Exhibitions

EKA painting alumnus Alexei Gordin opens exhibition “Dreams Come True in this Gallery” in Vaal Gallery. 

“Recently, I was scanning the traces of my online existence and dug up my very first posted artwork, a 2006 pencil drawing called ‘A Place Under the Sun’. It has been 16 years since it happened, 10 of which I’ve been part of the professional art world, but the question about the right place under the Sun is still relevant. So where is the artist’s place?

To answer this question, one can speculate on various topics, but one thing is clear to me – the artist’s place is in the gallery. This can be taken as a devastating fact, because the principles and aims of art are beyond the four walls. In reality, however, it is between the walls of the gallery where professional art begins and ends, because only there can it be professionally rated. To quote O. Doherty: ‘From this moment on, there is a seepage of energy from art to its surroundings. With time the ratio between the literalization of art and mythification of the gallery inversely increases’.”

The exhibition “Dreams Come True in this Gallery” is a parody of a situation where someone is trying to find a way out of the art that is currently drowned in the gallery space. The title comes from the aesthetics of advertising industry, where market players sell promises to their customers that their dreams will come true, but the more the consumer invests energy in fulfilling their dreams, the more distant those dreams remain. Gordin’s approach to the question of the artist’s place under the Sun is autobiographical rather than conceptual. In philosophical terms, the artist’s place becomes ephemeral, dissolving into temporary concepts, residencies and biennials.

Alexei Gordin (b 1989) is mainly known as a painter, however, he also works with photography, video and performance. Using black humour, Gordin draws attention to the absurdity of the (art) world and alienation, highlighting issues like inequality and the difficulties of marginalised groups. Gordin’s work is influenced by caricatures and it combines texts and pictures, referring to comics and meme culture.

The exhibition will remain open until 1st of July, Tue–Fri 12–6 pm, Sat 12–4 pm.

Exhibition of student works of
the III course of the EKA Faculty of Architecture.

The design studio focused on volumetric renovation and neighbourhood-based reconstruction on the example of the Mustamäe settlement. We looked at the renovation of six series 1-464 standard apartment buildings, offering alternatives for parking, accessibility, energy efficiency and other public benefits. As a result of the semester, 7 different approaches were proposed to improve the quality of life and strengthen the community in Mustamäe.

Õppejõud / supervisors: Sille Pihlak, Siim Tuksam (arhitektuur), Adam Orlinski (inseneeria ja energia disain)
Konsultandid / consultants: Karin Bachmann (maastikuarhitektuur), Teet Tark (vesi ja ventilatsioon)
Eksperdid / experts: Nadežda Sassina (kogukonna kaasamine)
Tudengid / students: Heinrike Aue, Mariia Babur, Julia Freudenberg, Sander Haugas, Janely Järv, Robert Kiisler, Augustas Lapinskas, Lukas Laubre, Paula Līva Lorence, Laura
Susanna Lätte, Katriin Maitsalu, Jarþrúður Másdóttir, Mariia Paslova, Yelyzaveta Peresada, Daria Polonska, Ella Mari Roosi, Erik Sammel, Helerin Talpsepp, Mariia Ufimtseva,
Triin Vaino, Markus Vernik, Anneli Virts.
Kuraatorid ja näituse kujundus: Ella Mari Roosi, Julia Freudenberg
Graafiline disain: Janely Järv, Laura Susanna Lätte
Projektijuht: Anna Tommingas

Get ready for the most legendary fashion event of the year – the ERKI Fashion Show is happening again on June 17, 2023!

As the virtual world continues to evolve, our lives are becoming increasingly digitised, altering our experiences. The metaverse is a potential destination where people can interact in ways that are not possible in the physical world. This space offers endless opportunities for exploration, creativity, and innovation, shaping and transforming our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.

For the first time, ERKI will take place in two locations on the same evening – starting at Põhjala Brewery, in a mechanical sterility, and moving on to Techno club HALL, where we will open the highest peak of the mechanical world – the human nature itself.

Dresscode – My Higher Self

5 PM – Doors
6 PM – Act I, Põhjala Brewery (Peetri 5)
7.30 PM – Act II, Techno Club HALL (Peetri 6)
9.30 PM – Awards Ceremony, Noblessner
11 PM – Afterparty, Techno Club HALL

Don’t miss out on this unforgettable experience of emerging talent and immerse yourself in the unique atmosphere of ERKI!

