Events

Visit Peru, Sicily, Słubice and more on May 26: Urban studies thesis presentations and defence

Urban Studies students will present and defend their thesis projects on May 26, 10–18 (A501).

This year’s projects explore a real kaleidoscope of places and themes: urban creativity and cooptation in Ljubljana; post-disaster reconstruction in Hatay, Turkey; urban river regulation in Vienna; anti-gentrification movements in Lisbon; an informal market at the Polish-German border; fishermen and urban NGOs vying to shape a Peruvian coastal community; and a housing speculation scheme in Sicily.

Come join us on this journey and support the students—the final review is open to the public.

Follow our channels for further details.

The 2025 graduation ceremonies will be held on Thursday, June 19th in the EKA Assembly Hall (room A101, Põhja puiestee 7).

• At 11:00 AM, the ceremony will begin for graduates of the Faculty of Design and the Faculty of Art Culture, as well as for doctoral school graduates
• At 3:00 PM, the ceremony will begin for graduates of the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Fine Arts, as well as for doctoral school graduates

Dear graduates, please arrive 15 minutes early to the EKA Gallery, where you will be seated in designated seats. Guests can sit in the Assembly Hall, watch the ceremony on screens in the foyer, or follow it online via EKA TV.

More info:
Elisabeth Kuusik
elisabeth.kuusik@artun.ee

20.05–21.05

 EKA Artists Reclaim Forgotten Military Ruins in Astangu, Tallinn 

Co(h)e(r)cion is a site-specific group exhibition by Contemporary Art MA (MACA) students of the Estonian Academy of Arts, held in the historic ruins of the ammunition tunnels in Astangu, Tallinn. Once part of a Tsarist-era military complex and later a highly protected Soviet ammunition site, this area is now largely forgotten and abandoned.

Four international contemporary artists :
Fausta Norekaite (LT), Denis Lebedev (DE), Giulio Cusinato (IT), and Kroplya (BY) – mediate the layered histories of this unique landscape through sound, language, ecology, image, and interactive elements.

The title Co(h)e(r)cion is a wordplay, reflecting the site’s ambiguous nature and the emotions it evokes –  blending cohesion, coercion, and erosion.
The mysterious ambience of Astangu inspired the artists to explore concepts that extend beyond human consciousness.

Co(h)e(r)cion invites you to experience these artistic incarnations of loss, presence, absence, and natural forces firsthand.

This exhibition also raises awareness about the role of ruins in post-humanist art ethics — exploring the potential for artistic intervention in more cohesive, integrated, and thoughtful ways.

From May 20 to 21, Co(h)e(r)cion dares visitors to immerse themselves in the secret realm of the unspeakable and the unseen.

Curated by Anastassia Janovskaja

Location
The exhibition takes place in Astangu forest, Haabersti, Tallinn.
Coordinates: 59°23’50.6″N 24°37’35.0″E

You can find the exact location by scanning the QR code provided or clicking the link below:
 https://maps.app.goo.gl/UiC3KA5CYYYknW3u5 .

The map is also available on our flyer for your convenience.

On May 22nd at 6:00 PM, filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn will present the film “My Architect” at the Estonian Academy of Arts about his father, the world-famous Estonian born architect Louis Kahn, and his work.

There will also be a conversation with Nathaniel on site and an opportunity to ask questions.

Trailer and information:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373175/

“Astonishingly, this personal saga blossoms into a “Citizen Kane”-like meditation on whether anyone is truly knowable – but the showpiece is Kahn the younger’s spellbinding photography, which shows off his dad’s buildings’ epic grandeur as well as their spiritual intimacy.”

– Robert Kolker, New York Magazine
“One of the best films of this, or any, year.”
–Leonard Maltin, Hot Ticket
“For gripping drama and suspense, there are few fictional movies that can hold a candle to Mr. Kahn’s odyssey through time and space.”
–Andrew Sarris, The Observer

Louis I. Kahn, who died in 1974, was one of the greatest architects of the twentieth century, creating a handful of buildings that, in the words of the L.A. Times, “change your life.” But he left behind an illegitimate son, Nathaniel, and a personal life of secrets and broken promises. “My Architect” takes us on a heartbreaking yet humorous journey as Nathaniel attempts to reconnect with his deceased father. The riveting narrative takes us from the men’s room in Penn Station, where Kahn died bankrupt and alone, to the bustling streets of Bangladesh and the inner sanctums of Jerusalem politics, as well as through unforgettable encounters with the world’s most celebrated architects. In a documentary with all the emotional impact of a dramatic feature film, Nathaniel’s journey becomes a universal investigation of identity—and a celebration of art and, ultimately, life itself.

