Category: Cultural Heritage and Conservation

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has sparked debates and conflicts over Russian and Soviet monuments in the former Eastern Bloc and has also revitalized global discussions about dissonant heritage. This has created a new need and a new framework for comparisons – for comparing monuments, as well as their toppling and rebuilding in different parts of the world and historical contexts.

This event is primarily about learning from cases of reframing. The lectures, seminars and workshops will bring together expertise and knowledge from different fields and contexts to explore solutions that aim not to dismantle dissonant heritage but to place it in a new, critical framework. During the three days, we will discuss the broader conceptualizations and histories of reframing monuments and heritage, as well as focus on concrete cases. The cases will include various artistic interventions as well as other means of reframing, ranging from educational programs and museology to community engagement.

We believe that there is an urgent need to bring together knowledge of existing cases also to develop future practices for reinterpreting heritage through cross-disciplinary collaboration: artistic research and memory studies, heritage conservation and digitization, and spatial interventions. Thus, this event aims to generate new knowledge and skills for dealing with complex heritage at different levels.

The event will consist of lectures, seminars, tours and group work. Students are divided into interdisciplinary groups to develop a reframing project, each of which will focus on a case study representing dissonant heritage from Narva and the neighbouring industrial regions of northeastern Estonia.

Experts: Riin Alatalu, Kirke Kangro, Gregor Taul, Anu Soojärv and Triinu Väikmeri (Estonian Academy of Arts), Kristo Nurmis (Tallinn University), Victoria Donovan (University of St. Andrews), Oksana Denisenko and Linara Dovydaitytė (Vytautas Magnus University), Egle Grebliauskaite (Vilnius University), Olha Honchar (Territory of Terror Museum, Ukraine)

More info:
Triinu Väikmeri (triinu.vaikmeri@artun.ee)

We welcome you at the presentation of the book “History of Estonian Urban Planning 1918–2020” on Thursday, April 25 at 4 p.m. in the lobby of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

The voluminous and richly illustrated book provides an overview of the last hundred years of Estonian urban planning. At that time, cities became the main residences of the population living here, and rapid urbanization made it necessary to start systematically planning cities. During the politically volatile century, land ownership and land use, the organization and financing of urban construction were shaped several times, the principles of urban construction as well as the role of the architect-planner changed.

The authors of the book deal with these changes primarily in an architectural-historical, but also in a broader cultural framework, presenting the plans that were realized as well as those left on paper, the ideas that shaped them, and the social and economic factors. Housing construction, i.e. the need to provide decent housing for an ever-increasing population, and post-war reconstruction, which was supposed to make cities better than ever, stand out as the most important topics. The book helps to understand the reasons for urban planning changes that have shaped Estonian cities in the past century into what we know them as today.

The book was compiled by Epp Lankots and Triin Ojari. Authors: Mart Kalm, Karin Hallas-Murula, Lilian Hansar, Henry Kuningas, Epp Lankots, Madis Tuuder, Triin Ojari, Riin Alatalu, Kaja Pae, Toomas Tammis, Keiti Kljavin, Maroš Krivý, Kaija-Luisa Kurik. The book was designed by Andres Tali.

Publisher: Estonian Academy of Arts
Supporters: Estonian Cultural Capital, Ministry of Education and Research, Estonian Language Institute, Estonian Association of Art Scientists and Curators, Estonian Architecture Museum, Estonian Science Agency (research grant no. PSG530).

At the presentation, the book can be purchased at a discounted price of 35 EUR.

On March 15 at 14.30-15.30 the peer review event of Triin Reidla’s exhibition “Bold and Beautiful. Estonian private houses from the 1980s” will take place in Estonian Museum of Architecture (seminar room). Triin Reidla is a PhD student in cultural heritage and conservation. The exhibition is part of her doctoral thesis that investigates postmodern residential architecture.

