Category: Departments

The defense of this year’s master’s theses of the Department of Interior Architecture will take place on Tuesday, May 28 at 10:00 – 15:30 at EKA, room A501. There will also be a live broadcast of the defenses, which can be watched on EKA TV.

Schedule:

10.00 – 10.45 Ann-Katriin Kelder “The Rent Included Three Hounds, or The Alternative Clubs of Tallinn”. Reviewer Brigitta Davidjants.
10.45 – 11.30 Viktoria Ugur “Excavation manifesto. Exploring underground spaces”. Reviewer Mirell Ülle.
11.30 – 12.15 Karen Isabel Talitee “Restoration of destroyed (interior) architecture. From copy to innovation. Using the example of Maakri 28”. Reviewer Liisa Hagelberg.

Lunch break 12.15 – 13.15

13.15 – 14.00 Piret-Liis Carson “Recess rooms that support students’ mental and physical health”. Reviewer Kadri Klementi.
14.00 – 14.45 Päär-Joonap Keedus “I-architecture. Master’s diary”. Reviewer Urmas Lüüs.
14.45 – 15.30 Anni Truu “Towards the urban interior: the potential of interior architecture in the activation of urban space following the example of Kitseküla”. Reviewer Alina Nurmist.

The master’s theses were supervised by Mariann Drell, Pavle Stamenović and Gregor Taul.

The master’s theses are evaluated by a committee consisting of Malle Jürgenson (chairman of the committee), Manten Devriendt, Ardo Hiiuväin, Liina Langemets, Martin Melioranski and Andrea Tamm. The secretary of the committee is Marie-Katharine Maksim.

You can see the works of interior architecture master’s students at the TASE exhibition on the second floor of the EKA building and at the TASE online exhibition. The exhibition is open from May 29 to June 16, every day from 12:00 to 18:00. Step through!

The material-led group exhibition “Objects or Things” opens on May 30th at 18:00 in the Krull Quarter.

Objects or Things brings together ten master students from the academy’s new Craft Studies program, presenting works in various materials, including glass, metal, stone, textile and ceramics. The presented works stay on the border between objects and things and question the importance of functionality with their nature, combining different craft disciplines. The group members position themselves in between the worlds of art, design, and craft, brought together by a deep interest in the nature and roles that different materials shaped by humans have and occupy. The crafts represent traditions with long histories that are nevertheless alive and capable of changing with the world.

Participants: Sofiya Babiy, Iohan Figueroa, Rait Lõhmus, Juulia Aleksandra Mikson, Katariin Mudist, Maarja Mäemets, Alyona Movko-Mägi, Kati Saarits, Hannah Segerkrantz, and Elias Sormanen.

Objects or Things is open from 31.05–9.06.2024, Fri-Sat 13:00–19:00, or by appointment. Address: Kopli 70a, Krulli Quarter, 2nd floor.

This exhibition is part of the TASE satellite programming.

For more information and rsvp, please contact Maarja Mäemets maarja.maemets@artun.ee

The exhibition opening is sponsored by Põhjala Brewery.

SISU is a major event in the field of Estonian interior architecture and spatial design, which deals with topics related to interior architecture. The symposium has become a meeting place for recognized theorists and practitioners in the field of (interior) architecture from all over the world. This year’s SISU will take place from the 13th until the 2oth of June  in the premises of the National Archives film archive in Pelgulinn. The focal point of SISU is an exhibition and the accompanying symposium, which will take place on 13th of June at 5.00 p.m.

The title of this year’s exhibition … And Nothing is Forever refers to the question of temporality in spatial design. Participants from all over Europe were asked to open up the current state of their profession through one artefact that was to be sent to Tallinn with the smallest size box of the international postal service. Both found objects and works created especially for this event will be on display at the symposium. However, the participants had to take into account the fact that after the end of the exhibition they wouldn’t get back their works. The objects will be put back in the boxes and they will remain in the building as a unified time capsule. 

