Open Lecture on Architecture: Gwyllim Jahn (Fologram)

Making in Mixed Reality: Open Lecture by Fologram co-founder Gwyllim Jahn

The last lecturer of the Open Lecture Series this spring will be Australian architect, RMIT lecturer Gwyllim Jahn, who investigates the implications of Mixed-Reality assembly methodologies on architectural design. Jahn will be stepping on the stage of the main auditorium of the new EKA building on the 9th of May at 6 pm.

Gwyllim Jahn is the co-founder and CCO of Fologram, a Melbourne based design research practice and technology startup building a platform for designing and making in mixed reality. Gwyllim holds an academic position as a Lecturer in Architecture at RMIT where he developed design research in the fields of mixed reality environments, autonomous robotic fabrication, behavioural design systems and creative applications of machine learning. His work has been published in leading computational design conferences and journals including IJAC, ACADIA and RobArch and he has given talks, presentations and workshops at international institutions including MIT, Stuttgart ICD, UCL, AA, Sci Arc and Tsinghua University.

Jahn is one of the authors of Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB 2019 Installation Competition winning proposal “Steampunk” – installation will be built in August 2019 in front of the green area facing the Museum of Estonian Architecture.

Fologram practice explores how building directly from mixed reality environments can extend the skills and capabilities of designers and builders by improving spatial understanding of design intent and reducing the risk of human error associated with extrapolating 2D instructions to 3D form. They build tools that dramatically improve the ability of conventional craftsmen and construction teams to fabricate structures with significant variability in parts, form, structure, texture, pattern and so on, and in many cases completely reverse design viability as impossibly expensive and difficult proposals become straightforward, low risk and cheap. Complex designs can now be fabricated on standard building sites, with cheap materials and tools, and without expensive expertise or design documentation.

In his lecture, Jahn will discuss work from Fologram that investigates the implications of Mixed-Reality (MR) assembly methodologies on architectural design. Could making in mixed reality allow us to reconfigure CAD-CAM not as a means of working to high degrees of tolerance and precision but instead as a return to craftsmanship, intuition and reflexive making? How will the medium of MR enable new forms of collaboration between designers and manufactures, or between humans and machines? What new architectural forms might be found in this superposition of the digital and the craftsman?

A brief demonstration of the Fologram toolkit on the HoloLens and mobile devices will follow the presentation.

The architecture and urban design department of the Estonian Academy of Arts has curated the Open Lectures on Architecture series since 2012 – each year, a dozen architects, urbanists, both practicing as well as academics, introduce their work and field of research to the audience in Tallinn. All lectures are in English, free and open to everyone.

The series is funded by the Estonian Cultural Endowment.
Curators: Sille Pihlak, Johan Tali

www.avatudloengud.ee
https://www.facebook.com/EKAarhitektuur/

This exhibition is the result of the course Fashion and Gender; a course combining theoretical texts on gender, age and ethnicity with creative practice in fashion and textiles. Through theoretical discussions on gender norms and ways of undoing them, each student chose a theme that they processed through their own practice. As a result, the exhibition includes a diverse selection of garments, objects, photographs, a video and a zine that invite the viewer to participate in the discussion on sex and the different aspects through which it affects our everyday lives.

Works by:

Katrin Aasmaa, Kreeta Aidla, Anna Viik Archanjo, Kristiina Jeromans, Kristel Jänes, Liis Kalda, Annika Kiidron, Siim Oja, Cärol Ott, Pegah Raksha, Valérie Rust, Ameneh Salemi, Alessandra Sanna, Lisette Sivard, Triin Tint, Alejandra Vega Lopéz.

Dr. Annamari Vänskä is  Adjunct Professor of Fashion Research in Aalto University. She is a curator, columnist and Visiting Professor at SCF – Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation, Shanghai, China. Vänskä worked formerly as Collegium Researcher at the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, as Associate Professor at the Centre for Fashion Studies at Stockholm University and as Researcher at the Department of Art History at the University of Helsinki. An integral part of her academic work is curating, and she has curated several exhibitions in Finland and internationally, most notably Boutique – Where Art and Fashion Meet (2012) which was first exhibited at the Amos Anderson Museum in Helsinki in the context of the Helsinki Design Capital 2012 project and became a stream of edited versions exhibited e.g. in New York (2013), Tokyo (2014) and Berlin (2016).

Annamari Vänskä has published and taught on art, fashion and visual culture at the intersection of gender and sexuality. Her recent publication include Muodikas lapsuus. Lapset muotikuvissa (2012, Gaudeamus), Fashionable childhood: children in fashion advertising (2017, Bloomsbury) and Fashion curating: critical practice in the museum and beyond (2018, Bloomsbury, co-edited with Professor Hazel Clark).