Tickets can be purchased here

NB! Please read the ticket information carefully!

You can also purchase an afterparty ticket separately, follow the event in Facebook

A group exhibition “Pretty Gimmicks, Charming Trinkets and All the Other Things” will open on Friday, June 2nd at 6 pm at the end stop of the Kopli tram line.

The six participating artists are united by their love of things: their artistic practice revolves around nearly forgotten objects as if prolonging their lifespan. At a time when there are more (and far too many) things than ever, people are still deeply attached to the tangible. It is this ‘something’ that makes things the anchors to which we attach our identities and the vessels in which we gather our experiences. The inner life of things observed in this way turns them into capsules of humanity, which carry the invisible evidence of being human as they ‘marinate’ in time. The artists use objects to engage with autobiographical, poetic as well as anthropological questions.

The exhibition takes place in an old kiosk at the last stop of the tram line in Kopli. Spread across the counter, the works explore the human love of trinkets, the absurdity of mass production, and the power of objects to unite and divide communities.

Instead of a kiosk vendor, one of the artists is on duty every day so that the exhibition experience takes a slightly different form each day through the presence of each artist or curator.

Participating artists: Sandra Ernits, Rose Magee, Mara Kirchberg, Sarah Nõmm, Siim Preiman, Leonor Talefe
Graphic design: Kertu Klementi
Curator: Anita Kodanik

Kiosk next to the building at Kopli 99b, Kopli tram line end stop.

The exhibition is open until June 11, Mon-Fri 14:00-20:00, Sat-Fri 12:00-18:00

Special thanks: Mart Veelmaa, Anders Härm, Margit Säde, Mattias Veller, Derevjashka cafe 

More info: Anita Kodanik / anita.kodanik@artun.ee, +372 55507327

Facebook event

Estonian Academy of Arts Grad Show TASE ’23
tase.artun.ee
01–17.06, open every day 12.00–18.00
Opening: 31.05, 16.00 at the Freedom Square and 19.00 at the Estonian Academy of Arts

Exhibition locations:
Freedom Square 8, Tallinn Art Hall, Artists Union’s studios, shop and bar rooms, Vent Space, Grafodrom and Experimental Printmaking Studio
Freedom Square 6, Tallinn Art Hall Gallery
Põhja pst 7, Estonian Academy of Arts (Architecture faculty’s grad works)
Lai 17, Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design yard (Graphic Design MA grad works, open until June 11)

On Freedom Square, we present the deconstructed fashion show You Have Only A Moment by Lab of Figurative Thought, followed by the announcements of the winners of the Young Artist and Young Applied Artist awards. Additionally, for the first time this year, the Young Designer Awards will be given out! Opening event continues at 19.00 at the TASE of Architecture, located in EKA!

TASE is the annual graduation show of the Estonian Academy of Arts. The exhibition presents graduation works of the Architecture, Art and Culture, Design, and Fine Arts faculties. Most works are exhibited in the Freedom Square buildings 8 and 6. The Architecture faculty’s graduation works are located at the Estonian Academy of Arts. The Graphic Design master’s works are exhibited in the yard of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (open until June 11).

tase.artun.ee opens with the exhibition on May 31!
Along with the works at the main exhibition, written theses are presented digitally on tase.artun.ee together with the PhD and Art and Culture works.

PROGRAMME

Grad Show TASE ‘23 grand opening
Fashion-performance You Have Only A Moment by Lab of Figurative Thought
Linda Mai Kari, Anita Kremm, Kristel Zimmer, Liisamari Viik
Supervisor: Ene-Liis Semper
31.05 at 16.00
Freedom Square

TASE of Architecture exhibition opening
31.05 at 19.00
EKA, Põhja pst 7

Theses defences
29.05–14.06
artun.ee/kaitsmised

TASE FILM
14.06 at 18.30
EKA, A101, Põhja pst 7

Guided tour by Anna-Liisa Villmann
15.06 at 15.00 in English
Starts at Tallinn Art Hall, Freedom Square 8
Guided tour by Gregor Taul (Faculty of Architecture’s graduation works)
16.06 at 12.00 in English
Starts at EKA lobby, Põhja pst 7

SATELLITE PROGRAMME

Fragment_21:12, Jewellery and Blacksmithing course works
Aleš Rezler, Elis Liivo, Lara Herrmann, Maarja Hallika, Madlen Hirtentreu, Madli Pajos, Helen Tiits, Paul Aadam Mikson
Supervisors: Eve Margus and Nils Hint
19.05–04.06, every day at 14.00–20.00
Tower of Old Town, Pikk Jalg 2