The curators of the Time Capsule project, Aet Ader, Karin Tõugu Gregor Taul and Pavle Stamenovic, invited 50 individuals and offices from Estonia and abroad to participate in SISU this time, and half of them responded with an artefact. Among the participants are interior architects, architects, designers, artists, urban activists, material researchers, furniture makers, creative researchers as well as performance artists, all of whom have come into contact with the field of interior architecture in one way or another. Attempts have been made to capture the spirit of the era and the profession both through text-based manifestos and ephemeral mock-ups.

In the exhibition, the artefacts enter into a dialogue with the cells of the Ristiku 84 building, which was built as a prison for the Tallinn garrison in the 1950s. It is a unique horseshoe-shaped prison, which reflects the 18th century English enlightener Jeremy Bentham’s idea of a penitentiary as a panopticon. Although the neoclassical prison underwent a thorough renovation in the 1990s when it was converted into an archive, the cells on the first floor were left intact. Films have been shot in these rooms, and architecture enthusiasts have been able to get to know the house as part of the annual Museum Nights, but the house is unknown to the general public. It may happen that it will stay that way, because it is not known what the state will do with the building after the Film Archive moves out. It is not a listed building, moreover, the building is in poor condition, has a somewhat tainted history and is located on a valuable plot. Based on current practice, the entire complex – along with the “buried” SISU 2024 time capsule – is threatened with demolition.

The SISU exhibition opens at 3 p.m on the 13th of June. At 4 p.m there will be a guided tour in the Film Archives building led by its director Eva Näripea. The symposion will take place from 5 p.m to 7 p.m. The exhibition will remain open from the 14th to the 20th of June, Mon-Thu 9 a.m to 5 p.m, Fri 9 a.m to 4 p.m. Further information in English below.

SISU is supported by the Cultural Foundation, the Ministry of Culture, Film Archive of the National Archives of Estonia and the Estonian Association of Interior Architects. In addition to the curators, Gregor Taul and Annamari Nael from the EKA Department of Interior Architecture and graphic designer Anna Kaarma belong to the organizing team of the symposium.

Initial list of participants:

45 degrees (Greece/Germany) – https://www.forty-five-degrees.com/

Hanna Loora Arro

Ljubica Arsic (Serbia/Switzerland) – https://ljubicaarsic.com/

Masayo Ave (Japan/Germany) – https://www.masayoavecreation.org/

Jean Jacques Balzak (France) – https://www.instagram.com/jeanjacquesbalzac/

Laurens Bekemans (Belgium) – https://bcmaterials.org/

Katarina Bonnevier (Sweden) – https://mycket.org/

Janka Csernak (Hungary) – https://mome.hu/en/people/janka-csernak

Aleksandr Delev (Germany) – https://www.aleksandrdelev.com/

Davor Eres (Serbia) – https://ifdt.bg.ac.rs/dt_team/eres-davor/?lang=en

Failed Architecture (Holland) – https://failedarchitecture.com/

Caterina Figuera (Spain/Switzerland) – https://rotativestudio.com/

Ana Filipovic (Germany) – https://www.ana-filipovic.com/

Daniel Fuchs (Switzerland) – https://bach-muehle-fuchs.ch/

Atelier Gapont (Liechenstein) – https://ateliergapont.li/

Tinatin Gurgenidze (Georgia/Germany) – https://www.instagram.com/post_soviet_space/

