Postmodernist Urban Development in a Time of Economic Downturn”
Henriette introduces her lecture: “Despite its limited appearances, stylistic and planning oddities, poor building quality, and current pariah status in terms of building heritage, Copenhagen’s postmodern architecture is an intrinsic part of Danish welfare architecture. With this talk, I wish to show that Copenhagen’s postmodernist development has been criticized largely for the wrong reasons, and that the period can offer alternative visions. I do this to give us a more differentiated understanding of the architecture that emerged at the turning point when Copenhagen went from being deprived and anonymous to become the image of a prosperous yet livable urban center we know today.”
Henriette Steiner is Associate Professor and Head of Section at the University of Copenhagen. She holds a PhD in history and philosophy of architecture (University of Cambridge) and works on diversity and justice in architecture and urban history often through feminist writing collectives. Recent books include Tower to Tower (with Kristin Veel, MIT Press, 2020), Touch in the Time of Corona (with Kristin Veel, De Gruyter, 2021) and Untold Stories (with Jannie Bendsen and Svava Riesto, Strandberg Publishing, 2023).
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.
Open Architecture Lecture: Henriette Steiner
Thursday 18 April, 2024
The 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 April 18, Henriette Steiner will present in the EKA hall a lecture “Before Copenhagen was “Livable”: Postmodernist Urban Development in a Time of Economic Downturn”
Henriette introduces her lecture: “Despite its limited appearances, stylistic and planning oddities, poor building quality, and current pariah status in terms of building heritage, Copenhagen’s postmodern architecture is an intrinsic part of Danish welfare architecture. With this talk, I wish to show that Copenhagen’s postmodernist development has been criticized largely for the wrong reasons, and that the period can offer alternative visions. I do this to give us a more differentiated understanding of the architecture that emerged at the turning point when Copenhagen went from being deprived and anonymous to become the image of a prosperous yet livable urban center we know today.”
Henriette Steiner is Associate Professor and Head of Section at the University of Copenhagen. She holds a PhD in history and philosophy of architecture (University of Cambridge) and works on diversity and justice in architecture and urban history often through feminist writing collectives. Recent books include Tower to Tower (with Kristin Veel, MIT Press, 2020), Touch in the Time of Corona (with Kristin Veel, De Gruyter, 2021) and Untold Stories (with Jannie Bendsen and Svava Riesto, Strandberg Publishing, 2023).
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.
15.04.2024 — 03.05.2024
Academic Staff Competition: Public Venia Legend Lectures
In April, the public lectures of the Venia legend of the candidates for the 2024 academic staff competition will begin.
NB! The password for the videos is Faw1!.ec
April 15 in room A-501
Associate professor of Glass Design, head of BA specialty, head of department (1.0 positions)
at 11:30 Andra Jõgi lecture “Half empty & fully full”
Associate professor of theory and history of Product Design (0.75 positions)
at 12.30 Triin Jerlei lecture “Shared and personal (time) stories in design”
April 29 in room A-501
Associate Professor of the Department of Animation (1.0 positions)
at 13.30 p.m. Lilli-Krõõt Repnau lecture “We tell ourselves stories in order to live…”
April 29 in room A-501
Professor of Textile Design (1.0 positions)
at 3 p.m. Kärt Ojavee lecture “Textiles in interludes”
April 30 in room A-501
Associate Professor of Graphic Design (0.5 positions)
at 11 Kert Viiart lecture “Research in graphic design education and practice”
Associate professor of Fashion Design (0.5 positions)
at 12 Anu Samarüütel-Long lecture “Without or with thought, in silence or in noise. The path of creation”
May 3 in room A-501
Associate Professor of Interaction Design (0.75 positions)
at 10:30 Nesli Hazal Oktay lecture “Interaction Design of Our Future(s)”
at 11.30 Emrecan Gülay lecture “Empowering Human Creativity: Bridging the Physical and Digital Worlds in Interaction Design and Education”
at 12.30 Velvet Spors lecture “Inter-Personal, Inter-Connected, Inter-Faced: Exploring Technology as a Tool for Relationality”
Lectures for candidates for the Associate Professor of Interaction Design are in English
You are all welcome to listen!
Academic Staff Competition: Public Venia Legend Lectures
Monday 15 April, 2024 — Friday 03 May, 2024
In April, the public lectures of the Venia legend of the candidates for the 2024 academic staff competition will begin.