Unbounded Nature, Glass and Ceramics course works
Annali Kruusamägi, Annika Luhaäär, Erko Lill, Helen Tiits, Kätriin Reinart, Laura Stina Parri, Marta Vikentjeva, Sara Kyllönen, Valeria Poljakova, Õnne Paulus
19.05–18.06, every day at 9.00–19.00, opening 18.05 at 17.00
Tallinn Zoo, Paldiski mnt 146, entrance with the zoo ticket

Contemporary Drawing: Worlding in Layers, Contemporary Art course works
Triin Anijalg, Maria Hindreko, Sander Karjus, Kassandra Laur, Rebecca Norman, Helena Pass, Mia Rulli, Nana Schilf, Sirel Tammisto
Supervisor and curator: Britta Benno
23.05–17.06, Tue-Sat at 12.00–18.00, opening 22.05 at 17.00
EKA Gallery, Põhja pst 7

A pool with moderate temperature, Painting course works
Karola Ainsar, Luis Bruder, Maria Hindreko, Sander Karjus, Rebecca Norman, Daria Morozova, Elisa Margot Winters
Supervisors and curators: Mihkel Ilus, Tõnis Saadoja, Anna Škodenko
25.05–09.06.23, Mon-Fri at 12.00–18.00, opening 24.05 at 17.00
ARS project space, Pärnu mnt 154

Cherries once grew in my garden, Curatorial Studies and Contemporary art group exhibition
Gerda Hansen, Iryna Tanasiichuk, Siew Ching Ang, Mirjam Varik, Sarah Noonan
Curator: Ketlin Käpp
27–28.05 and 01–04.06 at 12.00–19.00 or by appointment 26.05–07.06
Uus Rada gallery, Raja 11a

In the shadow of tree being, Contemporary Art course works
Triin Anijalg, Maria Hindreko, Sander Karjus, Kassandra Laur, Rebecca Norman, Helena Pass, Mia Rulli, Nana Schilf, Sirel Tammisto
27.05–18.06, every day at 9.00–18.00, opening 26.05 at 17.00
Gallery of Tampere House, Jaani 4, Tartu

Textile Design from Fibre to Tech Solutions, Open Academy course works
Carolin Freiberg, Madde Jerbach, Piret Kuhlbars, Monika Lepik, Marit Lillenberg, Mari-Liis Lõppe, Tiia Nõmm, Heidi Renzer, Aleksander Väär
28.05–19.06, every day at 9.00–23.00
EKA, first floor glass corridor, Põhja pst 7

Creative Realities, Contemporary Art course works
Gerda Hansen, Mirjam Varik, Syed Sachal Rizvi, Eri Rääsk, Mari Steinberg, Anna-Liisa Kree, Mia Felić, Lara Žagar, Mohammadmojtaba Habibidavijani
Curator: Siim Raie
28.05–28.08, Fri-Sat at 12.00–18.00, opening 28.05 at 15.00
Villa Dombrovka, Karepa, Lääne-Virumaa

Three Drops of Blood, student exhibition
Agnes Milla Bereczki, Anu Kadri Uustalu, Lumimari, Kaur Joonas Karu, Kirke Mari Päll, Piret Potter, Ringo Roots, Triinu Väikmeri, Wing Kiu Mak, Denise Damaso, Camille Laurelli
31.05–14.06, Wed–Thu at 13.00–20.00, Fri-Sun at 11.00–18.00
Kalamaja Museum, Kotzebue 16, entrance with the museum ticket

Catarsis, Interior Architecture course works
Marleen Armulik, Katarina Ild, Hanna Kruusma, Laura Movits, Getter Pihlak, Elle Marie Randoja, Jaan Repnikov, Sven Samyn, Mirjam Vaht
Supervisor: Nele Tiidelepp
01–04.06, 24/7, performance on 31.05 at 19.00
Abandoned hut across from EKA main entrance, Põhja pst 2

Sense of Measure, Interior Architecture course works
Simon Baguette, Piret-Liis Carson, Päär-Joonap Keedus, Ann-Katriin Kelder, Anni Truu, Krete Tarkmees, Laura Maria Tõru, Viktoria Ugur, Mari Uibo, Eliisabet Valmas-Romanov
Supervisors: Roland Reemaa, Hannah Sergerkrantz
01–17.06, every day at 09.00-23.00, opening 31.05 at 18.00
EKA cafeteria, Põhja pst 7