Matilde Igual (Spain) – https://matildeigual.eu/

Silvia Ingver

Jüri Kermik – https://www.kermikdesign.com/

Keithy Kuuspu – https://www.keithykuuspu.com/

Kuidas.works – https://kuidas.works/

LLRRLLRR – https://llrrllrr.com/

Milica Lopičić (Serbia/Germany) – https://www.lopicic.de/

Urmas Lüüs – https://urmasluus.com/

Tom Vam Malderen (Malta) – https://tomvanmalderen.com/

Philip Mecke (Germany) – https://www.philipp-mecke.com/

Arnita Melzoba and Kārlis Melzobs (Latvia) – https://gaissarhitekti.lv/

Jelena Mitrovic (Serbia) – https://poligon.rs/

mitte_tallinn – https://www.instagram.com/mitte_tallinn/

Maria Muuk, Nele Kurvits, Aimur Takk

Platvorm – https://www.platvorm.ee/

Laura Pormeister

Miro Roman (Croatia/Switzerland) – https://miro.romanvlahovic.com/

Sampling (Latvia) – https://www.sampling.lv/

SPOLKA (Slovakia) – https://spolka.cc/

Sven Samyn

Dubravka Sekulić (Serbia/United Kingdom) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubravka_Sekulić

Sander Joosep Siigur

Linda Marie Zimmer

Pent Talvet – https://www.iseasi.ee/

Margus Tammik, Mari Möldre, Ulla Alla, Merilin Kaup – https://vares.space/

TEN studio (Serbia/Switzerland) – https://ten.studio/

Kristi Tšernilovski

Stuudio TÄNA – https://stuudiotäna.ee/

Mari Uibo

Linda-Marie Urke

Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla – https://www.vaiklastudio.ee/people/tuune-kristin/

Kristina Õllek – https://kristinaollek.com/

Mirell Ülle – https://www.tervislikruum.ee/

With Love and Fortitude
ARS Project Space & Showroom & Studio 53
Exhibition open: May 25 – June 14, Mon–Sun 12.00–18.00
Opening: Friday, May 24, 18.00

With Love and Fortitude is a joint exhibition by the 1st year MA Contemporary Art students of EKA, taking place in ARS Project Space, Showroom and Studio 53. The exhibition brings together a variety of practices and features works created during the spring semester’s Art Practice module, addressing the following keywords and topics: accumulation, brokenness, canons, contact points, expected randomness, fantasies, forgiving, growing, in-betweenness, indifference, meetings, ordeals, relations, romanticizing, traumas and withering.

With love and fortitude:
Yvette Bathgate
Mihhail Boitsov
Anna Broučková
Chloé Geinoz
Christina Gradtke
Katariina Kesküla
Yuko Kinouchi
Eleftheria Kofidou
Tea Lemberpuu
Sven Mantsik
Jane Muts
Jana Mätas
KitKit Para
Vitor Pascale
Merilin Põldsam
Jake Shepherd
Liza Tsindeliani
Elo Vahtrik
Kristi Vendelin

Technical support:
Dream Team (Johannes Säre)

Thank you:
Maris Karjatse, David Ross, Eve Kask, Kristi Kongi, Camille Laurelli, Marge Monko, Laura Põld, David Ross, Liina Siib, Taavi Talve, Jaan Toomik, Anu Vahtra, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo, Estonian Academy of Arts, ARS Art Factory, Estonian Artists’ Association

More information:
Anu Vahtra & Maris Karjatse
Heads of MA Contemporary Art
anu.vahtra@artun.ee
maris.karjatse@artun.ee

On May 31, at 11 AM Sofia Nannini will present a lecture “The mechanization of life: Histories, architecture, and paradoxes of intensive animal farming” in room A-403.

The zootechnical buildings of animal farming are everywhere and, paradoxically, they seem to be nowhere. Also, they are often perceived as anonymous and timeless. Yet, we may ask: How did the architecture of intensive animal farming develop since the late nineteenth century? This talk will briefly explore its geographical and institutional origins, and it will critically analyse the spatial, social, and ethical paradoxes on which the animal-industrial complex is grounded.

The lecture is intended for all disciplines, not only for students and professionals in the field of architecture.