TASE Anima ’25
Sõprus cinema 13.06. at 5–7 pm
Free entry

Join us at the screening of bachelor’s and master’s theses in animation of the Estonian Academy of Arts, which will take place on June 13 at 5 pm at the Sõprus cinema. The screening is free of charge.

The screening will take place within the framework of the EKA thesis festival TASE ’25. TASE is the annual major event of the Estonian Academy of Arts, the center of which is the thesis exhibition, where the faculties of architecture, design, art culture and liberal arts present this year’s master’s theses and a selection of bachelor’s theses and portfolios. TASE ’25 will take place at Rävala pst 8, Tallinn from May 29 until June 19.

Check out the TASE program, locations and graduates’ works on the page: https://tase.artun.ee 

Participants: Paulina Belik, Maya Chaudhary, Nataliia Domini, Timofei Jerjomenko, Annaliisa Lepik, Natalya Mirzoyan, Léo Dominique Mourey, Katrina Oll, Mia Rulli, Yiyang Sun, Alex Toodu, Kaisa Vallaots, Lukas Wind, Shunyuan Yao
Organisers: Lyza Karoly Jarvis, Sander Põldsaar, Lilli-Krõõt Repnau, Francesco Rosso

Graphic design: Mette Mari Kaljas, Rasmus Lukas, Nelli Viisimaa
Welcoming drinks from Punch Club.

In Ida-Virumaa, a region that once was a home to numerous vibrant settlements sustained by the oil shale mining industry which brought many people to the area, significant signs of shrinkage have emerged following the industry’s decline.

Today, a significant number of  people are relocating, often leaving behind only the memory of a home. As part of our research on the urban landscape of Ida-Virumaa, we spent a day exploring some abandoned properties in Kiviõli, Kohtla-Järve and Jõhvi. Many of these homes continue to contain an abundance of personal items and unspoken stories that reveal not only the past, but also the potential future of the region. Our exhibition will guide  you through the series of seven exhibits all over EKA, each offering a unique perspective on the transitioning identity of Ida-Virumaa.

From installations and maps to TikTok, our projects explore diverse ways of showcasing the everyday of shrinking communities and their ongoing transformation. Through stories of dachas, renovation efforts and the everyday struggles of youth and seniors, we confront the challenges of decline. This includes the sense of entrapment experiences by individuals and their mental health challenges that often stem from systemic failure. At the same time, we search for the possibility of sparks and moments of light in these shrinking places. Our work aims to give insight on both the challenges and the resilience found in these spaces, where accessibility, support and opportunity remain crucial for people of all ages.

SAVE THE DATE!
2nd of May, 15:00 in the open area of A-400.

Projects:

Does the JTF really LNOB?

Annabel Pops, Paula Fischer

The Just Transition Fund is the latest effort under the European Green Deal to ease the burden of the transition from oil shale mining on the workers and regions. Ida-Virumaa is the region in Estonia to receive funding, and one that finds itself between a negative view on the mining industry’s past and a somewhat overly optimistic vision of the future. By questioning the justness of the transition, we are mapping out the new narratives positioned upon the region and ask critically, if the forthcoming change will really LNOB (leave no one behind).

#IdaIsHome

Anna Dzebliuk, Melissa Lee

After visiting Ida-Virumaa, we noticed a deep sense of care among its residents even though this place may often be labelled as “shrinking”. This research explores how perceptions of “home” and ground-up initiatives can support local resilience. TikTok became a tool to test how digital storytelling and informal media can spark dialogue around identity, belonging and the everyday realities of so-called “shrinking” cities. By tapping into a space where many young people already express themselves, we asked: can social media help reimagine these places not as abandoned, but as alive with care, creativity and potential?