Research interests:
Fashion studies, fashion media, fashion advertising, fashion curating, visual culture studies, fashion, gender and sexuality, children and fashion, fashion and posthumanism, critical gender theory, performativity, queer theory, posthumanist theory.

Join us for a performance evening “You’re not alone” on 30th of April, 6 PM at EKA Gallery.
Performances are made during an EKA course “You are not alone” mentored by Henri Hütt and Evelyn Raudsepp.

Artists: Andre Joosep Arming, Helena Lepik, Irmeli Terras, Heleliis Hõim, Ryan Galer, Angela Elizabeth Ramírez Fellowes, Mari-Liis Sõrg, Katrin Enni, Aksel Haagensen, Marianne Siilbaum, Sarah Johnston, Jose Aldemar Muñoz Ñustes

Exhibitions of term projects by students in the Faculty of Fine Arts

Mon-Fri at 3–7 PM

30.04 at 6–8 PM

The first three weeks in May bring 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 the contemporary art, prints, installation, sculpture and painting curricula will be on display, as are works produced for drawing assessments. The purpose of the assessment marathon is to use the gallery environment as a part of the academic process, a place for exhibiting and experimenting, a possibility for students to see their new works in a professional environment. The public will have a chance to experience the newly created art and outcome of the experiments amidst a spring “finals week” atmosphere. 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.

30 April ‒ MA in Contemporary Art, “You Are Not Alone”, supervisors Evelyn Raudsepp and Henri Hütt

1 May ‒ BA in Painting, second-year, studio project, supervisors Merike Estna, Kati Ilves, Tõnis Saadoja, Heldur Lassi

2 May ‒ BA in Painting, first-year, model studio, supervisor Merike Estna

3 May ‒ BA in Installation and Sculpture, second-year, supervisor Taavi Piibemann

6 May ‒ BA in Photography, first-year, drawing, supervisor Lilli-Krõõt Repnau

7 May ‒ curriculum: BA in art, first-year, anatomical drawing, supervisor Maiu Rõõmus

8 May ‒ BA in painting, first-year, studio practice, supervisors Mihkel Ilus, Kristi Kongi, Tiina Tammetalu

9 May ‒ curriculum: BA in Art, second-year, conceptual drawing, supervisors Maria-Kristiina Ulas, Tõnis Saadoja

10 May ‒ curriculum: BA in Art, third-year, abstract drawing, supervisor Tõnis Saadoja

13 May ‒ BA in Graphic Art, first-year, supervisors Kadi Kurema, Aarne Mesikäpp, Lilli-Krõõt Repnau

14 May ‒ BA in Graphic Art, second-year, “How to Do Things with Words”, supervisors Eve Kask, Lennart Mänd, Viktor Gurov, Liina Siib

16 May ‒17 May MA in Contemporary Art, first-year, studio project 2, supervisors Liina Siib, Marge Monko, Taavi Talve, John Grzinich, Jaan Toomik, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo, Margit Säde, Taavi Piibemann, Oliver Laas, Merike Estna

20–21 May ‒ BA in Photography, first-year, black and white lab, supervisor Reio Aare

International Symposium of Interior Architecture and Spatial Use SISU takes place in Tallinn, Estonia. Highlight of the Estonian interior architecture calendar since 2014, SISU Symposium is organised by the Estonian Association of Interior Architects, with the concept and programme for each SISU Symposium developed by a curatorial team. This year, the curatorial team consists of members of the Interior Architecture Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts EKA led by Professor Hannes Praks.

Focus and format

This year, the focus of SISU will be on the physical presence of our craft. The symposium will investigate strategies for spatial intervention, making and production through educational practices that combine direct engagement and participation in the creation of physical space. We will look at the tactile-sensorial experience a space can provide, we will explore material design through the lense of interior architecture and we’ll be inspired by the words of a long-time professor of interior architecture department of EKA, Estonian interior architect and designer Vello Asi (1927-2016), who said that space should always be designed from inside out.

From 12 to 14 June 2019, we invite interior architects and students of the field as well as professionals and students from neighbouring fields – architects, designers, etc – to join us for a three-day exploration of the interior architecture and spatial design process at the Põhjala Factory on Marati St, Tallinn. We will start with an empty space and will together – in the form of workshops and lectures – build up SISU Symposium 2019. The working format of SISU 2019 will be split 50:50 between workshops and lectures.