Pretty Gimmicks, Charming Trinkets and All the Other Things, Curatorial Studies and Contemporary Art course works
Sandra Ernits, Mara Kirchenberg, Rose Magee, Sarah Nõmm, Siim Preiman, Leonor Talefe
Curator: Anita Kodanik
3–11.06, Mon-Fri at 14.00–20.00, Sat-Sun at 12.00–18.00, opening 2.06 at 18.00
Last stop with the Kopli tram, at the kiosk next to Kopli 99b

Head organiser: Pire Sova
Assistant: Dana Lorên Vares
Exhibition design: Kaisa Maasik, Johannes Luik
Architecture exhibition design: Diana Drobot, Karl Erik Miller
Communication: Solveig Jahnke, Andres Lõo, Maarja Pabut
Graphic design: Birgita Siim, Agnes Isabelle Veevo, Aaro Veiderpass
Web coordinator: Kert Väljak
Web developer: Patrick Zavadskis
Install manager: Johannes Luik
TASE FILM: Maya Chaudhary, Terje Losvik
TASE shop: Sigrit Lõhmus

Supported by: Estonian Artists’ Association, Tallinn Art Hall, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Akzonobel, Punch

The Estonian Academy of Arts organizes the Transform4Europe (T4EU) European Universities’ study week “Design & Sustainability” in June 13–17. Students and support staff from ten European universities are invited to the week full of the best lectures and workshops, and students’ works also presented at the TASE ’23 Grad Show exhibition and at the ERKI Fashion Show.

The theme of the study week is “design and sustainability”. Sustainability is one of EKA’s core values – in its development, it is based on the environmental friendliness of the art academy, which is the sustainable way of thinking. Design and the design process are an important part of the solution to the ecological crisis.  

As part of the week, creative research will be introduced, students can participate in a creative research writing workshop and workshops on clothing repair, documenting cultural heritage, etc. 

EKA students are also invited to take part in the T4EU week, which has three options:

1. The main program (June 13-17) includes mandatory general subjects and workshops and seminars with a limited number of participants. (Program link HERE)

2. Weekly seminar “Care, community and colonialism in the art museum” (June 12-15).

In addition, core program courses may also be taken if the schedule allows. (Introduction to the seminar is HERE)

3. Weekly workshop “Cultural heritage documentation solutions workshop” (June 12-16).

In addition, core program courses may also be taken if the schedule allows. (Introduction to the workshop is HERE)

Before the course, it is possible to watch pre-recorded video interviews with experts (20-30 minute interviews, 7 interviews in total) on different aspects of sustainability.

Those who complete the course receive 3 credit points, which can be transferred to a free subject.

NB! The courses are in English. 

The student can register HERE until June 4th or until the semester continues.

Detailed information about the study week in English can be found on the EKA website: 

T4EU Week in EKA “Design & Sustainability”

On May 18 and 19, we invite you to visit the EKA gallery and the open spaces on the 2nd and 5th floors, where over the course of two days this semester’s works by the first-year MA Contemporary Art students will be exhibited.

The exhibition is open on both days from 15:00–18:00 and is part of the Fine Arts Assessment Marathon, which offers an unique opportunity to get to know the current works of the young artists.

In addition to the EKA building, works by several students can be seen in other locations:

– Rose Magee’s exhibition is open at Vent Space gallery until Wednesday, May 17, 16:00–19:00

– Lara Žagar’s exhibition will open at Vent Space gallery on Friday, May 19, 19:00.

– Sarah Nõmm’s work can be seen at the exhibition Naturally It Is Not at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design until June 11, Wed & Fri–Sun 11:00–18:00, Thu 11:00–20:00.

– Eri Rääsk’s work can be seen at Balta (between Vana-Kalamaja street 1 & 3) on Friday, May 19, 17:00–03:00.

Students participating in the exhibition: Rose Magee, Sarah Nõmm, Mia Felic, Mara Kirchberg, Mirjam Varik, Siim Preiman, Anna-Liisa Kree, Iryna Tanasiichuk, Sarah Noonan, Eri Rääsk, Leonor Talefe, Sandra Ernits, Mari Steinberg, Lara Žagar, Alisa Khellberg, Gerda Hansen and Syed Sachal Rizvi.

