Category: Departments

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

“EKA in Kenya. Implementing the Upmade System”
EKA Gallery 5.–26.04.2024
Open Tue–Sun 12–6 pm, free entry
Opening: 4.04.2024 at 6 pm

Supervisors: Reet Aus, Maria Pukk
Participants: Marta Konovalov, Susanna-Belinda Kõgel, Eva-Liis Lidenburg, Kaisa Moora, Anu Muiste, Doreen Mägi, Maria Rojko Nisu, Eva Reiska, Katrin Lepa-Ruben, Lisandra Türkson, Maris Vahter

The exhibition “EKA in Kenya. Implementing the Upmade System” focuses on the effort to reduce and recycle waste from the textile industry. The students of circular design of the Estonian Academy of Arts spent the month of February in 2024 in Kenya, in the city of Eldoret. On site, they learned about the production at the Rivatex factory, followed the product development process, performed analyzes and applied upcycling principles. Twelve different product concepts created by students will be displayed in EKA Gallery, including accessories, clothes, lampshades and a modular tent.

The international project “Transferring Upmade Know-How to Kenya” is part of a longer cooperation between Moi University and DiMa, the Sustainable Design and Materials Lab at the Estonian Academy of Arts. DiMa has contributed to reducing the environmental impact of the fashion and textile industry through various international projects. The aim of the project is to increase the circulation of Kenya’s textile industry by introducing the UPMADE method at the Rivatex factory. The approach enables the recycling of textile waste generated during manufacturing, thus supporting more environmentally friendly production.

The project has been made in cooperation with the Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Center (SEI Tallinn) and Moi University, with the support of the Erasmus+ study mobility program and the Environmental Investment Centre (KIK).

Opening drinks from Punch Club.

More info:
Transferring Upmade Know-How to Kenya

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.

We invite you to a panel discussion inspired by the article “From Past to Present: The Journey of Technological Theatre” by R. Kelomees, T. Jansen, and P. Hoppu. The article discusses how technological innovation has been essential in developing theater and the visual arts since the “beginning of time.” Moderated by digital theater researcher Katie Hawthorne, the event promises to be an engaging discussion about the potential and shortcomings of digital technologies in the contemporary world and how this might affect theater and contemporary art more extensively. A moderated panel discussion will follow short presentations by Raivo Kelomees, Taavet Jansen and Liina Keevallik.

This mini-conference is part of the project Acute, Culture Testbeds for Performing Arts and New Technology, which focuses on the development of performing arts and new technologies and is also part of the satellite program of the New European Bauhaus Festival.  Together, we will rethink the role of theater and art in our shared space, discuss how technology and art can connect people in these challenging times, and question the important issues that surround us.

The event take place at Estonian Academy of Arts on April 19th at 4pm(EET), room A101 and will be livestreamed in EKA Youtube.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EYJ93CEUaw

SPEAKERS

Taavet Jansen is an artist and researcher at the intersection of performing arts and technology. He has a rich background in theatre, creative coding, digital arts, and teaching. Taavet studied at Tallinn University and completed a Master’s in Choreography and New Media at the Theater School in Amsterdam. He is a doctoral student at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Art and Design and a multimedia lecturer at the University of Tartu Viljandi Cultural Academy.  In recent years, Taavet has focused on digitally mediated performance art as a researcher and creator. He is one of the founders of the interdisciplinary art platform e⁻lektron and the technological art network MIMproject. As a researcher, he has been involved as PI in research projects such as “INDEX—Reconnecting the digital audience with the creative team in the online events” and “Online theatre as a research tool,” both of which focus on online theatre through the development of interaction tools that allow real-time audience feedback. His creative work spans a range of theatrical performances, installations, and media design projects where he has been blending his artistic expression with technological innovations. Recent works include “Held in Human,” “Memento,” and “Wolves,” all of which explore interactive digital performances. Taavet’s academic publications explore the confluence of technology and the performing arts, underscoring his commitment to advancing the field through research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Taavet Jansen’s career embodies a dedication to enhancing the performing arts through technological innovation and research to understand and improve audience engagement in digital spaces. 