Sofia Nannini is an Assistant Professor in architectural history at the Politecnico di Torino. She is author of “Icelandic Farmhouses: Identity, Landscape and Construction (1790-1945)” (Firenze University Press, 2023) and of “The Icelandic Concrete Saga: Architecture and Construction (1847–1958)” (Jovis, 2024). She is currently working on a book project tentatively entitled “The Mechanization of Life: An Architectural History of Intensive Animal Farming”.

The peer-review of Maria Kapajeva’s exhibition “Listen To My Scream, Hear Their Dreams”  will take place on June 3 12.00-13.30 in EKA, room A502.  This exhibition is the second event of Kapajeva’s practice-based doctoral studies.

The thesis is supervised by Dr. Redi Koobak (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow) and Prof. Annika Elisabeth von Hausswolff (University of Gothenburg). The peer-reviewers of the exhibition are Dr. Ingrid Ruudi (EKA) and Dr. Britta Benno (EKA).

The exhibition was open 17.04.—11.05.2024 at Draakoni Gallery in Tallinn.

Maria Kapajeva’s exhibition, “Listen To My Scream, Hear Their Dreams,” is profoundly influenced by Draakon Gallery’s location directly across from the Russian Embassy in Tallinn’s Old Town. Positioned in this manner, Kapajeva aims to foster a more nuanced dialogue regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has led to a continual exposure to harrowing imagery. Consequently, a process of desensitization has transpired, rendering us less able to empathize with the enduring violence faced by real individuals still fighting for their lives in Ukraine. The intricate details, nuances, and personal narratives have been reduced to easily shareable content that briefly crosses our screens before fading into obscurity.

The artworks selected and created for this exhibition stem from the necessity to provide a platform for the personal accounts of those who have fled Ukraine, as well as the artist’s own imperative to express and scrutinize her suppressed anger regarding the ongoing conflict. In this exhibition, there are no images of war; instead, viewers are presented with works that demand time to engage with— to be read, listened to, and truly heard. These artworks compel us to scrutinize the language of the oppressor, where imperialist ambitions lurk behind ostensibly positive rhetoric. We encounter intimate tales of despair and devastation, yet also of hope and compassion. We are invited into a tumult of emotions, ultimately finding catharsis in releasing the anger buried deep within us.

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)

On 17th June Nina Stener Jørgensen, a PhD candidate of the Estonian Academy of Arts, curriculum of Architecture and Urban Planning, will defend her thesis “Participation as Data? Architecture and Cybernetics in Europe around 1968” (Osalus kui andmed? Arhitektuur ja küberneetika Euroopas 1968. aasta paiku).

A public defence will be held on 17th June 2024 at 11.00 at EKA (Põhja pst 7), room A501.
Defense will be broadcast on EKA TV.

Supervisor: Prof. Maroš Krivy (Estonian Academy of Arts)
External Reviwers: Dr. Tahl Kaminer (Cardiff University), Dr. Ingrid Halland (University of Oslo)
Opponent: Dr. Tahl Kaminer

This dissertation unpacks histories of participation and computer technology, through the analysis of the intersection of adaptable space and cybernetics in architectural practice around 1968, focusing in particular on the role of participation in this convergence.

The main body of the thesis comprises three articles studying projects spanning from 1965 to the time around the oil crisis in 1973. From a moment in European architectural history, where the political East-West divide was particularly tangible, the cases represent and cover a broad sample of attitudes towards participation and cybernetics from a Western-European perspective. From Paris, which in many ways is the ‘locus of 1968’, from London which at the time fostered a rapid development of new computer technologies and business models, as well as from Copenhagen, which at the height of architectural modernism witnessed the first critiques of the so-called Scandinavian welfare model.

