Category: Departments

Are you interested in keeping up-to-date with the latest discussions and topics of Estonian urbanism?

Our group of students studying Urban Studies, Architecture, and Urban Planning warmly invites you to join us on this journey of collectively curated exhibition.

SAVE THE DATE! 16 OF MAY at 15:00 in front of the main entrance of EKA. The final grading of Urban Studies Urban Models course is tutored by Kristi Grišakov & Keiti Kljavin.

The sun is rising from Eastern Estonia, as the title suggests, the hope for better and more just futures is on the horizon. The displayed experiments and projects aim to reflect the development prospects of the county, situated on the edge of Estonian land. We explore urban districts and towns of Ahtme, Järve and the Kiviõli where mono-functionality of extractivistic production has challenged to respond to the surplus of housing caused by the outmigration. By exploring various topics related to (in)tangible aspects of habitation in Ida-Virumaa county our projects are based on on-site analysis, local exploring, reinventing and rethinking approaches towards shrinkage, adaptation and re-use.

Some of us try to approach the typologies and forms of architecture in new modalities, and integrate facilities according to the actual needs of current habitats. Others attempt to restart the time in the city or see the new ways of residing for transnational communities. Together with 6 projects we paint a multilayered picture to have a glimpse into the future of Ida-Virumaa, challenging the condition of shrinkage in Eastern Estonia.

Students: 

Aleyna Canpolat, Alp Eren Özap, Axelle Boireau, Diana Drobot, Ishrat Shaheen, Jim Wolff, Kalina Trajanovska, Larisa Illetterati, Maria Laura Bendezu Ulloa, Martin Sepp, Noa Ruijten, Simon Baguette

The exhibition “Fregment_21:12” by second-year jewelry and blacksmithing students of the Estonian Academy of Arts, will be held in the Long Leg Gate Tower of Old Town, Pikk Jalg 2, between May 19 and June 4.

The exhibition reflects eight young artists’ curiosity about preserving something – what they think is worth keeping and passing on, and in what way. The desire to keep what is important to oneself has always existed. What is preserved gives us a sense of security, that even though the world around us is changing at breakneck speed, there is something that remains the same. But when trying to store something, its nature also changes. Isn’t keeping something unchanged a failed endeavor from the very beginning?

Over the years, both our values and what is held sacred change, but the original information about something important always remains. Wisdom for life is passed on through knowledge and skills, and we hope to continue to be better than before with that. All previous experiences are somehow embedded into our DNA and manifest under certain conditions when it is necessary to save us from destruction. Despite our own contradictions and self-destructiveness, we also have a survival mechanism coded into us. To trigger it, we just need to know the right code or  the right time – let it be 21:12 for example.

Artists: Aleš Rezler, Elis Liivo, Lara Herrmann, Maarja Hallika, Madlen Hirtentreu, Madli Pajos, Helen Tiits and Paul Aadam Mikson will perform at the exhibition.

Supervisors: Eve Margus and Nils Hint

Thanks: Bruno Lillemets, Jens Andreas Clausen, Kristo Pachel, Taavi Teevet, Sander Haugas, Villu Mustkivi

In the empty bear cage of the Tallinn Zoo, starting from May 19th, the exhibition “Unbounded Nature” by the glass and ceramics students of the Estonian Academy of Arts can be seen.

On May 18, at 17.00, ten second-year students of the Estonian Academy of Arts will open a joint exhibition “Unbounded Nature” in the old bear cage of the Tallinn Zoo, which raises questions about the natural relationships of living beings with the environment and adaptation to unfamiliar settings. At the same time, the budding artists also investigate the influence of the animal cage as an exhibition venue on the meaning and interpretation of the artworks.

The works in the exhibition deal with the change of human nature at a time when the primordial nature around us is disappearing and artificiality is taking over. Will life lose its natural essence if we begin to manipulate it technologically? Or as Sara Kyllönen, one of the authors, asks with her sculptures: “Is the exploitation of the most innocent creatures a natural part of civilized society, or could it work differently?”

Annali Kruusamägi, Annika Luhaäär, Erko Lill, Helen Tiits, Kätriin Reinart, Laura Stina Parri, Marta Vikentjeva, Sara Kyllönen, Valeria Poljakova and Õnne Paulus will perform at the exhibition. Each of them approaches the topic from their own personal authorial position.

