Open Lectures

Thursday, 28th of September at 17.30 Anthony Luciano, a New York based leather designer and entrepreneur will give an inspirational lecture about vintage handbags and building a small business in New York.

Anthony Luciano, a first-generation New Yorker of Italian descent, brings together artistry and family heritage. Raised in a family of skilled artisans, where his mother and grandmother were seamstresses and his father a carpenter, Luciano inherited a passion for crafting with his hands. 

He initially pursued a fashion degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology but later transitioned to accessory design. In 2000, he launched his own collection, drawing inspiration from vintage handbag clasps from around the world. His aim was to create luxurious day and evening bags of exceptional quality, quickly gaining acclaim in top retailers like Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Stanley Korshak. His bags have been featured in leading fashion magazines and have garnered a loyal celebrity following, including stars like Judith Light, Meryl Streep, Debra Messing, Cameron Diaz, and Megan Mullally.

This lecture is made possible by funding from the Baltic-American Freedom Foundation (BAFF).

Homepage: anthonyluciano.com

Anthony Luciano is visiting EKA to teach students a course on making handbags with frames. 

Lecture is in english

In autumn 2023, the open architectural lectures will take place under the title Mobile Masters. The theme brings architects and theorists to Tallinn, who analyse architecture’s flexibility and the mobile practices of architects, spatial designers and artists.

Gregor Taul, the curator of the autumn lectures, introduces the program with the following words: “Architecture stands at a significant crossroads. Ten-year-old buildings are demolished and taken to the landfill. The lifespan of an interior design project is five years at best, if that. These bleak facts do not inspire confidence in a discipline that requires so many resources in light of such a short time perspective. What does ‘better not do anything’ mean for spatial design? What might ‘mobile architecture’ refer to or who is a ‘mobile designer’? How can moving people or things be a positive spatial practice?”

On September 28, Keith Murray will be on the EKA main hall stage in Tallinn with the lecture “MOBILITY: Abstract/Actual/Affect”

Keith Murray is a Zimbabwean born architect, designer, sculptor and jewelry artist who has lived in the UK since 1988. Murray trained as an architect in Cape Town, South Africa and has worked as an architect and lecturer in South Africa, Zambia, Uganda, London and Brighton. About ten years ago, Murray retired to Suffolk on the east coast of the British Isles, where he built an eco-house for himself and his partner and has focused on making sculptures and jewelry from natural and found materials.

Keith Murray introduces his lecture in the following words:

The talk draws on personal experience/interests/thoughts of the last 50 years. Divided into three topics mainly to give some structure, but these will overlap and interweave, as they do in real life. 

ABSTRACT – From the Industrial revolution to the Technological revolution, in the last 150 years everything has got faster and faster. This acceleration has affected all aspects of our lives. Including Art, especially Sculpture (Calder is an obvious topic, but Caro and Smith are also looked at), literature, poetry. 

ACTUAL – Mobility in Architecture discussed using a few selected examples. Things now made, materials and techniques used, changing demands, some for good, some for bad. Just how bad is becoming more and more obvious, so responsible awareness and action is essential. 

AFFECT – Immigration and emigration, the spread of knowledge but also the awareness of things lost, left behind but impossible to forget. 

The open lectures are intended for students and professionals of all disciplines, not just the field of architecture. All lectures take place in the large auditorium of EKA, are in English, free of charge and open to all interested parties. Be there!

Within the framework of a series of open lectures, the Department of Architecture and Urban Design of EKA brings to the audience in Tallinn every academic year about a dozen unique practitioners and valued theoreticians of the field. You can watch lectures from previous years on YouTube.

Autumn lectures

– September 28  at 6 pm Keith Murray (https://www.instagram.com/keithmurray5199/)

– October 26 at 6 pm Alexander Roemer (https://constructlab.net/)

– November 23 at 6 pm Laurens Bekemans (https://bc-as.org/)

– December 7  at 6 pm Katarina Bonnevier (https://mycket.org/)

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

Curator: Gregor Taul

www.avatudloengud.ee

21 September at 17.45 (room A-101).

The first lecture will be given by two artists’ duos.

During their residency, Japanese duo Reico Motohara and Kabo invite people to cook with them to get to know the participants better and learn about their stories.

Olga Wardega and Christoph Zeckel created an audiovisual installatsion at Kreenholm factory for the Station Narva festival. The artists explored what meaning this place has in the memories of Narva people and what happens when nature takes over.

