Department of Jewellery and Blacksmithing

Tartu mnt.1, 10145 Tallinn
room 113
e-mail metall@artun.ee
phone 626 7315

The speciality of metal art (founded in 1924) includes two chairs: Jewellery and Blacksmithing. Mentality of the curricula is to connect professional skills with contemporary conceptual thinking.
Estonian Academy of Arts is the only educator of professional jewellery artists and artist-blacksmiths in Estonia.

Chairs of Jewellery and Blacksmithing have a joint Bachelor`s curriculum, within its frames a separate admission of students and specialisation either in the field of jewellery or blacksmithing takes place. In addition to speciality-focused study – speciality project, technology courses, history of the speciality –, the curriculum includes also general art subjects: drawing, painting, form study, colour study etc, humanities, communication studies and electives.
Artist`s and architect’s project aim to evoke creative impulses in students and to promote one`s individuality under instruction of recognised artists.
Practical and studio-work serve to deepen the professional technological skills. Technologies like filigree, engraving, repoussé, enamelling, stone- cutting, stone-setting, niello, mokumé gane, metal inlay, metal colouring, granulation, forging, welding, milling, lathe-work etc are regularly taught.
A workshop supervised by an international visiting artist takes place every semester, plus lectures of visiting teachers. In cooperation with numerous universities abroad annual students’ exchange is carried on.

Master’s program have separate curricula in Jewellery and Blacksmithing with duration 2 years, during which the selected speciality theme is studied in an in-depth research in lectures, seminars, studio-work and masterclasses.

In the curricula the main emphasis is laid on creative projects, on critical contextualisation enabling to orientate in rapidly changing cultural space.
Students’ work is regularly on exhibit domestically and internationally.
Several shows, creative projects and art events (Millenium, Nocturnus and others) have been initiated by the speciality. Graduates of the speciality acquire academic art education, which enables to proceed as a freelance artist in the studied speciality as well as in other fields of art.

The philosophy of the Jewellery and Blacksmithing speciality reflects the wish to provide its students with as broad and versatile education as possible, to teach them practical skills, to shape their ethical attitudes, and to stimulate their personal development and creative identity.