This is how Annika Luhaäär remembers almost extinct sea lilies by making new fossils from them. However, Annali Kruusamägi’s work consisting of a thousand keys explores the abundance of opportunities in our lives and how rarely we take advantage of them.

The exhibition “Limitless nature” is open from May 19 to June 18 every day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Entrance with a zoo ticket.

The authors thank the Tallinn Zoo for their welcoming and friendly cooperation. Also tutors Laura Põldu and Kateriin Rikken, EKA’s glass art, ceramics and blacksmithing departments and the Estonian Academy of Arts Student Council and OÜ Kerakot.

Krulli District, light installations of the students of the Estonian Academy of Art

11.–14.05.2023

The students of the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) open an exhibition of light installations in the new Krulli District in Kalamaja. The area is named after Franz Krull’s metal and machine manufacturing company, whose product range included cast iron, steel castings and steam boilers as well as steam locomotives and even liquor production equipment.

The installations give a new lease of life to the former industrial colossus. Visitors will be taken on a trip through the whole block and its memory lanes, trapped in the glow which takes shape, absorbs, vaporizes, flows, ripples, shimmers and shines. An unforgettable experience will await, the darkened windows will once again come to life. The timeless tale glows, holding and protecting both internal and external reflections, showing the way to an exciting future.

Participating students: Saskia Krautman, Frank Kuresaar, Karl Perens, Triin Indlo, Madli Rööp, Eva Maria Põldmäe, Triinu Väikmeri, Kadri Vahar, Anna Minchenkov, Aasa Ruukel, Elle Lepik, Vivian Ilves, Katriin Maitsalu, Laura Susanna Lätte ja Annika Emilie Viigand. 

Mentor: Elo Liiv.

Architectural lighting of the light path by NGO Valgusklubi

The grand opening is on the 11th of May at 9 p.m.
Installations are visible at night, after the dawn

Supporters: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, TMW, NGO Valgusklubi, MicroWatt OÜ, Meeskond OÜ, Krulli Kvartal AS

Contemporary Drawing: Worlding in Layers
Triin Anijalg, Maria Hindreko, Sander Karjus, Kassandra Laur, Rebecca Norman, Helena Pass, Mia Rulli, Nana Schilf, Sirel Tammisto
Curator and supervisor: Britta Benno
23.05–17.06.2023
Opening: 22.05 kell 17.00

Join us for the opening of the exhibition “Contemporary Drawing: Worlding in Layers” on May 22 at 5 pm at EKA Gallery!

The openness and liminality, being in between, on the threshold, of drawing contain the immense potential of transformation, the inherent non-being and hybridisation. Becoming something or somebody feels like flowing or writing: it is a place that requires common construction; it is a time which does not flow in a linear manner. Instead of being complete, there is becoming, the endless unrolling of materials and gestures, limitless potential. The technical processes of making art are very similar to the descriptions of the becoming of a Land(scape). When printing, painting, drawing or building installations, one is adding new layers of traces from materials, colours, (conceptual) motions and other means of depiction to a base structure. In printing, one uses different methods and mechanisms of transfer to create imagery. When drawing directly onto the canvas or on paper, a new layer is created with a pencil or the tip of a brush leaving its trace. Sometimes, however, the layers are also removed: erased, washed off with water or by tearing the textile into shreds.[2]

The exhibition displays the works of students, which were completed as part of the elective course. The aim of the course was a critical analysis or rethinking of contemporary drawing art by looking at various examples, reading texts and experimental tasks. The use of the layered work method applied in the art practice of the participants: the layered combination of experimental materials and forms in the art of drawing.

[1] Britta Benno, Saamisest maa(stiku)ks. Materjalid, teadus, utoopia. ­– Leida, 25.11.22 (https://leida.artun.ee/et/issues/tehnokriitika/saamisest-maa-stiku-ks-materjalid-teadus-utoopia vaadatud: 09.05.23).

[2] Britta Benno maa, Of Becoming a Land(Scape). Material, Science, Utopia. ­– Leida, 25.11.22 (https://leida.artun.ee/en/issues/technocriticism/of-becoming-a-land-scape-material-science-utopia accessed: 09.05.23).

The Embassy of Spain and the Estonian Academy of Arts invite:

The first presentation of the fashion collection “Estonia” by Spanish fashion designer Juan Duyos in Estonia will take place on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 16:00 in the auditorium A–501 of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

All fashion enthusiasts and lovers are welcome!

