Open Lectures

02.04.2024

Open architecture lecture: Barbara Imhof

On April 2nd at 4:00 p.m., an extraordinary open lecture will be held in the open area of the 4th floor of EKA (A400).

The lecture is held in English and is open to all interested parties.

Barbara Imhof: Living Beyond Earth.
Architecture for Extreme Environments

The lecture will transport us to space and beyond, showcasing a spectrum of space architecture examples—from feasibility studies to cutting-edge technological developments. These examples include deployable simulation habitats, simulations of Mars missions in terrestrial analogs, and underwater mission simulations. Additionally, it will cover the conceptualisation and implementation of habitat modules for future space stations like the Gateway, as well as innovative greenhouses such as the EDEN ISS in Antarctica. Themes explored range from integrating biogenerative principles to envisioning self-sufficient human settlements on the moon and Mars. Throughout, the projects map the requirements of space exploration while emphasizing ecological stewardship.

 

Barbara Imhof serves as the co-managing director of LIQUIFER Vienna – Bremen, alongside managing partners Waltraut Hoheneder and René Waclavicek, since 2004. Their globally recognized work is featured in a recent compendium published by PARK Books. Additionally, since September 2023, Barbara has held the position of professor for Integrative Design with a focus on Extremes at the Institute of Experimental Architecture at the University in Innsbruck, Austria.

Barbara Imhof has served as a simulation astronaut at the MOONWALK simulations, participated in expeditions to Antarctica and the South Pacific, and was recently elected as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Associate Fellow of the Class of 2024.

 

Posted by Tiina Tammet — Permalink

Open architecture lecture: Barbara Imhof

Tuesday 02 April, 2024

On April 2nd at 4:00 p.m., an extraordinary open lecture will be held in the open area of the 4th floor of EKA (A400).

The lecture is held in English and is open to all interested parties.

Barbara Imhof: Living Beyond Earth.
Architecture for Extreme Environments

The lecture will transport us to space and beyond, showcasing a spectrum of space architecture examples—from feasibility studies to cutting-edge technological developments. These examples include deployable simulation habitats, simulations of Mars missions in terrestrial analogs, and underwater mission simulations. Additionally, it will cover the conceptualisation and implementation of habitat modules for future space stations like the Gateway, as well as innovative greenhouses such as the EDEN ISS in Antarctica. Themes explored range from integrating biogenerative principles to envisioning self-sufficient human settlements on the moon and Mars. Throughout, the projects map the requirements of space exploration while emphasizing ecological stewardship.

 

Barbara Imhof serves as the co-managing director of LIQUIFER Vienna – Bremen, alongside managing partners Waltraut Hoheneder and René Waclavicek, since 2004. Their globally recognized work is featured in a recent compendium published by PARK Books. Additionally, since September 2023, Barbara has held the position of professor for Integrative Design with a focus on Extremes at the Institute of Experimental Architecture at the University in Innsbruck, Austria.

Barbara Imhof has served as a simulation astronaut at the MOONWALK simulations, participated in expeditions to Antarctica and the South Pacific, and was recently elected as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Associate Fellow of the Class of 2024.

 

Posted by Tiina Tammet — Permalink

04.04.2024

Open Architecture Lecture: Oulimata Gueye

The Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.

On April 4, Oulimata Gueye will hold in the EKA hall a lecture UFA, Université des Futurs Africains #2. It Matters What Stories We Tell to Tell Other Stories of the Future

The lecture series aims to engage with values, imaginaries and systems of knowledge that shape the contemporary fields of architecture and urbanism. Unlearning is coordinated by Maroš Krivý, professor of Urban Studies.

According to Gayatri Spivak, for example, unlearning concerns not only what is said, but also what is not said as part of an ideological formation. There is now a broad push to transform design from a practice subservient to elite interests to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary practice capable of responding to a range of social and environmental urgencies. As part of this transformation, the four lectures engage with existing architectural imaginaries while proposing alternative ones.

Oulimata Gueye is a Senegalese and French critic and curator interested in the uses of digital technologies in Africa and within its diasporas. “My research focuses on the future as an historical construction and the place occupied by Africa in this construction. I go back in time to understand the role of colonization in shaping the visions of the future that were to develop in the West, and how these conceptions are still prevalent today. As part of a curatorial approach to this research, I present the work of researchers, artists and architects who take a critical look at history and imagine alternatives scenarios for the future of the Continent. Following the exhibition UFA, Université des Futurs Africains (University of African Futures) I now develop a new aspect of this research by focusing on architecture.”