With its focus on archival material and historic case studies, “Participation as Data? Architecture and Cybernetics in Europe around 1968” aims to show how the urban and its city dwellers were accessed through the practice of participation and how this extraction was framed and conceived by architectural and cybernetic means. Throughout the articles, the main research question ‘Participation as data?’ has served as a recurring method of analysis, aimed at comprehending how exactly the architects made use of cybernetics and participation, and how they aimed to intersect the two concepts in an architectural practice, looking at how cybernetic participation cut across multiple scales, from the singular room to the city, all potentially expanding to a global and networked infrastructure. Through the analysis of British architect Cedric Price’s feasibility study for Oxford Corner House (1965–1966), Franco-Hungarian spatial artist Nicolas Schöffer’s proposal Tour Lumière Cybernétique (1961–1973) as well as Danish architects Susanne Ussing and Carsten Hoff’s practice as Atelier Cyberspace (1968–1970), the thesis proposes the term ‘Cybernetic participation’ to encompass their programmatic similarity; mainly the treatment of participation as an information collection process, but also how the projects subsequently sidestepped a direct interaction with its users.

The thesis is available HERE.

Defence Committee: Dr. Siim Tuksam (Head of the Committee), Dr. Anu Allas, Dr. Renee Puusepp, Prof. Andres Kurg, Prof. Panu Lehtovuori, Prof. Klaske Havik, Prof. Helena Mattsson.

“Plato’s Tent” and “Not Here and Not Quite There” joint exhibition at ARS Art Factory 

ARS Art Factory Studio 53/98 17.05-19.05.2024 

Open Fri-Sun from 12:00 to 20:00 

Opening at 18:00 on 17th of May 

Animation and New Media students have listened, recorded, cut, transformed, visualized and installed sounds in Studio 53 and 98 in ARS Art Factory, officially opening the exhibition to the public at 18:00 on 17th of May. Works from 24 artists range from immersive audiovisual installations to delicate listening experiences, drawing inspiration from a diverse array of sources, including wildlife, mycelium growth, football stadium crowds, refracted glass, environmental shifts, squeaky toys, and technological intricacies. 

The works are presented in a joint exhibition made of two parts: the Animation MA’s alcove of abstracted visions “Plato’s Tent” (Studio 53), showing works that combine animation and sound, and the installations working with sites and “Not Here and Not Quite There” (Studio 98), featuring installations that explore sites and sounds from the New Media Sound Art 

studies module. The exhibition will be open for only three days, with extended viewing hours. 

The exhibition stems from two parallel courses focused on sound studies at EKA: ‘Sound Design’ at the Animation Department supervised by Bruno Quast and ‘Sound Art & Spatial Sound Experiments’ supervised by Sten Saarits, which is part of the Sound Art Connected Studies programme at New Media Arts. 

Artists: Ako Allik, Julia Virkki, Melina Unterhauser, Meret Stockhecker, Nils Geffre, Ott Kattel, Yiyang Sun, Chia-Hui Lei, Christopher Stephen Galinos, Leo Mourey, Lukas Wind, Melissa Noack, Shunyuan Yao, Valerie Sarle, Vilmos Peter, Lyza Karoly Jarvis Graphic design: Christopher Stephen Galinos 

The Exhibition is kindly supported by the Estonian Academy of Arts and the Estonian Artists’ Association for their support. 

Free admission 

ARS: https://www.arsfactory.ee/ 

EKA Animation: https://www.artun.ee/en/curricula/animation/ 

EKA New Media: https://www.artun.ee/en/curricula/new-media/ 

We warmly welcome you to visit the Fair Enough (Art) Book Fair, happening for the first time on 18 – 19 of May in Tallinn!

Come by to buy a book, meet interesting publishers, listen to a talk and hang out with nice people! We will be presenting and selling publications made by over 30 different artists and publishers around the world. In addition there will be a public program consisting of talks, publication launches, radio and music!

The book fair is located at ETC. (Niine 8a) and is open between 11.00–16.00 on Saturday and 11.00–15.00 on Sunday.

Follow us on Instagram to get up-to-date information about our program @fairenough_bookfair

Fair Enough (Art) Book Fair is kindly sponsored by Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Põhjala Brewery.

Hope to see you soon,

Agnes Isabelle & Linnea from Fair Enough Book Fair