Open Architecture Lecture: Petra Marko

The Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the autumn of 2024 under the general title S*cial – Values in the built realm.

The lecturers will focus on the ongoing shift in planning practice, where considerations other than pure economic viability increasingly play a role in decision-making.

On November 28 Petra Marko will hold the lecture “Meanwhile City – The power of temporary interventions in long-term change”.

Petra Marko is an architect and placemaking expert dedicated to creating people-centric cities and public spaces. She serves as Chief executive of the Metropolitan Institute of Bratislava, driving strategic architecture, urban planning and participatory placemaking initiatives to enhance quality of life. She’s known for leading Marko&Placemakers, an urban design practice in London and campaigning to unlock London’s small sites. An advocate for greener cities and active travel, Petra has co-authored VeloCity and Meanwhile City – a best practice and how-to guide for temporary interventions.

Mattias Malk, curator of the autumn lecture series, PhD student and visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture, describes the main theme of the lecture series as follows:

Inclusion, the valorisation of social space and the changing role of architects, especially in the public sector, are gaining ground in Europe’s spatial development, but things are still moving slowly in Estonia. So far, our economic growth has been based on environmental degradation and, despite rigid market-driven planning, we are among the weakest in the EU in resource use. However, the foundations of a smarter spatial policy, which is more profitable than profit, are still undefined and untested. 

One of the aims of the lecture series is to define and rehabilitate the word ‘social’ in Estonian spatial policy, including the social responsibility mentioned in the new planned public procurement. All the invited lecturers deal with the issues of space and sociality in their daily work and will share their experiences of the changing role of architects through examples. 

The lectures are intended for all disciplines, not only for students and professionals in the field of architecture. All lectures are in English and free of charge.

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.

New Media 30

EKA New Media department is celebrating 30th anniversary during the EKA 110 event. Our program includes a series of talks on media art, presentations of alumni work, a student exhibition and an evening for video games.

Birthday week program:

4.11
18:00 New Media 30: Paul Galloway (US) – Video Games at MoMA (Paul Galloway will be joining us from New York city via screen. In English, Main hall A-101)

5.11
18:00 New Media 30: Ava Imogen Grayson (CA/FI) & John Grzinich (US/EE) – Discussing Sound Art (Ava will be joining us from Helsinki via screen. In English, B-305)
19:15 New Media 30: Jaime Lobato (MX/EE) – The right to forget. Artificial intelligences humanly inspired in contemporary art (Jaime will be joining us from Mexico via screen. In English, B-305)

7.11
18:00 New Media 30: Raivo Kelomees – Metamorphoses in Media Art (In Estonian, Main hall A-101)
15:00 – 21:00 New Media 30: Video Art Screening Program (Works by graduates and students of the Department: Mari-Liis Rebane, Katrin Enni, Evi Pärn, Lauri Lest, Tõnis Jürgens, Sten Saarits, Taavi Suisalu, Martin Rästa and others) (B308)

8.11
15:00 – 22:00 New Media 30: Video Art Screening Program (Works by graduates and students of the Department: Mari-Liis Rebane, Katrin Enni, Evi Pärn, Lauri Lest, Tõnis Jürgens, Sten Saarits, Taavi Suisalu, Martin Rästa and others) (B308)
18:00 Opening of the exhibition “Lifetime of a Building” (Kotzebue 10 + Kotzebue street)
19:00 – 23:00 New Media 30: LVLup Video Games Chill Out Lounge (B307)

Exhibition of small-edition books dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the EKA graphic art print studio. 

In 1924, a printing workshop  was opened at the Tallinn Industrial Art School, where Leopold Triumph took up his post as master. Two years earlier (1922), a printmaking department had been established, under the direction of Günther Reindorff until 1943.