She co-directed the book Digital Imaginaries, African Positions Beyond Binaries (ZKM-Kerber, 2021) and curated the exhibition UFA, Université des Futurs Africains (Le Lieu Unique, 2021). Gueye teaches at and directs the Art post-graduate program at the École Nationale des Beaux Arts de Lyon. She was a visiting scholar at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (2023).

 

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 lectures:

March 14 at 6 pm Jess Myers

April 4 at 6 pm Oulimata Gueye

April 18 at 6 pm Henriette Steiner

May 2 at 6 pm Lara Almárcegui

 

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. See all the lectures: www.avatudloengud.ee

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

 

Posted by Tiina Tammet — Permalink

Open Architecture Lecture: Oulimata Gueye

Thursday 04 April, 2024

The Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.

On April 4, Oulimata Gueye will hold in the EKA hall a lecture UFA, Université des Futurs Africains #2. It Matters What Stories We Tell to Tell Other Stories of the Future

The lecture series aims to engage with values, imaginaries and systems of knowledge that shape the contemporary fields of architecture and urbanism. Unlearning is coordinated by Maroš Krivý, professor of Urban Studies.

According to Gayatri Spivak, for example, unlearning concerns not only what is said, but also what is not said as part of an ideological formation. There is now a broad push to transform design from a practice subservient to elite interests to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary practice capable of responding to a range of social and environmental urgencies. As part of this transformation, the four lectures engage with existing architectural imaginaries while proposing alternative ones.

Oulimata Gueye is a Senegalese and French critic and curator interested in the uses of digital technologies in Africa and within its diasporas. “My research focuses on the future as an historical construction and the place occupied by Africa in this construction. I go back in time to understand the role of colonization in shaping the visions of the future that were to develop in the West, and how these conceptions are still prevalent today. As part of a curatorial approach to this research, I present the work of researchers, artists and architects who take a critical look at history and imagine alternatives scenarios for the future of the Continent. Following the exhibition UFA, Université des Futurs Africains (University of African Futures) I now develop a new aspect of this research by focusing on architecture.”

She co-directed the book Digital Imaginaries, African Positions Beyond Binaries (ZKM-Kerber, 2021) and curated the exhibition UFA, Université des Futurs Africains (Le Lieu Unique, 2021). Gueye teaches at and directs the Art post-graduate program at the École Nationale des Beaux Arts de Lyon. She was a visiting scholar at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (2023).

 

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 lectures:

March 14 at 6 pm Jess Myers

April 4 at 6 pm Oulimata Gueye

April 18 at 6 pm Henriette Steiner

May 2 at 6 pm Lara Almárcegui

 

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. See all the lectures: www.avatudloengud.ee

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

 

Posted by Tiina Tammet — Permalink

25.03.2024

Public Seminar: Uncomfortable Herstories. The cases of Hella Wuolijoki and Asja Lācis

Presenters: Jaana Kokko, Andris Brinkmanis
Respondents: Anu Allas, Airi Triisberg 
Moderators: Margaret Tali, Ieva Astahovska

The political past, like the present, is often uncomfortable. In this public seminar we will revisit the lives and artistic work of two politically active women in order to rethink how we could open the discomfort their lives introduce and unpack it by focusing on two herstories, those of Hella Wuolijoki (1886–1954) and Asja Lācis (1891–1979). Our aim is to think through how we could turn this discomfort into a starting point. We will inquire whether a comparative perspective on these artists’ lives and works could help shift the view of their left-wing ideas and related engagements, asking how can we reengage with their uncomfortable and marginalized intellectual and creative legacies, allowing for a richer and more complex view of the circumstances and transnational connections. How can we understand and contextualize the discomfort and threats they faced during their careers? Could understanding the connections between their lives and art offer more nuanced and connected ways of grasping, on the one hand, the long and porous 20th century, and on the other, new ways of understanding artistic practice today? 

Hella Wuolijoki (born Ella Murrik) was an active figure in Finnish cultural, economic, and political life. Born in Helme in Estonia into an upper-class family in 1886, she moved to Finland in 1904 to study at the University of Helsinki, which had enabled university education for women from 1901. Internationally, Wuolijoki’s most well-known literary work is the play Mr. Puntila and his Man Matti, which she co-authored with Berthold Brecht in 1940. Her autobiographical trilogy, which includes Schoolgirl in Tartu and Student Years in Helsinki, which were written at Katajanokka prison in 1944, where she was held as a traitor. In these texts, Wuolijoki describes violent moments in her parents’ garden in Valga after the 1905 revolution; witnessing the purge that followed sparked her interest in class equality and historical materialism. As an artist Jaana Kokko is particularly interested in this change and the related intense personal experiences. 