Supervisors: Dr. Maris Mändel (EKA) and Dr. Ingrid Ruudi (EKA)
Reviewers: Prof. Andres Kurg (EKA) and Prof. Marija Dremaite (Vilnius University)

The exhibition is open at the Museum of Architecture (Ahtri 1, Tallinn) from November 29, 2023 to May 12, 2024.
The exhibition “Bold and Beautiful: Estonian private houses from the 1980s” offers insights into the stories of private houses from the 1980s. The exhibition seeks answers to the following questions:
● In which (architectural) historical context do these houses fit?
● Where were postmodern residential buildings planned?
● How did historical peculiarities influence the construction of these buildings?
● What does a postmodernist home look like? What are the floor plans of these houses?
● What has become of these houses today?
● What do architects and owners think of postmodernist houses in the present day?

Triin Reidla is a cultural heritage specialist, architectural historian, editor, and lector, currently pursuing her doctoral studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Her research focuses on architecture in the 1980s.

On 21 December Mariann Raisma, a PhD candidate at Estonian Academy of Arts, curriculum of Cultural Heritage and Conservation, will defend the thesis „The Power of the Museum. Shaping Collective Memory in Estonia during the Turning Points of the 20th Century“ („Muuseumi võim. Muuseum kollektiivse mälu kujundajana Eestis 20. sajandi murranguperioodidel“).

Public defence will be held on 21st of December 2023 at 11.00 at EKA (Põhja pst 7), room A101.

Supervisors: Prof. Linda Kaljundi (Estonian Academy of Arts), Dr. Anneli Randla (Estonian Academy of Arts)

External reviewers: Dr. Anu Kannike (Estonian National Museum), Dr. Marleen Metslaid (Estonian National Museum)

Opponent: Dr. Anu Kannike (Estonian National Museum)

The defense will be held in Estonian.

Over the past two centuries, museums have played a pivotal role in shaping societies’ understanding of the past. They guide our perceptions of history, determine the delicate balance between forgetting and remembering, and influence the hierarchy of values associated with heritage.

This dissertation critically examines the power and influence of museums as mediums of cultural memory, with a focus on the Estonian museum field. Given that our identity is intricately tied to what we remember and what we choose to forget, it is crucial to understand the reasons and processes behind the shaping and shifting of collective memory throughout historical periods. This research focuses on the history of the Estonian museum in the 20th century, examining three periods which saw significant historical turning points: 1919–1925, 1940–1941/1944–1953 and 1987–1994.

The history of Estonian museums offers insights into how the core principles, values and canons for constructing cultural memory changed during these periods of social and political upheaval. These changes encompassed the nature and interpretation of ideologies, themes and how they were represented, museums as institutions, their hierarchy and nomenclature, the dynamics of the relationship between power and the institution, and the capacity, intent and ability of museums to shape society’s collective memory.

The identity and institutions of the Estonian museum field underwent significant changes throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Beginning with self-definition rooted in European culture, museums transitioned to embracing ‘Heimat’ before evolving to value ethnicity. This evolution culminated in ideas for large national museums, which eventually diversified into various specialised museums during the 20th century. The regional discourse of the early 20th century gave way to a national narrative, followed by a Soviet-Marxist perspective. In the final decade of the century, national cultural memory underwent a revival. This sequence of ideas was also reflected in history-themed permanent exhibitions: the 1920s witnessed the legitimisation of popular culture as elite; the 1940s established a normative approach to historical materialism; and from the late 1980s, nationalism triumphed once again, ushering in new museological approaches. While analysing all these changes, this dissertation emphasises the hybridity of Estonian museum history and its interweaving with different cultural spaces and paradigms.

Throughout the three periods of upheaval discussed, museums were at the forefront of the shaping of a new cultural memory canon. Correspondingly, these turning points have contributed to the formation of Estonia’s own unique museum field.

The thesis is available HERE.

Members of the Defence Committee: Prof. Krista Kodres (Head of the Committee), Dr. Anu Allas, Prof. Hilkka Hiiop, Prof. Juhan Maiste, Prof. Kurmo Konsa

David K. Ross and Rebecca Duclos (EKA Visiting Lecturers, MACA, Museum Studies) recently travelled across northern Ukraine to visit 8 arts schools in Lviv, Kharkiv and Kyiv. 