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In autumn 2023, international artists from the Narva Art Residency will give three lectures at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

They will talk about the practicalities of being a professional artist, what the daily life of an art residency is like and how to get involved in the opportunities offered to artists. Of course, they will also introduce their own creative work.

Lectures take place on three Thursdays at 17.45. They are free of charge and open to all!

The lectures will be held in English.

On 9 September at 16.00 in Narva Art Residency (Joala 18)

Tanja Muravskaja’s exhibition “The Vernacular” at the Narva Art Residency displays an atlas of the words of Russian-speaking Estonian people. This collection of words reflects several processes that have taken place and are still taking place in the local society.

Muravskaja uses an analytical approach and psychological observation in her work – whether the object of her approach is the psychology of an individual, society or place. His works deal with identity and memory, as well as the relationship between society and its members.

In the special Station Narva artist talk Tanja will open up about the exhibition and the words collected for it. This is followed by a practical workshop “Word game”, in which Muravskaja invites the participants to play with language, concepts, words and translations – substances that everyone can employ in a unique and creative way.

Part of Station Narva program

Attending free of charge

EEE is a graphic design studio based between Bologna and Ravenna (IT) born from the collaborative experience of Emilio Macchia and Erica Preli.

The studio is engaged in a wide range of projects within the field of arts and culture, including publication and book design, brand identities and exhibition design.

EEE gives lectures and holds workshops at universities and other educational institutions, both in Italy and abroad, such as: Fine Art Academy Bologna, Fine Art Academy Macerata and Alma Mater Studiorum Bologna University.

The studio also works on research-based and self-initiated projects; some of the most recents are SUBSTITUTES and Fahrenheit 39 art book fair in Ravenna since 2010.

Cecilia Alemani

“The Milk of Dreams. A journey through the 59th edition of the Venice Biennale”

Cecilia Alemani is one of the most influential curators in the world today. She curated the 59th International Venice Biennale, a much talked about landmark exhibition. The title of the biennale, Milk of Dreams is borrowed from a book by the surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, in which she describes a magical world where everyone has the capacity to change, to become something or someone else, a world where there are no limits but which is bursting with possibilities.

In her talk, Cecilia Alemani will speak about the process of organising the most prestigious art exhibition in the world: The Venice Biennale. She will talk about how she developed a theme for the exhibition, how the so-called “Time Capsules” built a foundation for her show, how she selected the artists, worked with the participants on new commissions, the installation, and many other aspects behind the making of such a large scale exhibition. 

Cecilia Alemani is an Italian curator based in New York. Since 2011, she has been the Donald R. Mullen, Jr Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art, the public art program presented by the High Line in New York. In 2022, she curated The Milk of Dreams, the 59th International Art Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia. In 2018, Alemani served as Artistic Director of the inaugural edition of Art Basel Cities: Buenos Aires. In 2017, she curated the Italian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Currently, she also is working on Anu Põder’s solo exhibition, opening at Muzeum Susch in January 2024. 

The open lecture is organised by the Faculty of Art and Culture of the Estonian Academy of Arts in cooperation with the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art.

The lecture will take place in English.

No registration needed.

More information: Annika Toots (annika.toots@artun.ee)

On Friday, the 16th of June, at 17:30, MARTYN ROBERTS, the founder of Fashion Scout, will be giving a lecture at EKA (room A 501). The lecture is part of the Transform4Europe Week program.

Over the past 17 years, Martyn has developed Fashion Scout into one of the world’s most recognised and acclaimed independent platforms for international fashion designers, and the largest independent platform at London Fashion week under Martyn’s direction, Fashion Scout has also delivered showcasing events and Business Accelerator Programmes in UK, France, Estonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, Armenia, Kenya, Sri Lanka and China.

The masterclass, titled BRAND POSITIONING AND IDENTITY, BUILDING VALUE AND BRAND COMMUNICATIONS, will explore how emerging fashion and accessories brands can build their brand identity, creating value for their clients and communicating this in crowded media scene. Martyn will delve into how emerging brands have successfully developed their brand positioning, how to identify target markets and how to price their designs. This is a subject he has delivered and discussed at leading universities and fashion weeks around the world.

The panel discussion “Reflections on the Act of Improvement in the Context of Sustainability” within the Transform4Europe week will be conducted by Marta Konovalov, Maris Taul and Anna-Maria Saar.

The open discussion focuses on how remediation can promote sustainability and circularity.

In the discussion round, the audience is invited to discuss their role in the relationship with textiles and clothing — are we consumers, owners and wearers or are we in a nurturing relationship?

The discussion round will take place in EKA room B511, on June 15 from 15:00 to 17:00.