Juan Duyos is a well-known fashion designer in Spain who, among others, designs for the Spanish royal family. The fashion collection, which will be presented for the first time in Estonia, is inspired by the Estonian land, fashion and craft culture.

“A visit to Estonian nature, the symbiosis of folklore and modernity, and the new use of old techniques was the initial impetus for the “Estonia” collection,” says Piret Puppart, professor of fashion, textile and accessory design at the Estonian Academy of Arts, who was the guide for Duyos’s trip to Estonia and himself in his work on Estonian ethnology. draws ideas from nature and folklore. Puppart adds:

“Estonia has two great sources of design inspiration that I have introduced to design-minded people over the years – one of them is nature and its organic place in everyday life. We don’t have the tallest trees, the longest rivers, the mightiest mountains, but we have a certain way of thinking and relating to it all. We can see and understand in a different way — that’s what makes our stay in nature extraordinary. Another important aspect is that tradition is a living culture, not just a museum piece. Juan Duyos had the opportunity to see folk costumes and their masters actively making them here and now.”

In Piret Puppart’s opinion, thanks to the Duyos “Estonia” collection, Estonia itself is also gaining recognition. For example, the collection was presented at last year’s Madrid Fashion Week, which received extensive coverage in the foreign press.

“Fashion and travel go hand in hand. The novelty of a new city or an unfamiliar environment can stimulate the imagination. Such was the case of Spanish fashion designer Juan Duyos, who celebrated 25 years as a fashion designer on the runway with a collection inspired by a midsummer trip to Estonia,” says Piret Puppart, fashion designer and head of EKA’s fashion department.

Please inform us of your participation via the RSVP link.

May brings an opportunity to experience, in an exhibition format, works produced by students in the Faculty of Fine Arts as their term projects: every day there will be a fresh crop of university students’ works on display in the gallery.

Works in contemporary art, prints, installation, sculpture and painting curricula will be on display. On each morning of the marathon, a new exhibition will be installed and in the evening the exhibit will give way to the next one. Hopefully, viewers will be able to keep up with the pace of the young artists.

SCHEDULE

02.05. Painting, supervisors Merike Estna, Alice Kask, Kristi Kongi, Holger Loodus
03.05. Photography, supervisor Madis Kurss
04.05. Drawing, supervisors Maiu Rõõmus, Matti Pärk
05.05. Drawing, supervisors Tõnis Saadoja
08.05. Drawing, supervisor Ulvi Haagensen
9.05. Drawing, supervisor Lilli-Krõõt Repnau
10.05. Drawing, supervisor Tõnis Saadoja
11.05. Graphic Art, supervisors Charlotte Biszewski, Eve Kask, Rene Haljasmäe, Viktor Gurov
12.05. Graphic Art, supervisors Kadi Kurema, Maria Erikson, Charlotte Biszewski, Britta Benno
15.05. Photography, supervisors Marge Monko, Paul Kuimet
16.—17.05. Scenography, supervisors Ene-Liis Semper, Mark Raidpere
18.—19.05. Contemporary Art, supervisors Marge Monko, Kirke Kangro, Merike Estna, Taavi Talve, Anu Vahtra, John Grzinich, Paul Kuimet, Taavi Piibemann, Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Eve Kask, David K. Ross

The Dirt Road, Vent Space Exhibition by Masters of Contemporary Art student Sarah Noonan opens May 2 at 18.00.

Exhibition Opening times are 2–7 May from 15.00–19.00.

02.05–07.05 The Dirt Road by Sarah Noonan

On September 24th, 2022 a small hurricane in Atlantic Canada destroyed an abandoned tree farm on a dirt road. The exhibition The Dirt Road symbolizes how the attachment to a specific location and the origin of home can turn a place into somewhere that is precious. Materials and memory teleport familiarity while roaming unnaturally through structures and color. To explore the ethereal desolation of nature, textile sculptures create an abstract representation of the dirt road. This installation environment recollects sensitive traits from this cherished place. It reveals how the roots of our upbringing are abandoned by abstract forms and imagining memories; But ground feelings of regret with youthful honesty.

Sarah Noonan uses her own discarded clothes and belongings to transform worn and renewed fabrics into hand-sewn, mixed media sculptures. Through indiscriminate uses of craft and textile materials they investigate material qualities of durability and softness. Their art reveals fragile layers of sentiment around us that navigate connections to inhabiting places. Changes in time, place, and acceptance encourages us to identify feelings of intrinsic worth.