NB! The password for the videos is Faw1!.ec
April 15 in room A-501
Associate professor of Glass Design, head of BA specialty, head of department (1.0 positions)
at 11:30 Andra Jõgi lecture “Half empty & fully full”
Associate professor of theory and history of Product Design (0.75 positions)
at 12.30 Triin Jerlei lecture “Shared and personal (time) stories in design”
April 29 in room A-501
Associate Professor of the Department of Animation (1.0 positions)
at 13.30 p.m. Lilli-Krõõt Repnau lecture “We tell ourselves stories in order to live…”
April 29 in room A-501
Professor of Textile Design (1.0 positions)
at 3 p.m. Kärt Ojavee lecture “Textiles in interludes”
April 30 in room A-501
Associate Professor of Graphic Design (0.5 positions)
at 11 Kert Viiart lecture “Research in graphic design education and practice”
Associate professor of Fashion Design (0.5 positions)
at 12 Anu Samarüütel-Long lecture “Without or with thought, in silence or in noise. The path of creation”
May 3 in room A-501
Associate Professor of Interaction Design (0.75 positions)
at 10:30 Nesli Hazal Oktay lecture “Interaction Design of Our Future(s)”
at 11.30 Emrecan Gülay lecture “Empowering Human Creativity: Bridging the Physical and Digital Worlds in Interaction Design and Education”
at 12.30 Velvet Spors lecture “Inter-Personal, Inter-Connected, Inter-Faced: Exploring Technology as a Tool for Relationality”
Lectures for candidates for the Associate Professor of Interaction Design are in English
You are all welcome to listen!
02.04.2024
Open architecture lecture: Barbara Imhof
On April 2nd at 4:00 p.m., an extraordinary open lecture will be held in the open area of the 4th floor of EKA (A400).
The lecture is held in English and is open to all interested parties.
Barbara Imhof: Living Beyond Earth.
Architecture for Extreme Environments
The lecture will transport us to space and beyond, showcasing a spectrum of space architecture examples—from feasibility studies to cutting-edge technological developments. These examples include deployable simulation habitats, simulations of Mars missions in terrestrial analogs, and underwater mission simulations. Additionally, it will cover the conceptualisation and implementation of habitat modules for future space stations like the Gateway, as well as innovative greenhouses such as the EDEN ISS in Antarctica. Themes explored range from integrating biogenerative principles to envisioning self-sufficient human settlements on the moon and Mars. Throughout, the projects map the requirements of space exploration while emphasizing ecological stewardship.
Barbara Imhof serves as the co-managing director of LIQUIFER Vienna – Bremen, alongside managing partners Waltraut Hoheneder and René Waclavicek, since 2004. Their globally recognized work is featured in a recent compendium published by PARK Books. Additionally, since September 2023, Barbara has held the position of professor for Integrative Design with a focus on Extremes at the Institute of Experimental Architecture at the University in Innsbruck, Austria.
Barbara Imhof has served as a simulation astronaut at the MOONWALK simulations, participated in expeditions to Antarctica and the South Pacific, and was recently elected as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Associate Fellow of the Class of 2024.
Open architecture lecture: Barbara Imhof
Tuesday 02 April, 2024
On April 2nd at 4:00 p.m., an extraordinary open lecture will be held in the open area of the 4th floor of EKA (A400).
The lecture is held in English and is open to all interested parties.
Barbara Imhof: Living Beyond Earth.
Architecture for Extreme Environments
The lecture will transport us to space and beyond, showcasing a spectrum of space architecture examples—from feasibility studies to cutting-edge technological developments. These examples include deployable simulation habitats, simulations of Mars missions in terrestrial analogs, and underwater mission simulations. Additionally, it will cover the conceptualisation and implementation of habitat modules for future space stations like the Gateway, as well as innovative greenhouses such as the EDEN ISS in Antarctica. Themes explored range from integrating biogenerative principles to envisioning self-sufficient human settlements on the moon and Mars. Throughout, the projects map the requirements of space exploration while emphasizing ecological stewardship.
Barbara Imhof serves as the co-managing director of LIQUIFER Vienna – Bremen, alongside managing partners Waltraut Hoheneder and René Waclavicek, since 2004. Their globally recognized work is featured in a recent compendium published by PARK Books. Additionally, since September 2023, Barbara has held the position of professor for Integrative Design with a focus on Extremes at the Institute of Experimental Architecture at the University in Innsbruck, Austria.
Barbara Imhof has served as a simulation astronaut at the MOONWALK simulations, participated in expeditions to Antarctica and the South Pacific, and was recently elected as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Associate Fellow of the Class of 2024.
04.04.2024
Open Architecture Lecture: Oulimata Gueye
The Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.
On April 4, Oulimata Gueye will hold in the EKA hall a lecture UFA, Université des Futurs Africains #2. It Matters What Stories We Tell to Tell Other Stories of the Future
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.
Oulimata Gueye is a Senegalese and French critic and curator interested in the uses of digital technologies in Africa and within its diasporas. “My research focuses on the future as an historical construction and the place occupied by Africa in this construction. I go back in time to understand the role of colonization in shaping the visions of the future that were to develop in the West, and how these conceptions are still prevalent today. As part of a curatorial approach to this research, I present the work of researchers, artists and architects who take a critical look at history and imagine alternatives scenarios for the future of the Continent. Following the exhibition UFA, Université des Futurs Africains (University of African Futures) I now develop a new aspect of this research by focusing on architecture.”