David will be showing images from this trip and discussing some of the pressing issues facing arts eduction in Ukraine at this moment.

Online roundtable

Since February 2022, many Russian Imperial and Soviet statues and symbols have been removed from public space, accompanied by heated discussions in the local (social) media. The nature of the actions varies, but in several countries political rather than expert decisions have been the guiding force, with an immediate effect on the actual monuments of art, architecture and other cultural artefacts.

The international audience, at the same time, even in the neighbouring regions, has access to very few of those local debates – each country in Eastern and Central Europe has been handling similar kinds of issues on their own. To analyse these developments in more depth, a comparative approach and a longer historical perspective is needed. The situation is changing quickly, and new monuments are lost almost daily. Rather than the monuments themselves, this round table, firstly, seeks to document the local-level discussions, in order to develop a more nuanced understanding of the current situation as well as its broader contexts. Secondly, we want to learn from each other by gathering successful examples of artistic and other transdisciplinary interventions to safeguard or reinterpret those monuments.

The speakers include Linda Kaljundi, Riin Alatalu and Kristina Jõekalda (all Estonian Academy of Arts), Sofia Dyak, Iryna Sklokina (both Center for Urban History of East Central Europe in Lviv) and Mykola Homanyuk (Kherson State University, Ukraine), Maija Rudovska (independent scholar/curator, Latvia), Oxana Gourinovitch (Belarus/RWTH Aachen University), Olga Juutistenaho (Finland/Technical University of Berlin), Stephanie Herold (Technical University of Berlin, Germany), Dragan Damjanović, Patricia Počanić and Sanja Delić (all University of Zagreb, Croatia), Nini Palavandishvili (independent scholar/curator, Georgia), Małgorzata Łukianow (University of Warsaw, Poland), Linara Dovydaitytė (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania) and Ivo Mijnssen (independent scholar/journalist, Austria).

The online roundtable can be followed via live video stream on the Facebook page of the Institute of Art History and Visual Culture, Estonian Academy of Arts on Tuesday, 16th May 2023, from 14.00 to ca. 19.00 (Tallinn time, EEST).

If you wish to get involved as a discussant and receive a Zoom link, please let us know here by 15th May.

More information: Kristina Jõekalda (kristina.joekalda@artun.ee), Linda Kaljundi (linda.kaljundi@artun.ee).

The seminar “Michel Sittow in the North and South” will be held on Wednesday, November 23 at 16:00 in EKA room A101.
The seminar is held in English.

SPEAKERS:

Oskar Rojewski, University of Silesia in Katowice, University Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid
Michel Sittow’s service to Isabel of Castille (1492-1502) and Habsburgs (1505-1515)

Greta Koppel, Art Museum of Estonia
Michel Sittow in the North? Is there any material evidence to testify his artistic activities?

Anu Mänd, Tallinn University
Michel Sittow in the archival documents of Tallinn

Discussion on Michel Sittow’s legacy will follow.

The focus of the seminar is on the internationally renowned artist Michel Sittow (c. 1469–1525), who was born in Tallinn. Sittow, who was trained in the school of Netherlandish art in Bruges and worked in various European courts, was active as an artist in Tallinn for almost fifteen years. His person and works and the wider cultural context of their creation continue to be of interest to both researchers and the general public. One of the sequels to the extremely popular exhibition at the Kumu Art Museum and National Gallery of Art in Washington (2018) is the research and exhibition project of the Art Museum of Estonia and the Hälsingland Museum in Sweden “Michel Sittow in the North? Altarpieces in dialogue“. Oskar Rojewski, who is visiting EKA within the Transform4Europe partnership, is one of the speakers at the seminar.

In Estonia, in the last decade, the heritage of the Soviet period has been evaluated with an open eye and the best of it has been protected. The Department of Cultural Heritage and Conservation of the Estonian Academy of Arts organizes from 03 – 07 October for the second time, an intensive course where the architecture and related monumental art of the Soviet period  are discussed in comparison with other Eastern European countries.