For half a century, the face of Estonian book design was shaped by Paul Luhtein, who, after graduating from the Tallinn Industrial Art School in 1930, and after a few years of further training in Leipzig, took up teaching commercial graphics and book design in 1932, a post he held until 1982. Enno Ootsing was then head of the Department and the book studies, with breaks until 2005 (in the meantime, the Department was headed by Aarne Mesikäpp from 1983 to 1988 and Heinz Valk from 1988 to 1989). From 1938 to 1971, typography was taught by the legendary book historian and typographer Hans Treumann. From 2005 to 2023, Aarne Mesikäpp, who taught at the ERKI and the EAA for 55 years, was a master printer and typography lecturer. In the field of book illustration, Vive Tolli, who taught from 1982 to 2005, was a major influence. Urmas Viik, head of the department from 2005 to 2015, gave priority to book illustration.

During the Soviet period, students studied for six years, specializing in either book designer, book illustrator, commercial artist (tarbegraafika), poster designer or printmaker in the third year, with book designer and illustrator being particularly sought after (competitive) The department had its own printing house, but all copies were invoiced and passed through the Glavlit (Glavnaya literatura, in Russian more precisely Главное управление по охране государственного тайн в печати) or censorship. Every evening the master sealed the door of the printing house. 

The division into departments began to disappear in the department in the late 1980s. With today’s curriculum and volumes, the focus of the graphics department is on contemporary art and graphic techniques, but letterpress printing is still popular, and typography and the basics of graphic design are taught. Since 2006, an artists’ book course has been taught by Eve Kask. The binding was taught for many years by Lennart Mänd, from 2023 by Eve Kaaret. With few exceptions, the artist’s books will be produced in one-off editions and in author’s binding based on the idea of the whole. 

This selection of small-edition publications includes examples from the years 1946-2004. The books were produced in the department’s printing house, mostly as coursework or theses by students. There are also group works. There are some books designed by tutors (P. Luhtein, E. Okas, H. Treuman, A. Mesikäpp). Among the teaching works there are works by later prominent artists such as Anu Kalm, Silvi Liiva, Naima Neidre, Enno Ootsing, Urmas Ploomipuu, Andres Tali, Marje Üksine and others.

The book editions in the exhibition range from five to fifty (125 in one case and 300 in another, in most cases between 15 and 25). The student has chosen the literature work, made type-setting, designed and illustrated it himself. In most cases, the illustrations are also printed by the author. The printing techniques used for the illustrations include relief printing (linocut and woodcut), intaglio printing (ofort, aquatint) and lithography. Since the 1950s, the edition has been printed by Mihkel Enn, a master printer, and bound by Elsa Oolma, a typesetter (or a letterpress master), who also taught hand-lettering to students and helped prepare the type-setting for printing. 

The selection was made by Marju Vahter, Head Specialist of the Library, Karin Oolu, Head of the Library, and complemented by Professor Liina Siib, Head of the Graphic Arts Department, and Associate Professor Eve Kask. Exhibition graphics is done by Markus Laanisto.

Text by Eve Kask

Graduated from the Department of Graphic Arts by the degree of Book Design, ERKI, 1984. 

The last student of Paul Luhtein and the first student of Vive Tolli 

The Sensorial Design group is hosting an event focused on design approaches centered around sensory experiences, addressing themes such as care, well-being, public engagement, and non-sexual intimacy. The event will begin with an open lecture on somatic well-being for individuals with chronic gut diseases by Dila Demir, followed by four Pecha Kucha presentations by sensorial design researchers Nesli Hazal Oktay, Azeem Hamid, Zaur Babayev, and Kristi Kuusk. Join us for an engaging exploration of sensory-driven design practices and insights.

Date: 

November 11

Time: 

16.00–17.50

Location: 

Estonian Academy of Arts, Room: A-101

Registration Link: 

https://forms.gle/HpxPEHL4x8Dz8FkY9

The workshop seeks to break this taboo by reconnecting poop with nature and fostering multi-sensory engagements with biomaterials to explore more-than-human connections.

November 9 – workshop only for people with chronic gut diseases

November 23 – workshop open to everyone

11.00–13.30

Registration Link

On Thursday, November 7th at 19:30-21:00 in EKA main hall A101, as part of the EKA 110 Birthday Week, we will showcase a selection of the best animated films created at the Academy over the past decade. 

