EKA Gallery

Liisa Chrislin Saleh’s & Hansel Tai’s duo exhibition “Dance of Resistance”
Second floor of EKA Gallery 1.–24.08.2025
Open Tue–Sat 12–6 pm Sun 12–4 pm
NB! EKA Gallery is closed during Wednesday, August 20.
Opening: Thursday, July 31 at 6 pm

Estonian-Yemeni artist Liisa Chrislin Saleh and Tallinn-based, Chinese-born artist Hansel Tai join forces for the first time in their duo exhibition “Dance of Resistance”. With a shared appreciation for each other’s artistic practices, Saleh and Tai engage in a powerful dialogue that confronts their rich cultural heritages through the lens of feminist and queer ideologies. By intertwining their personal narratives, they explore the intersections of identity, culture, and resistance.

Liisa Chrislin Saleh was born into an Estonian-Yemeni family and raised mainly in Estonia. Her perspective is shaped by this Northern European context, but she is increasingly engaging with her Yemeni background, navigating what it means to hold both identities. With this project she explores the connections and disconnections between historical resistance movements across different regions. The work examines how solidarity is formed—and where it breaks down—across cultural and political lines. Drawing on humanist values and intersectional feminist thought the artist considers how resistance is remembered, represented, and reinterpreted today. Rather than aiming to present a unified narrative, the project opens space for complexity, contradiction, and critical reflection.

Hansel Tai, born in Mainland China and now based in Tallinn, has long focused on queer culture in the Post-Internet era. His award-winning project, “Nude Jade Pierced”, explored Chinese cultural identity through a queer lense, blending traditional symbols with subcultural aesthetic. In “Dance of Resistance”, Tai re-contextualizes traditional Chinese calligraphy and incense—both of which have found resonance in Western culture, from tattoo parlors to metaphysical shops. His work aims to challenge the appropriation of these cultural symbols, while reclaiming their significance from a queer perspective.

This multifaceted installation brings together objects, jewelry, and immersive elements to examine how cultural identity and ideological resistance are experienced and expressed by the two artists. Saleh and Tai draw from their own positions to explore themes of cultural disconnection, feminism, and queer identity. The installation does not aim to present a unified message but instead opens space for critical engagement with the complexities and contradictions of identity, belonging, and resistance
Together, “Dance of Resistance” offers a poignant reflection on the fluidity of identity and the power of art as a form of resistance in the face of cultural and societal challenges.

Graphic design: Daria Titova
Technical support: Ats Kruusing and Karel Koplimets
The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Sadolin Estonia and Tallinn City.
Opening drinks from Pühaste Brewery.

HIDDEN RIVERS
Ground floor of EKA Gallery 1.–24.08.2025
Open Tue–Sat 12–6 pm Sun 12–4 pm
NB! EKA Gallery is closed on Wednesday, August 20
Opening: Thursday, July 31 at 6 pm

The body is a porous system in constant exchange with its environment – it excretes matter, absorbs substances, and is shaped by its surroundings as much as it shapes them. Digestion is not merely a linear passage but a generative process: the body organizes itself around the intestine, whose intricate folds allow for immense spatial capacity, concealed within the torso.

This principle of folding extends beyond the body to architecture and the subterranean infrastructure of cities. The digestive tract, building pipework and sewer systems form a continuous, obscured network of movement and transformation. At the thresholds where this flows cross – mouth, anus, toilet – conflicts arise. These are culturally charged, ritualized zones where the body meets architecture: highly coded, regulated, contested. The fold, with its spatial density and ambiguity, becomes a central motif for grasping these borderline structures of transition and control. The group exhibition “Hidden Rivers” is a site of excavation. Bodies are opened and buried systems are lifted to the surface. Infrastructures are disrupted and rerouted, landscapes reshaped, rivers diverted.

Over the course of ten months, artists Bob Bicknell-Knight, Giulio Cusinato, Fausta Noreikaitė, Rosa-Maria Nuutinen, Teresa RA and Denis Kudrjašov worked with curator and exhibition designer Theresa Roth in a collective process of uncovering and reflecting upon the organism of digestion. Their artistic positions – manifested in sculpture, installation, embroidery, text, sound, and video – trace the flows and frictions between body, space, and system.

The exhibition architecture, merging curatorial and artistic practice, acts as both mediator and memory. It holds the sediment of the shared process, an organic archive, and unfolds the sealed terrain of the EKA Gallery.

Participating artists: Bob Bicknell-Knight, Giulio Cusinato, Fausta Noreikaitė, Rosa-Maria Nuutinen, Teresa RA, Denis Kudrjašov
Curator and exhibition designer: Theresa Roth
Graphic design: Lukas Milkereit
Technical support: Ats Kruusing & Karel Koplimets
The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Sadolin Estonia and Tallinn City.
Opening drinks from Pühaste Brewery.