She co-directed the book Digital Imaginaries, African Positions Beyond Binaries (ZKM-Kerber, 2021) and curated the exhibition UFA, Université des Futurs Africains (Le Lieu Unique, 2021). Gueye teaches at and directs the Art post-graduate program at the École Nationale des Beaux Arts de Lyon. She was a visiting scholar at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (2023).
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.
Open Architecture Lecture: Oulimata Gueye
Thursday 04 April, 2024
The Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.
On April 4, Oulimata Gueye will hold in the EKA hall a lecture UFA, Université des Futurs Africains #2. It Matters What Stories We Tell to Tell Other Stories of the Future
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.
Oulimata Gueye is a Senegalese and French critic and curator interested in the uses of digital technologies in Africa and within its diasporas. “My research focuses on the future as an historical construction and the place occupied by Africa in this construction. I go back in time to understand the role of colonization in shaping the visions of the future that were to develop in the West, and how these conceptions are still prevalent today. As part of a curatorial approach to this research, I present the work of researchers, artists and architects who take a critical look at history and imagine alternatives scenarios for the future of the Continent. Following the exhibition UFA, Université des Futurs Africains (University of African Futures) I now develop a new aspect of this research by focusing on architecture.”
She co-directed the book Digital Imaginaries, African Positions Beyond Binaries (ZKM-Kerber, 2021) and curated the exhibition UFA, Université des Futurs Africains (Le Lieu Unique, 2021). Gueye teaches at and directs the Art post-graduate program at the École Nationale des Beaux Arts de Lyon. She was a visiting scholar at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (2023).
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.
25.03.2024
Public Seminar: Uncomfortable Herstories. The cases of Hella Wuolijoki and Asja Lācis
Presenters: Jaana Kokko, Andris Brinkmanis
Respondents: Anu Allas, Airi Triisberg
Moderators: Margaret Tali, Ieva Astahovska
The political past, like the present, is often uncomfortable. In this public seminar we will revisit the lives and artistic work of two politically active women in order to rethink how we could open the discomfort their lives introduce and unpack it by focusing on two herstories, those of Hella Wuolijoki (1886–1954) and Asja Lācis (1891–1979). Our aim is to think through how we could turn this discomfort into a starting point. We will inquire whether a comparative perspective on these artists’ lives and works could help shift the view of their left-wing ideas and related engagements, asking how can we reengage with their uncomfortable and marginalized intellectual and creative legacies, allowing for a richer and more complex view of the circumstances and transnational connections. How can we understand and contextualize the discomfort and threats they faced during their careers? Could understanding the connections between their lives and art offer more nuanced and connected ways of grasping, on the one hand, the long and porous 20th century, and on the other, new ways of understanding artistic practice today?
Hella Wuolijoki (born Ella Murrik) was an active figure in Finnish cultural, economic, and political life. Born in Helme in Estonia into an upper-class family in 1886, she moved to Finland in 1904 to study at the University of Helsinki, which had enabled university education for women from 1901. Internationally, Wuolijoki’s most well-known literary work is the play Mr. Puntila and his Man Matti, which she co-authored with Berthold Brecht in 1940. Her autobiographical trilogy, which includes Schoolgirl in Tartu and Student Years in Helsinki, which were written at Katajanokka prison in 1944, where she was held as a traitor. In these texts, Wuolijoki describes violent moments in her parents’ garden in Valga after the 1905 revolution; witnessing the purge that followed sparked her interest in class equality and historical materialism. As an artist Jaana Kokko is particularly interested in this change and the related intense personal experiences.
Asja Lācis (or Anna Lāce) was a Latvian theater director, actress, pedagogue, theorist, tireless seeker, and experimenter who went on to become an intermediary between the German, Latvian, and Russian avant-garde cultures. The topography of her life connects all the focal points of early 20th-century Europe. With her experience, vivid personality, and broad knowledge, she collaborated with and inspired Brecht and Walter Benjamin, among many others. Almost forgotten and sometimes deliberately omitted, the work of Lācis became better known in the west in the 1960s. She is recognized internationally for her innovative work with homeless children as well as for her approach to and methods for working with children’s film and theater, proletarian theater, and amateur actors. She has published German Revolutionary Theater (1935) and Children & Cinema (1928, in collaboration). Lācis’ archival materials, curated by Andris Brinkmanis, were exhibited in Documenta 14 (2017) in Kassel, Germany.
Everyone is welcome to join us and contribute to the discussion!