Several of the filmmakers are now lecturers in the EKA animation department, making this a rare opportunity to see their student films. Come take a look!

As part of EKA’s 110th birthday week, Honorary Doctor Antoine Picon presents an public lecture “Architecture and Materiality in the Age of the Digital and the Anthropocene”.
The lecture will take place on November 6 at 18:00 in the main hall of the Estonian Academy of Arts and is open to all interested parties.

Antoine Picon is the G. Ware Travelstead Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology at the GSD where he is also Chair of the PhD in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning. He teaches courses in the history and theory of architecture and technology. Trained as an engineer, architect, and historian, Picon works on the relationships between architectural and urban space, technology, and society, from the eighteenth century to the present.
A series of Picon’s books offer a comprehensive overview of the changes brought by the computer and digital culture to the theory and practice of architecture as well as to the planning and experience of the city.

It is almost impossible to work on the history of technology without encountering the question of nature or rather of the relationship between the natural and the artificial. This question is at the core of Picon’s latest book, Natures Urbaines: Une Histoire Technique et Sociale (2024) follows two main threads: the technological component of the presence of nature in cities as well as its social and political dimension.

Picon has received a number of awards for his writings, including the Médaille de la Ville de Paris, and twice the Prix du Livre d’Architecture de la Ville de Briey, as well as the Georges Sarton Medal of the University of Gand. In 2010, he was elected a member of the French Académie des Technologies. In 2015, he became a member of the French Académie d’Architecture. He is Chevalier des Arts et Lettres since 2014. He was Chairman of the Fondation Le Corbusier from 2013 to 2024.

Since Picons first lecture in Estonian Academy of Arts 2017, 4th of May a deep bond has developed. This was also the year when PhD supervision began for our academy’s researcher and architect, Siim Tuksam, culminating in a very successful defense and dissertation on Modulated Modularity.

Since last year, Professor Picon has been appointed to the EKA Arh International Board of Advisors. He has initiated discussions regarding the global objectives of our architecture faculty, particularly the relative significance of the technological component compared to the artistic aspect. Additionally, he has raised questions about the positioning of our research and doctoral programs, and whether these could serve as a guiding framework for our faculty’s activities, both locally and internationally.

You can find the events of the whole EKA110 Birthday Week here:
https://www.artun.ee/en/calendar/eka-110th-birthday-week/

On Wednesday, November 6 at 4:00 p.m., the newly elected EKA honorary doctor prof. will hold an open lecture in hall A101. Linda van Deursen. 

Linda van Deursen is a graphic designer based in the Netherlands. Together with Armand Mevis, she founded the studio Mevis & van Deursen in 1987, which has collaborated with various cultural institutions: their partners have included the Stedelijk Museum, documenta 14, Haus der Kulturen der Welt and the artists Armin Linke, Yael Davids and Aglaia Konrad, with whom they worked on publications and exhibitions.

Since 1990, Linda van Deursen has taught at various schools, for example at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (where she was head of the graphic design department), the Yale School of Art and currently at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague.

Van Deursen is a designer whose approach and design ideas have been among the most influential in the last twenty years. She has also had a great influence on the local design scene, because many Estonian designers have studied under her at various art universities in Europe and North America.

The lecture is held in English

We are pleased to invite you to the opening of Kirke Kits‘s exhibition “Late in October” on Tuesday 29.10 at 18:00 at Täisnurga Gallery.

The exhibition “Late October” plays with the liberation of poetry from the regular print format. As a photograph, diary or painting, poems escape the anonymity of a book page for a while. The possibility of experiencing them is hidden in a specific time and space, and above all related to the present moment before the snow and the final devastation, the place of enlightenment of the senses and sensations before the soporific arrival of winter.

You can find Täisnurga Gallery by entering the back door of the Painting Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts (C201).

The exhibition is supported by the painting department of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

You can find the Täisnurga Gallery through the back door of the painting department (C201) of the Estonian Academy of Arts. The exhibition is supported by the Painting Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

The exhibition will remain open until November 8th.