Faculty of Art and Culture

The Faculty of Art and Culture is a centre of competence in three fields: art history, visual culture, heritage conservation and restoration, and art education. In addition, the Faculty of Art and Culture coordinates the teaching of the general theory courses – e.g, art history, philosophy, theory of culture, and aesthetics. The Institute of Art History and Visual Culture, which was founded in 1992, is Estonia’s leading centre for the research and teaching of art history.

The Institute of Art History and Visual Culture is the only institution that teaches Estonian art history at the undergraduate and graduate levels, covering a broad temporal range, from the Middle Ages to contemporary art.

The Institute of Art History and Visual Culture teaches art history based on a background of cultural theory and social history. The curriculum combines historical and object-based approaches with knowledge of theoretical viewpoints, and provides a broad-based education in the humanities. On MA level, one can specialize in either Art History and Visual Culture; Museology; or Curatorial Studies.

Since 1995, EKA has taught cultural heritage and conservation, at first as a refresher course, and later, also, as a university degree studies course. The Department of Cultural Heritage and Conservation is the only university department in Estonia where it is possible to study heritage conservation, as well as the restoration-conservation of art and architecture, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The mission of the Department of Cultural Heritage and Conservation is to acknowledge the importance of cultural heritage, and to ensure its survival for future generations. The studies are designed to provide the theoretical knowledge and necessary practical skills for working professionally in the field of restoration and conservation.

EKA has been educating art teachers since 1998. The initial 1-year teacher training programme has, by today, been expanded into a master’s curriculum for art teachers, which enables students, who have previously studied art and art history at the bachelor’s level, to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for working as teachers.

The programme for art teachers is intended for those who wish to learn how to academically analyse, to explain and interpret artistic processes for various target groups. And also, for those who, in addition to their personal creative activity, want to dedicate themselves to the deepening of the understanding of art, and to increasing its impact upon society.