The students were supervised by Marge Monko, Kirke Kangro, Merike Estna, Taavi Talve, Anu Vahtra, John Grzinich, Paul Kuimet, Taavi Piibemann, Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Eve Kask, David K. Ross.

The exhibition “Fregment_21:12” by second-year jewelry and blacksmithing students of the Estonian Academy of Arts, will be held in the Long Leg Gate Tower of Old Town, Pikk Jalg 2, between May 19 and June 4.

The exhibition reflects eight young artists’ curiosity about preserving something – what they think is worth keeping and passing on, and in what way. The desire to keep what is important to oneself has always existed. What is preserved gives us a sense of security, that even though the world around us is changing at breakneck speed, there is something that remains the same. But when trying to store something, its nature also changes. Isn’t keeping something unchanged a failed endeavor from the very beginning?

Over the years, both our values and what is held sacred change, but the original information about something important always remains. Wisdom for life is passed on through knowledge and skills, and we hope to continue to be better than before with that. All previous experiences are somehow embedded into our DNA and manifest under certain conditions when it is necessary to save us from destruction. Despite our own contradictions and self-destructiveness, we also have a survival mechanism coded into us. To trigger it, we just need to know the right code or  the right time – let it be 21:12 for example.

Artists: Aleš Rezler, Elis Liivo, Lara Herrmann, Maarja Hallika, Madlen Hirtentreu, Madli Pajos, Helen Tiits and Paul Aadam Mikson will perform at the exhibition.

Supervisors: Eve Margus and Nils Hint

Thanks: Bruno Lillemets, Jens Andreas Clausen, Kristo Pachel, Taavi Teevet, Sander Haugas, Villu Mustkivi

Lara Žagar’s solo exhibition “Herbaryum 2188″ at VENT Space gallery

Opening: 19.05.2023  at 19.00
Exhibition is open till 25.05
12.00-17.00 every day

Lara Žagar (1993) is a visual and contemporary artist from Ljubljana. She graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering – Department of Fashion Design (2018) and is attending the Master’s programme at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana (2021-) – Department of Video and New Media. She creates long-term projects in which she explores the visual experience of the environment and her relationship to it. She is interested in different approaches to new media art and combines installation , video , photography , light and sound.

This research discovers the ecosystem of the future, breaks it down and analyses only one part of it in detail. These are the remains of organic matter that have been transformed into inorganic forms during the fossilisation process, leaving imprints that speak of a specific period and place in history. We are looking at a fossil record, or a fossil herbarium, a record of a living organism that exists in a world that has not yet come into being, but which reflects a picture of a relatively present world that is about to come to an end in this kind of form and presentation

In the empty bear cage of the Tallinn Zoo, starting from May 19th, the exhibition “Unbounded Nature” by the glass and ceramics students of the Estonian Academy of Arts can be seen.

On May 18, at 17.00, ten second-year students of the Estonian Academy of Arts will open a joint exhibition “Unbounded Nature” in the old bear cage of the Tallinn Zoo, which raises questions about the natural relationships of living beings with the environment and adaptation to unfamiliar settings. At the same time, the budding artists also investigate the influence of the animal cage as an exhibition venue on the meaning and interpretation of the artworks.

The works in the exhibition deal with the change of human nature at a time when the primordial nature around us is disappearing and artificiality is taking over. Will life lose its natural essence if we begin to manipulate it technologically? Or as Sara Kyllönen, one of the authors, asks with her sculptures: “Is the exploitation of the most innocent creatures a natural part of civilized society, or could it work differently?”

Annali Kruusamägi, Annika Luhaäär, Erko Lill, Helen Tiits, Kätriin Reinart, Laura Stina Parri, Marta Vikentjeva, Sara Kyllönen, Valeria Poljakova and Õnne Paulus will perform at the exhibition. Each of them approaches the topic from their own personal authorial position.

This is how Annika Luhaäär remembers almost extinct sea lilies by making new fossils from them. However, Annali Kruusamägi’s work consisting of a thousand keys explores the abundance of opportunities in our lives and how rarely we take advantage of them.

The exhibition “Limitless nature” is open from May 19 to June 18 every day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Entrance with a zoo ticket.

The authors thank the Tallinn Zoo for their welcoming and friendly cooperation. Also tutors Laura Põldu and Kateriin Rikken, EKA’s glass art, ceramics and blacksmithing departments and the Estonian Academy of Arts Student Council and OÜ Kerakot.