Tallinn Print Triennial’s youth exhibition “Print Muscle”
EKA Gallery 5.–27.07.2025
Open Tue–Sat 12–6 pm Sun 12–4 pm
Opening: Friday, July 4 at 6 pm
Curatorial tour: Thursday, July 10 at 6 pm (in Estonian)

NB! The exhibition can only be accessed through EKA Gallery’s Kotzebue Street door. On July 9 and 10, between 12 and 3.30 pm, there may be power outages due to the maintenance of electrical systems, which may interfere with experiencing the exhibition. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience!

“Print Muscle” is the 2025 youth exhibition of the Tallinn Print Triennial, highlighting the role of trace-based visual practices through the work of young artists.

The exhibition introduces viewers to “methods of leaving a trace” through works in which artists imprint their presence in the current moment through gestures borrowed from printmaking – though not necessarily confined to its traditional techniques. In an age where digital repetition has become commonplace, manual repetition still holds lasting significance. Whether the repetition functions according to object-based, bodily, ritualistic, or traditional principles, it often becomes a form of playing at being – a training of the print muscle.

While disciplinary boundaries in contemporary art have long since become arbitrary, print-based thinking often stands out through persistent, process-oriented engagement – ritualistic repetition, close observation, and the materialization of time. Through such practices, artists trace their daily rituals, reflect on autobiographical elements, or give tangible form to our time. Though printmaking techniques are sometimes considered delicate – perhaps even feminized – this exhibition emphasizes the physicality and force inherent in printmakers’ way of thinking. The exhibition brings together artists from Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine.

An additional focus of the exhibition is the increasing popularity of artist books, zines, and self-publishing. While bookmaking has traditionally been part of both printmaking and graphic design curricula, recent years have seen a notable rise in its cultural and artistic relevance. To reflect this, we’ve invited Agnes Isabelle Veevo to curate a reading corner dedicated to artist books on the second floor of EKA Gallery. This curated space includes works by participating artists as well as other artists from fields like printmaking, graphic design, and beyond, offering visitors the opportunity to engage with these publications in a tactile and intended way, i.e. by physically holding and looking at them.

Curators: Anita Kodanik & Maria Izabella Lehtsaar
Participating artists: Mindaugas Aniūnas, Loora Kaubi, Elise Marie Olesk, Paul Rannik, Nils Joonatan Rammo, Gintaute Siniakovaitė, Aidas Stončius, Daria Titova
Book corner curator: Agnes Isabelle Veevo
Artists participating in the book corner: Rokas Bokus, Eline Cremers, Fatima-Ezzahra el Khammas, Laura Merendi, Helena Pass, Eleri Porroson, Julia Syrzistie, Ljubov Terukova, Laura Tursk, Mirjam Varik
Technical support: Erik Hõim
Graphic design: Daria Titova

Exhibition supported by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania, Sadolin Estonia and Tallinn City.
Thank you: Liis Aleksejeva, EKA graphic art department, EKKM, Johannes Luik
Opening drinks from Põhjala Brewery.

Rebecca Green
“LA BABY”
EKA Gallery 25.–28.06.2025

Open Wed 2–6 pm, Thu–Fri 12–6 pm
Performance event: Sat, 28.06. at 6–10 pm
Free entry

Welcome to “LA BABY”, your own personal window into the exotic fantasy of Los Angeles, right here in Eesti. Money? Check. Sunshine? Check. The Kardshian’s secret serums? You’ll just have to see for yourself…

Part exhibition, part soft investigation and part sun-kissed performance experiment, LA BABY puts forward the question, what does Los Angeles promise us?

Observing the surreal migration of symbols globally and following the subtle mutations of representations as they travel 1000’s of kilometers from California to Estonia, we wonder, does everyone want to be an LA BABY?

Created by Rebecca Green
Supported by Kirte Jõesaar, William Primett, Liisamari Viik,
Javier Cárcel Hildalgo-Saavedra, Ksenia Verbeštšuk
Graphic design by Fatima-Ezzahra Khammas

Projects at EKA Gallery are supported by Sadolin Estonia and
Tallinn City.
Drinks at the performance event from Põhjala Brewery.

Zwaantje Kurpershoek & Indrė Liškauskaitė
“Pastel Paws and Resting Rafts”
EKA Gallery 24.05.–17.06.2025

Guided tour: 23.05.2025 at 5 pm
Opening: 23.05.2025 at 6 pm
Open Tue–Sat 12–6 pm Sun 12–4 pm, free entry
NB! EKA Gallery is closed during Pentecost on June 8!