Jaana Kokko is an artist, filmmaker, and teacher based in Helsinki, whose background is in arts and economics. She is interested in the languages and places/spaces of individuals in which the singularity of experience opens onto the collective and its historicity in ways that allow us to reflect on the ethical, political, and aesthetic dimensions of not only self-representation but also life itself as something shared. Currently, she is working on two films, both located on the peripheries, where she is trying to shift the gaze to the outskirts of the seen and heard.
Andris Brinkmanis is an art critic and curator, born in Riga and based in Brunate and Milan. He is a Senior Lecturer and the Course Leader of the BA in Painting and Visual Arts at NABA in Milan and Visiting Professor for the Art Academy of Latvia Curatorial Course. In 2021, he curated and edited the book Asja Lācis. L’agitatrice rossa. Teatro, femminismo, arte e rivoluzione (Meltemi, 2021).
The seminar and workshop take place in the framework of Communicating Difficult Pasts (2019–2024) and are organized in collaboration of MACA and Institute of Art History and Visual Culture.
Public Seminar: Uncomfortable Herstories. The cases of Hella Wuolijoki and Asja Lācis
Monday 25 March, 2024
Presenters: Jaana Kokko, Andris Brinkmanis
Respondents: Anu Allas, Airi Triisberg
Moderators: Margaret Tali, Ieva Astahovska
The political past, like the present, is often uncomfortable. In this public seminar we will revisit the lives and artistic work of two politically active women in order to rethink how we could open the discomfort their lives introduce and unpack it by focusing on two herstories, those of Hella Wuolijoki (1886–1954) and Asja Lācis (1891–1979). Our aim is to think through how we could turn this discomfort into a starting point. We will inquire whether a comparative perspective on these artists’ lives and works could help shift the view of their left-wing ideas and related engagements, asking how can we reengage with their uncomfortable and marginalized intellectual and creative legacies, allowing for a richer and more complex view of the circumstances and transnational connections. How can we understand and contextualize the discomfort and threats they faced during their careers? Could understanding the connections between their lives and art offer more nuanced and connected ways of grasping, on the one hand, the long and porous 20th century, and on the other, new ways of understanding artistic practice today?
Hella Wuolijoki (born Ella Murrik) was an active figure in Finnish cultural, economic, and political life. Born in Helme in Estonia into an upper-class family in 1886, she moved to Finland in 1904 to study at the University of Helsinki, which had enabled university education for women from 1901. Internationally, Wuolijoki’s most well-known literary work is the play Mr. Puntila and his Man Matti, which she co-authored with Berthold Brecht in 1940. Her autobiographical trilogy, which includes Schoolgirl in Tartu and Student Years in Helsinki, which were written at Katajanokka prison in 1944, where she was held as a traitor. In these texts, Wuolijoki describes violent moments in her parents’ garden in Valga after the 1905 revolution; witnessing the purge that followed sparked her interest in class equality and historical materialism. As an artist Jaana Kokko is particularly interested in this change and the related intense personal experiences.
Asja Lācis (or Anna Lāce) was a Latvian theater director, actress, pedagogue, theorist, tireless seeker, and experimenter who went on to become an intermediary between the German, Latvian, and Russian avant-garde cultures. The topography of her life connects all the focal points of early 20th-century Europe. With her experience, vivid personality, and broad knowledge, she collaborated with and inspired Brecht and Walter Benjamin, among many others. Almost forgotten and sometimes deliberately omitted, the work of Lācis became better known in the west in the 1960s. She is recognized internationally for her innovative work with homeless children as well as for her approach to and methods for working with children’s film and theater, proletarian theater, and amateur actors. She has published German Revolutionary Theater (1935) and Children & Cinema (1928, in collaboration). Lācis’ archival materials, curated by Andris Brinkmanis, were exhibited in Documenta 14 (2017) in Kassel, Germany.
Everyone is welcome to join us and contribute to the discussion!
Jaana Kokko is an artist, filmmaker, and teacher based in Helsinki, whose background is in arts and economics. She is interested in the languages and places/spaces of individuals in which the singularity of experience opens onto the collective and its historicity in ways that allow us to reflect on the ethical, political, and aesthetic dimensions of not only self-representation but also life itself as something shared. Currently, she is working on two films, both located on the peripheries, where she is trying to shift the gaze to the outskirts of the seen and heard.
Andris Brinkmanis is an art critic and curator, born in Riga and based in Brunate and Milan. He is a Senior Lecturer and the Course Leader of the BA in Painting and Visual Arts at NABA in Milan and Visiting Professor for the Art Academy of Latvia Curatorial Course. In 2021, he curated and edited the book Asja Lācis. L’agitatrice rossa. Teatro, femminismo, arte e rivoluzione (Meltemi, 2021).
The seminar and workshop take place in the framework of Communicating Difficult Pasts (2019–2024) and are organized in collaboration of MACA and Institute of Art History and Visual Culture.