Dachniki for Future

Yiğithan Akçay, Sarah John von Zydowitz

Dachas, the iconic countryside retreats of the former Soviet Union, have a rich and complex history serving as both leisure spaces and essential sources of food production. Today dachas function not only as places of leisure but also as social and ecological safety nets. They provide a contrast to urban community gardens, offering more autonomy and stronger intergenerational connections. We visited three Dacha allotment garden cooperatives to get into contact with Dachnikis through letters, asking about their commoning and community practices.

Shifting the Narrative: “Chronic” Struggles of Renovation

Ləman Məmmədli, Viktorija Kolomažņikova

Declining towns have become a reality in regions of eastern Estonia. They have been mostly dependent on heavy industries such as oil shale mining to support their economies. In pursuit of reducing climate damages, such areas that produce fossil fuels have been left in a tricky situation. This industry is planned to be phased out completely soon and replaced with more environmentally sustainable options. In order to make the transition smoother, different grants and funds have been allocated to these areas. These allocations were supposed to create more job opportunities, develop the urban fabric and infrastructure, and improve the living conditions of the citizens. However, through a deeper dive struggles of a senior demographic, especially with the housing renovations, become apparent. This research aims to identify, analyze, and possibly open up a larger discussion on the issues faced by elderly communities when it comes to the topic of renovating their homes and improving their quality of life in shrinking cities.

Decades of Slow Retreat:short leap to social realities and mental health condition

Adeolu Afolabi, Zoë Lipp

Mental health is often the silent echo of long-term neglect. In shrinking regions like Ida-Virumaa—where buildings stand half-empty, the population ages, and public spaces quietly disappear—the impact isn’t just demographic; it’s emotional. Missing park benches, broken stairwells, and fading services aren’t just details—they shape how people live, connect, and endure. This game transforms these everyday realities into tangible experiences. Through each event card, we open a window into the lives of those navigating the in-betweens: between generations, between collapsing systems, between floors in buildings without elevators. Most residents don’t break—they adapt. But the strain leaves its mark, even when no one talks about it. By playing, reflecting, and stepping into these roles, we’re reminded that mental health is not just personal—it’s spatial, social, and political. And sometimes, a warm bowl of soup, a fixed light bulb, or simply an unlocked door is enough to hold a community together.

Trapped at one’s own home

Anna Böhmová, Hanna Steckl

By visiting an old man’s home in Kivioli, Ida-Virumaa, we delved into the topics and problems faced by the elderly in this region. By exploring the health care and financial situation, we came to the issue of the accessibility of Soviet-era apartment blocks. Most of the elderly in this area live in these houses, which are up to five floors high and have no elevators. For many of these people, it is not possible to move anywhere else, and therefore, they end up trapped in their homes. They have nowhere to go, but their current home doesn’t allow them to engage with daily needs and activities. We explore this topic by discussing different possible solutions- some are physical, and some are more on an imaginative level…

Yes / No / Other

Lukas Laubre, Katrīna Stīna Jesikena

With the changing of the guard over thirty years ago, some have found themselves in the middle of a major international dispute forced to choose sides between two or more parents bickering for their loyalty, allegiance. “Yes / No / Other” explores the tough questions these people are forced to answer every day. Questions that, for the sake of supposed national security (of the right side), reach deep into the most private of spheres: identity, domestic life, ideology. In reality, most would rather be left alone and are at best indifferent to these issues. But the questions keep coming, relentlessly and one-sidedly, as if loyalty were a simple box to check and a lifetime of complexity could be conveniently filed away — while others, with the right passports or the right surnames, live freely without ever being harassed.

Urban Studies Urban Models course, tutored by Keiti Kljavin & Johanna Holvandus

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)

At the seminar ‘Contemporary Higher Art Education: A Dialogue with the Future,’ leaders from five Nordic art academies will share ideas and exchange perspectives. In addition, faculty members from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Estonian Academy of Arts will discuss these challenges.

Advocating for art and art education has never been an easy task. This seminar focuses on key issues in contemporary higher art education here and now, at a time when critical thinking, ethical approaches and the independent power of art are more important than ever. The development of higher art education is closely connected with contemporary art movements – it’s not easy to say which influences the other more. Art must be able to engage with a vast range of phenomena and questions.