The exhibition “Pastel Paws and Resting Rafts” is the first joint exhibition by Dutch artist Zwaantje Kurpershoek and Lithuanian artist Indrė Liškauskaitė. Both artists have spatial practice: the work of Zwaantje Kurpershoek comes from an interaction between physical materials and fictional stories resulting in mainly paintings and installations, Indrė Liškauskaitė creates drawings that she weaves with everyday found objects and that occupy the exhibition space in unconventional ways.

The selected works offer a glimpse into the personal relationships the artists have with their four-legged companions. Zwaantje Kurpershoek observes and depicts in her painting series the differences and points of contact between two living beings sharing a living space. How, in passing moments, she becomes close with her cat Nami, then distant once again. Her second work is an installation of pastel colored sculptures — part toy, part survival tool — that guides the viewer through a landscape evoking a mythical, ambiguous feeling of childhood. Indrė Liškauskaitė, who researches dog-human play and train dog agility sport with her non-human companions Delta and Delfina, suspends her four-legged collaborators’ toys and leashes within the exhibition space, also making her drawings go through obstacle course-like physical objects.

Artists: Zwaantje Kurpershoek & Indrė Liškauskaitė
Curator: Kaisa Maasik
Graphic design: Fatima-Ezzahra Khammas
Technical support: Karmo Migur

Exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Erasmus+ Mobility Programme and Sadolin Estonia.
Opening drinks from Põhjala Brewery.

Fine Arts Assessment Marathon 30.04.–20.05.2025

The spring assessment marathon is here! For three weeks, you can once again experience works produced by students in the Faculty of Fine Arts as their term projects are presented: every day there will be a fresh showcase of university students’ works on display.

Works in animation, contemporary art, installation and sculpture, painting, photography, graphic art and scenography curricula will be on display. On almost each evening of the marathon, a new exhibition will be installed and in the following 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.

The assessments will take place in the main building of EKA (1st & 2nd floor general areas and EKA Gallery; Põhja pst 7, Tallinn) and ARS Project Space (Pärnu mnt 154, Tallinn).

On the assessment day, the exhibitions at EKA Gallery are open from 2 pm to 6 pm, on Sundays the exhibitions are open from 12 pm to 4 pm. NB! EKA Gallery is closed on May 1st.

SCHEDULE

Wed 30.04. Photography BA I, supervisor Madis Kurss (EKA Gallery)
Thu 02.05. – Sun 04.05. Drawing and anatomical drawing, Fine Arts BA I, supervisors Matti Pärk, Maiu Rõõmus (EKA Gallery)

Mon 05.05. Drawing, Fine Arts BA II, supervisor Tõnis Saadoja (EKA Gallery)
Mon 05.05. Anatomical drawing, Scenography and Animation BA II, supervisor Maiu Rõõmus (1st & 2nd floor general areas)
Mon 05.05. Drawing, Scenography BA II, supervisor Eero Alev (1st & 2nd floor general areas)
Tue 06.05. Drawing, Fine Arts BA III, supervisor Britta Benno (EKA Gallery)
Wed 07.05. Photography BA I, supervisor Marge Monko (EKA Gallery)
Thu 08.05. Scenography BA II, supervisor Liina Keevallik (EKA Gallery)
Fri 09.05. – Sat 10.05. Scenography BA I, supervisor Mark Raidpere (EKA Gallery)

Sun 11.05. – Mon 12.05. Contemporary Art MA I, supervisors Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Viktor Gurov, Maris Karjatse, Camille Laurelli, Marge Monko, Laura Põld, David K. Ross, Liina Siib, Taavi Talve, Jaan Toomik, Anu Vahtra (EKA Gallery)
Tue 13.05. – Wed 14.05. Contemporary Art MA I, supervisors Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Viktor Gurov, Maris Karjatse, Camille Laurelli, Marge Monko, Laura Põld, David K. Ross, Liina Siib, Taavi Talve, Jaan Toomik, Anu Vahtra (EKA Gallery)
Thu 15.05. Graphic Art BA I, supervisors Charlotte Biszewski, Caroline Pajusaar, Mark Antonius Puhkan, Mirjam Varik (EKA Gallery)
Fri 16.05. Graphic Art BA II, supervisors Viktor Gurov, Eve Kask (EKA Gallery)
Sat 17.05. – Sun 18.05. Animation BA and MA (EKA Gallery)

Mon 19.05. Painting BA I, supervisors Eero Alev, Anna Škodenko, Jaan Toomik (EKA Gallery)
Tue 20.05. Sculpture BA I, supervisor Anna Mari Liivrand (EKA Gallery)
Thu 22.05. – Sun 15.06. Painting BA II, supervisors Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Alice Kask, Holger Loodus (ARS Project Space, open Wed–Sat 12–6 pm Sun 12–4 pm)

SILICATE ONTOLOGY I. A material and social history 1900-2025
EKA Gallery 11.–27.04.2025
Opening: 11.04.2025 at 6pm
Open Tue–Sat 12–6 pm Sun 12–4 pm, free entry

Silicate embodies the evolution of 20th-century Estonian architecture. Among the few widely available materials during Soviet deficits, silicate played a crucial role in shaping both monumental and everyday architecture – from the heyday of functionalist villas to self-built garages, from standardised apartment buildings to military infrastructure.