Location

SISU 2019 will be set up at the Põhjala Factory located on the Kopli peninsula of Tallinn – a 15 minute tram ride from the centre of the city. At present, this former ship-building area is weighing its options for the future, with many of the choices to be made being spatial, thus making Põhjala an excellent partner and location for our three-day investigation into the current space-making strategies interior architects employ. The spacious, inspiring quarters of Põhjala will also allow us to not only speak of practices, but also show, engage, make and produce space, showcasing interior architecture educational practices.

Presenters, performers and workshop tutors

Veiko Liis (Tallinn)
b210 architects and Pavle Stamenovic (Tallinn / Belgrade)
Laura Linsi and Roland Reemaa (Tallinn / London)
Daniel Zamarbide (Geneva / Lisbon)
Prof Masayo Ave (Berlin)
Jimi Tenor & Trashchestra (Helsinki)
Karsten Födinger (Karlsruhe)
Kärt Ojavee (Tallinn)
Elena Khurtova ja Marie Ilse Bourlanges (Amsterdam)
Eik Hermann (Tallinn)
Damon Taylor (London)
and many more

Practicalities

The working language of the symposium is English.
SISU is free of charge and open to everyone interested in the topic, but we require participants to register for SISU workshops – registration will open in the beginning of May!

SISU 2019 supporters

The Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Ministry of Culture of Estonia.

Additional information

Project Manager Silja Kukk silja@esl.ee
Curatorial team contact Andrea Tamm andrea.tamm@artun.ee

EKA Gallery is seeking proposals for the year 2020. We host exhibitions for international and national artists, solo and curatorial exhibitions, performances, events and workshops. EKA Gallery space is rent-free.

More information: https://www.artun.ee/en/academy/exhibitions/applications/

Submission deadline is 30 April 2019.

Date:6–8 May 2019 at 10.00 – 15.30

Venue:Estonian Academy of Arts, Põhja pst 7, room A402 (6-7 May), A301 (8 May)

Lecturer:Nithikul Nimkulrat

Practice-based research[1]has been adopted by creative practitioners in various art and design disciplines for over three decades. Its basic proposition is that “not only is practice embedded in the research process but research questions arise from the process of practice, the answers to which are directed toward enlightening and enhancing practice” (Candy and Edmonds 2018, p. 63). An emphasis on the contribution of research outcomes from practice-based research is that new knowledge is generated to inform creative practice and such knowledge may at times only be obtainable by means of practice.

Whilst artifacts created from within a research project is viewed as an integral part of the practice-based research process, they are expected to be placed in context through written theses and/or disseminated in published papers. By the necessity of written theses in academic research, reflection and documentation of the creative process and the overall research process is unavoidable (Nimkulart 2007).

This seminar aims to assist art and design students in situating their creative artifacts in research (Nimkulrat 2013) and in designing and structing their research conduct that involves their own practice as a research method based on their research questions initially set. This is not to understand practice as research. Practice is not research but can play a significant role in research.

The seminar will focus on the following research components:

1. Research question– Why would art and design practice be necessary for answering it?
2. Research process– How is it constructed based on the research question? Where is art and design practice located within the research process? How is documentation performed throughout the processes? How does reflection drive the process further and transform the research question initially set?
3. Artifacts– Do they answer or support the written thesis to answer the research question?

In addition, the seminar will highlight how documentation functions as a research tool for capturing the practitioner-researcher’s reflection in- and on- action (Mäkelä and Nimkulrat 2018).

Requirement

To participate in the seminar, please send an abstract (250 words) that describes their PhD project and includes a few photos of artifacts and their processes, if any, to elika.kiilo@artun.eeby 1 May 2019. Please note that a primary research question must be clearly stated in the abstract.

In preparation for the seminar, participants will be asked to read

Candy, L. and Edmonds E. (2018). Practice-Based Research in the Creative Arts: Foundations and Futures from the Front Line. Leonardo 51(1), 63–69. https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/LEON_a_01471

Mäkelä, M., & Nimkulrat, N. (2018). Documentation as Practice-Led Research Tools for Reflection on Experiential Knowledge. FORMakademisk 11(2).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7577/formakademisk.1818

Nimkulrat, N. (2007). The Role of Documentation in Practice-Led Research. Journal of Research Practice, 3(1), Article M6. http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/58/83

Nimkulrat, N. (2009). Paperness: Expressive Material in Textile Art from an Artist’s Viewpoint (pp. 34–38). Helsinki, Finland: University of Art and Design Helsinki. https://nithikul.com/PDF/Paperness.pdf

Nimkulrat, N. (2013). Situating Creative Artifacts in Art and Design Research. FORMakademisk, 6(2), Article 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7577/formakademisk.657

Registration

The seminar is open to PhD students. Registration is open until 30.04.2019.