Art must maintain creative freedom, independence and autonomy, while also integrating more and more with other fields. A significant portion of contemporary art is exploring research-driven paths. In the education landscape, art education must offer comparability with research-based universities. Art and artists must manage themselves, communicate, and market their work. At the same time, art higher education must remain an attractive choice for the new generation. How can art academies offer all of this and meet these expectations?

PROGRAMME

11:30 –12:00 Coffee, Gathering and Welcome Words
12:00–12:20 – Maj Hasager (Rector of Malmö Art Academy) – Higher Art Education and the Political Gaze
12:20–12:40 – Jacob Jessen (Head of Department, Trondheim Academy of Fine Art) – Art and Research in the Creative University
12:40–13:00 – Kirke Kangro (Dean of Fine Arts Faculty, Estonian Academy of Arts) – Art Education between Freedom and Frameworks

13:00–13:20 – Coffee break

13:20–13:40 – Bjarki Bragason (Dean of Fine Art, Iceland University of the Arts) – environments in art education – a few thoughts
13:40–14:00 – Leevi Haapala (Dean of the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Helsinki) – Art Education and the Professional Art Field

Event will be held in English.

Please register to the seminar through the following link: https://forms.gle/wYxHjxZ8GiAiQkiWA

More info: Kati Saarits, kati.saarits@artun.ee

Artist talk by Tris Vonna-Michell at 17:30 on March 4th in EKA, A-501

The artist is visiting EKA to run a workshop in the department of photography on March 24-26, 2025 together with Henrik Follesø Egeland.

Tris Vonna-Michell (1982) is an artist, publisher and guest professor in Expanded Performance and Installation at the Royal College of Art in Stockholm.

Recent works can be found in public collections such as Serralves Museum, Porto, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Tate Modern, London, and Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg.

Vonna-Michell has exhibited widely, most recently at the Badischer Kunstverein in Karlsruhe.

Vonna-Michell’s work utilises a plethora of technical devices, modes of presentation and installational approaches, encompassing performance, audio recordings, slide projections, poetry, sound poetry, printed matter, photography and film. Since 2010 he has been co-running the publishing space and analogue studio Mount Analogue.

https://www.vonna-michell.com

The 2025 Spring semester session of the Open Lectures ”City as novel ecosystem” focuses on landscape architecture and, more specifically, urban nature.

The lecture series is being put together by landscape architects Karin Bachmann, Merle Karro-Kalberg and Anna-Liisa Unt, who have co-founded and edited the landscape architecture magazine ÕU for 7 years and are currently leading the project “Curated Biodiversity”, which experiments with ways to make urban landscaping more diverse as an environment. Therefore, the open lectures in the spring will also turn their attention to the quality of the space between buildings and, using the speakers’ words and creations, show how to make the city more biodiverse and enjoyable and how people and other species that call the city their home can live in symbiosis.

The first lecture of the spring semester lecture series will take place on March 27 at 6:00 pm in the EKA large auditorium. Architects Justyna Dziedziejko and Magdalena Wnęk from the Polish landscape architecture firm TopoScape will take the stage with a lecture „Park on the Warsaw Uprising Mound – design development method”.

„The topic of this lecture is to discuss the design process we used in the creation of the ‘Park on the Warsaw Uprising Mound’. During the lecture we will discuss strategies aimed at creating a place-related design that supports biodiversity and closed cycle economy, we will define principles for typifying components that constitute the value of a place. The example of the park realises our postulation of an interdisciplinary design process, combining ideas based on the history of a place and nature. We will talk about the practical principles of information selection, interdisciplinary cooperation and guidelines for the construction phase of the park. The example of the Warsaw park shows how a degraded, abandoned and forgotten area, which is a post-industrial type space (brownfield), becomes a vibrant place again.”

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

All lectures are held on Thursdays at 6 pm in the EKA main auditorium. All lectures are in English and free of charge.

Schedule of the Spring 2025 lectures:

March 27. Toposcape

April 3. Ingo Kowarik

April 10. Jan van Schaik

April 24. Taktyk

For those registered for optional subjects, the essay submission date is 12.05.2025.

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.

The lecture series is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

www.avatudloengud.ee