Through a kaleidoscopic lens, the exhibition marries perspectives from material science, architectural history, and cultural anthropology to critically examine the contested status of silicate and its potential for future application. Interwoven throughout are the insights of alumni and research conducted by students and scholars of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

In an era of increasing resource constraints, the exhibition invites viewers to consider whether, and how, material contaminated by Soviet association can be reborn anew.

Curated by: Henri Kopra ja Iiris Tähti Toom (Spatialist Studio)
Technical support: Erik Hõim

The exhibition is supported by the Estonian Association of Architects, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Tallinn City, Bauroc and Sadolin Estonia.
Opening drinks from Põhjala Brewery.

Aivar Tõnso’s solo exhibition “Light Matter in Dark State”
EKA Gallery 3.–6.04.2025
Open Thu–Fri 2–10 pm Sat 12–10 pm Sun 12–6 pm, free entry
Opening: 3.04.2025 at 6 pm

Aivar Tõnso’s exhibition “Light Matter in Dark State” continues his experiments in the field of sound art that grew out of his musical work. The spatial sound exhibition, created with the Ebakõlar System, which relies on the sound characteristics of various materials, aims to push the boundaries of the listening experience, inviting viewers not only to listen, but also to actively perceive and participate in the sound space. It is possible to move within a sound composition without a definite beginning and end, which can be entered at any moment in time from any freely chosen direction.

Since sound and imagination are the central themes in Tõnso’s work, he also considers the character of sounds important, and as one way to achieve unique sounds, he often uses the constantly evolving Ebakõlar System built on the basis of various physical materials. Unlike commercial speakers designed for listening to music, Ebakõlar System do not try to play the widest possible sound frequency spectrum evenly. Each speaker has its own unique raw and undesigned character resulting from the properties of the material. It is also a process where the material visible to the eye acquires new hidden meanings due to the excitation by sounds.

Photos of the Ebakõlar System can be downloaded here.

Aivar Tõnso is a musician, sound artist and curator of interdisciplinary cultural events. He has been involved in electronic music creation since the early 90s and has participated in projects such as Hüpnosaurus, Kismabande, Kulgurid and Ulmer. Having long ventured into the fringes of club music and experimental electronic music, he has been active in the field of sound art in recent years both as an artist and as the organizer of the Üle Heli festival.

On Saturday, April 5th at 3 pm, artist Aivar Tõnso will give a guided tour at the exhibition in English.

The event is part of the Tallinn Music Week city program. Check out the full program here.

Graphic design by: Jaan Evart
Light design by: Rene Manivald Tamm
Technical support: Erik Hõim
The exhibition is supported by Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Sadolin Estonia, Tallinn City and Tallinn Music Week.
Opening drinks from Põhjala Brewery.

Thanks: Ian Simon Märjama, Maria Aua, Märt Vaidla, Tarvo Porroson, Tiina Tõnso, Timo Toots, Madis Reivik, Raivo Raidvee

Anu Jakobson’s solo exhibition “Finite_Jest.psd”
EKA Billboard Gallery 3.04.–25.05.2025
Open 24/7, free
Opening: 3.04.2025 at 6.30 pm

Anu Jakobson’s paintings explore internet culture by using symbols and images that are widely spread online. Much like ancient civilizations used hieroglyphics and stone carvings for representation to encode power, myth, and collective identity, Jakobson’s work similarly engages with contemporary symbols. The cloudiness achieved with an airbrush emphasizes the virtual, while the painting itself resembles a file of poor quality. By translating these fleeting digital symbols into the physical permanence of a painting, the work reflects a return to classical representation. It suggests that, in the age of excessive information, our need to document and decode reality mirrors the visual storytelling of past civilizations.

Curated by: Kaisa Maasik
The exhibition is supported by Tallinn City.
Opening drinks from Põhjala Brewery.

Artist Karl Joonas Alamaa and curator Mikk Lahesalu will lead three guided tours at the exhibition “Daily Play and Bread” at EKA Gallery:
– on Thursday, March 13 at 4 pm, in Estonian
– on Wednesday, March 19 at 4 pm, in English
– on Wednesday, March 19 at 5 pm, in Estonian

Participation is free of charge.

More info:
https://www.artun.ee/en/calendar/karl-joonas-alamaa-daily-play-and-bread-at-eka-gallery/