Registration form

Nithikul Nimkulrat is a practitioner-researcher who intertwines research with textile practice, focusing on experiential knowledge in craft processes in the context of design research. Prior to her current appointment as a Tenured Associate Professor at OCAD University in Canada in December 2018, Nithikul has worked at Estonian Academy of Arts, Loughborough University, and Aalto University, where she earned a doctorate in 2009. Nithikul is an elected council member of the Design Research Society (DRS), the convenor of the DRS Special Interest Group on Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG), and the leader of the Cumulus Association’s Fashion and Textile Working Group.

[1]The term “practice-based research” is chosen over “artistic research” and “practice-led research” to be used in the workshop in order to give practice a general role in scholarly research. For differentiation in meaning of different terms, see Nimkulrat (2009, pp. 34–38) and Candy and Edmonds (2018, pp. 64–65).

This event is organised by the Graduate School of Culture Studies and Arts, supported by the ASTRA project of the Estonian Academy of Arts – EKA LOOVKÄRG (European Union, European Regional Development Fund).

We invite you to the public viewing of the installation SEWN LAND by Laura De Jaeger on the 4th of December from 2-6pm.

For SEWN LAND (2018) De Jaeger divides the gallery space in 2 by placing a replica of the Belgian language border diagonally through it. The installation is an investigation of a line, an object connecting two points, creating two spaces, breaking them or overlapping. When that line is a border, one only visible on a map, and stolen out of its context, it becomes an almost romantic object. However, it is man made and artificial, it is a carrier of history and movement. It creates it’s own nature and flows organically. You could almost see it as a crack in the earth, or the mountains touching the sky.

The shape is covered with yellow sewing thread: an act of healing of a 16 century wounded line. In space you find 3 Brussels sprouts sewn with the same thread – apart, yet bound – different, yet the same. Yellow, as the basic foundation of the two flags, a colour that according to Kandinsky reaches out rather than pulls back into itself. As in real life, we can not visually sense the border, the artist translated the line in another sense: a sound in the space vibrates, and by that covers every movement and corner it takes.

Laura De Jaeger (1995) is a Belgian visual artist who explores organic matter through space. Humanity, their natural habitat, but also impermanence often touches her work. By translating universal themes to visual poetry, she asks questions about the forgotten corners of our surroundings.
De Jaeger (LUCA School of Arts in Brussels) is currently an exchange student in the 3rd year BA Sculpture and Installation Department in The Estonian Academy of Arts.

Vent Space is supported by the Student Council of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

On Wednesday, the 12th of December at 19 o’clock, we will open the exhibition “Disassemble” at Vent Space (Vabaduse väljak 6/8). The exhibition is open from 13 to 19 of December from 14-20 o’clock.

It is the first group show of the students of the 2nd year of photography department.

The participating artists: Kristiina Aarna, Ben Caro, Gerda Nurk, Diana Olesjuk, Anna Pazucha, Pille-Riin Vihtre & Lisann Lillevere.

Through their individual visions they propose unique viewpoints of their surroundings. By looking closer they have re-constructed reality within the photographic frame to ask us to question hierarchies both inside and outside the image. Furthermore they have de-constructed reality and built a meditative space into which they invite us into. De-constructing familiar places through a rather personal view. Using a historical viewpoint to highlight overlooked traces visible under close looking.

Vent Space is supported by the Student Council of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Angela ‘Goo’ Ramírez will open the evolving exhibition “Sometimes We Remember [Remembered]” at Vent Space on Friday, February 15, 2019 at 7:30pm. The exhibition and artist residence will be open from Monday to Thursday from 1pm to 5pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 7pm until February 28. Finissage will take place on Friday, March 1st, 2019 at 7:30pm.

Goo is currently interested in exploring the consciousness of our own memory, called metamemory, through the materialization of the effort of remembering.

“Sometimes We Remember [Remembered]” is an exhibition exploring the metamemory of the exhibition “Sometimes We Remember”. By withdrawing to the past, time – the essential material for memory – reveals how we creatively transform our own memories through selection, oblivion and imagination to fit our current needs.

Angela ‘Goo’ has a background in spatial and urban design and pedagogy. She has worked as a researcher for the Tecnologico de Monterrey University and curated architecture/art exhibitions in the City Museum in Queretaro, Mexico. She is currently studying the MA Program of Contemporary Art at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Vent Space is supported by the Student Council of the Estonian Academy of Arts.