Raivo Kelomees, PhD (art history), is an artist, art historian and new media researcher. He
studied psychology, art history and design in Tartu University and the Academy of Arts in
Tallinn. He is senior researcher at the Fine Arts Faculty at the Estonian Academy of Arts and
professor at the Pallas University of Applied Sciences. Kelomees is author of Surrealism
(Kunst Publishers, 1993) and article collections Screen as a Membrane (Tartu Art College
proceedings, 2007) and Social Games in Art Space (EAA, 2013). His doctoral thesis is
Postmateriality in Art. Indeterministic Art Practices and Non-Material Art (Dissertationes
Academiae Artium Estoniae 3, 2009). Together with Chris Hales he edited the collection of
articles Constructing Narrative in Interactive Documentaries (Cambridge Scholars
Publishing, 2014). In collaboration with Varvara Guljajeva and Oliver Laas he edited the
collection of articles The Meaning of Creativity in the Age of AI (EKA Press, 2022).

Katie Hawthorne is a researcher based in Scotland. She is an alumna of the Academy for Theatre and Digitality’s fellowship programme and became a member of staff at the Academy in 2022, with a role focussed on the documentation and dissemination of research. Katie is the author of the first cross-European study Digital Theatre: Digital Strategies and Business Models in European Theatre (2023), commissioned by the European Theatre Convention and first presented at the European Theatre Forum in Opole, Poland. The study drew on her Ph.D research, completed at the University of Edinburgh in 2022, which explored how ‘liveness’ in theatre and performance is evolving through the use of digital tools and technologies. She has given papers at a host of international conferences and institutions, including the IFTR in Shanghai and TaPRA in Exeter, and authored a chapter on the Berliner Theatertreffen in the Edinburgh German Yearbook in 2021. Katie is also an accomplished freelance journalist, and regularly contributes to publications including The Guardian and The Scotsman.

Liina Keevallik, PhD, has studied scenography at Estonian Academy of Arts and holds a PhD from the University Paris 8. She has done set and costume designs in Estonian theatres as well as abroad (France, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Lithuania), her works ranging from big operas to underground avant-garde. She has also written and directed visual performances. Her latest creations merging art and scientific research are Cloud Opera (2019), juxtaposing data clouds and atmospheric clouds; and It’s Time to Fight Reality Once More. Sentimental Education for Robots (2021), a play written by AI, performed and improvised by robots. She has also designed feature and puppet films and directed short films and documentaries; written texts for theatre, song lyrics and film scripts. She currently works as a freelance scenographer in Paris and Tallinn, pursues her research at BFM (University of Tallinn) and teaches scenography at Estonian Academy of Arts. She has participated in the international media archaeological research project Deceptive Arts (Les Arts Trompeurs); an artistic research project collaborating with AI Machine Acts and she has created the pre-cinema department of the Estonian Film Museum.

If 2023 was the year in which AI entered our life through our browsers, the future will see more and more AI entering our machines ! This year’s Tangible Design exhibition investigates what can be done when using tools like ChatGPT to animate interactive installations.

Students of the IxD.ma master went on building devices that listen, watch and talk, offering entertainment in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago:

• An automatic LEGO improv theatre powered by GPT. Set the characters in the studio, tune in the comedy (or drama) level and let the robots improvise for you
• ‍❤️‍ A perfect partner visualiser. You’ll use a switchboard-like device to set the characteristics of the partner of your dreams. Then, you’ll see that visualised (powered by Dall-E)
• A future telling oracle. Using GPT and Dall-E, it will read your drawings on coffee grounds and figure out what your future looks like.
• A children’s storytelling monster. Pick a character, place it on the board, hear every time a different story told by a one-eyed monster.

Join us on Saturday 23rd in Telliskivi Creative City, next to Nihe Kohvik, to immerse yourself in a future where public installations use an additional layer of intelligence.

More info on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/3Az7S6gU3

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IxD.ma is an international masters at EKA focused on humanity centred innovation. This Tangible Design course was led by Ottavio Cambieri and Anna Jõgi, with participating students YaChuan Chen, Rainer Pits, Tunahan Zilyas, Iie-Mall Püüa, Alisa Butenko, Carol Alice Tõniste, Rain Jaaksoo, Janeli Pelska, Helena Väinmaa, Marianna Zvereva, Jon Tastad and Monika Juríková.

Thursday, March 21
17:30
etc., Niine 8

Opening of These Words Matter, an exhibition with MA Contemporary Art students from the course ‘Writing Practice 2’, supervised by Lieven Lahaye. The exhibition consists of new works about or conceived through writing. The title of the exhibition is lifted from Dodie Bellamy’s ‘Hoarding as écriture’.