When in 2020 the heritage of Georgia and Lithuania were under observation, this year it is the heritage of Bulgaria and Romania. On Tuesday, guest lecturer Dora Ivanova will focus on the restoration of the controversial Buzludzha monument and Dumitru Rusu on the legacy of the socialist period in Eastern Europe, especially Romania and Moldova. On Wednesday, John Patrick Leach will talk about the legacy of totalitarianism in Europe. On Monday, Laura Ingerpuu, a PhD student at EKA, will talk about Estonian architecture, and Anu Soojärv, who recently defended her master’s thesis at EKA on the same topic, will talk about Estonian monumental art. The study trip of the course leads to Sillamäe.
The course is coordinated by Riin Alatalu.

Program:

3.10 A-400
17:00 Riin Alatalu, EKA
Introduction. Dissonance of Soviet Architecture in Different Contexts.

17:30 Laura Ingerpuu, EKA
The Best of Soviet Architecture in Estonia. Social, political and Cultural Context.

19:00 Anu Soojärv, TLU, EKA
Monumental-Decorative Art in Soviet Estonia – Soviet Heritage or Estonian Heritage?

4.10 A-501
17:00 Dumitru Rusu, (B.A.C.U.)
Socialist Period Heritage. The Ambitions and Outcomes of the Bureau for Art and Urban Research. Socialist Heritage in the Former Eastern Bloc Countries  (Romania and Republic of Moldova)

18:30 Dora Ivanova, Buzludzha Project
Socialist Heritage in Bulgaria. The Ambitions and Outcomes of Buzludzha Project.

5.10 A-400
17:00 Patrick Leach, Atrium
The Heritage of Totalitarian Regimes. The Network of Atrium.

18:30 Anu Soojärv
Why Do We Need Soviet “Red” Monuments.

6.10 A-400
17:00 Anu Soojärv
Applied Artists as Creators of Monumental-Decorative Art in Soviet Estonia. Leo Rohlin.

7.10 A-101
17:00 Riin Alatalu, EKA
Protection of Socialist Architecture and Soviet Monuments in Estonia. International Networks.

More info: Riin Alatalu (riin.alatalu@artun.ee)

The exhibition “Open Windows” will reopen on the windows of the Library of EKA on February 21, at 4 pm.

Through the exhibition of EKA windows, different specialities of EKA introduce their most outstanding projects and the latest creations of students. The exhibition can be viewed on the windows of the EKA Library on Põhja pst and Kotzebue streets and will remain open until March 14.

Specialities represented: Installation and Sculpture, Room Design, Product and Environmental design, Visual Communication, Photography, Jewellery and Blacksmithing, Scenography, Fashion Design, Textile Design, Accessory Design, Graphics, Graphic Design, Animation, Ceramics, Industrial and Digital Product Design, Glass, Architecture, Interior Design, Painting, Art and Visual Culture, Cultural Heritage and Conservation

The exhibition of open windows of EKA made its debut in 2021 and received a warm welcome from those interested in art and art education. The Estonian Academy of Arts, located on the edge of Kalamaja, will once again enliven the city’s cultural landscape at street level. Get with it! 

Online discussion “Working with the Post-Cold War Heritages in the Baltics and Beyond”

The discussion will take place on Facebook

Participants: Eglė Rindzevičiūtė, Hilkka Hiiop, Kati Lindström, Raitis Šmits, Linara Dovydaitytė, Ele Carpenter

Moderators: Ieva Astahovska, Linda Kaljundi

The visible traces of the Soviet period in the Baltic landscapes include diverse and numerous technologically political infrastructures, including remnants of abandoned, collapsed or destroyed military buildings. This online discussion addresses the ways of working with the post-cold war heritages from the perspective of environmental history, technology studies, as well as contemporary heritage conservation and art.

More info 

Facebook

This is the fourth discussion of the research and exhibition project “Reflecting Post-Socialism through Post-Colonialism in the Baltics,” organised by the Latvian Center for Contemporary Art in Riga in collaboration with Kumu Art Museum and the research project “Estonian Environmentalism in the 20th Century” (both Tallinn). The project analyses the imprints of post-socialism and post-colonialism in the Baltic region, here exploring them through the prism of environmental history and the current ecological crisis.