Asja Lācis (or Anna Lāce) was a Latvian theater director, actress, pedagogue, theorist, tireless seeker, and experimenter who went on to become an intermediary between the German, Latvian, and Russian avant-garde cultures. The topography of her life connects all the focal points of early 20th-century Europe. With her experience, vivid personality, and broad knowledge, she collaborated with and inspired Brecht and Walter Benjamin, among many others. Almost forgotten and sometimes deliberately omitted, the work of Lācis became better known in the west in the 1960s. She is recognized internationally for her innovative work with homeless children as well as for her approach to and methods for working with children’s film and theater, proletarian theater, and amateur actors. She has published German Revolutionary Theater (1935) and Children & Cinema (1928, in collaboration). Lācis’ archival materials, curated by Andris Brinkmanis, were exhibited in Documenta 14 (2017) in Kassel, Germany. 

 

Everyone is welcome to join us and contribute to the discussion!

 

Jaana Kokko is an artist, filmmaker, and teacher based in Helsinki, whose background is in arts and economics. She is interested in the languages and places/spaces of individuals in which the singularity of experience opens onto the collective and its historicity in ways that allow us to reflect on the ethical, political, and aesthetic dimensions of not only self-representation but also life itself as something shared. Currently, she is working on two films, both located on the peripheries, where she is trying to shift the gaze to the outskirts of the seen and heard. 

Andris Brinkmanis is an art critic and curator, born in Riga and based in Brunate and Milan. He is a Senior Lecturer and the Course Leader of the BA in Painting and Visual Arts at NABA in Milan and Visiting Professor for the Art Academy of Latvia Curatorial Course. In 2021, he curated and edited the book Asja Lācis. L’agitatrice rossa. Teatro, femminismo, arte e rivoluzione (Meltemi, 2021).

The seminar and workshop take place in the framework of Communicating Difficult Pasts (2019–2024) and are organized in collaboration of MACA and Institute of Art History and Visual Culture.

Posted by Anu Vahtra — Permalink

Public Seminar: Uncomfortable Herstories. The cases of Hella Wuolijoki and Asja Lācis

Monday 25 March, 2024

Presenters: Jaana Kokko, Andris Brinkmanis
Respondents: Anu Allas, Airi Triisberg 
Moderators: Margaret Tali, Ieva Astahovska

The political past, like the present, is often uncomfortable. In this public seminar we will revisit the lives and artistic work of two politically active women in order to rethink how we could open the discomfort their lives introduce and unpack it by focusing on two herstories, those of Hella Wuolijoki (1886–1954) and Asja Lācis (1891–1979). Our aim is to think through how we could turn this discomfort into a starting point. We will inquire whether a comparative perspective on these artists’ lives and works could help shift the view of their left-wing ideas and related engagements, asking how can we reengage with their uncomfortable and marginalized intellectual and creative legacies, allowing for a richer and more complex view of the circumstances and transnational connections. How can we understand and contextualize the discomfort and threats they faced during their careers? Could understanding the connections between their lives and art offer more nuanced and connected ways of grasping, on the one hand, the long and porous 20th century, and on the other, new ways of understanding artistic practice today? 

Hella Wuolijoki (born Ella Murrik) was an active figure in Finnish cultural, economic, and political life. Born in Helme in Estonia into an upper-class family in 1886, she moved to Finland in 1904 to study at the University of Helsinki, which had enabled university education for women from 1901. Internationally, Wuolijoki’s most well-known literary work is the play Mr. Puntila and his Man Matti, which she co-authored with Berthold Brecht in 1940. Her autobiographical trilogy, which includes Schoolgirl in Tartu and Student Years in Helsinki, which were written at Katajanokka prison in 1944, where she was held as a traitor. In these texts, Wuolijoki describes violent moments in her parents’ garden in Valga after the 1905 revolution; witnessing the purge that followed sparked her interest in class equality and historical materialism. As an artist Jaana Kokko is particularly interested in this change and the related intense personal experiences. 

Asja Lācis (or Anna Lāce) was a Latvian theater director, actress, pedagogue, theorist, tireless seeker, and experimenter who went on to become an intermediary between the German, Latvian, and Russian avant-garde cultures. The topography of her life connects all the focal points of early 20th-century Europe. With her experience, vivid personality, and broad knowledge, she collaborated with and inspired Brecht and Walter Benjamin, among many others. Almost forgotten and sometimes deliberately omitted, the work of Lācis became better known in the west in the 1960s. She is recognized internationally for her innovative work with homeless children as well as for her approach to and methods for working with children’s film and theater, proletarian theater, and amateur actors. She has published German Revolutionary Theater (1935) and Children & Cinema (1928, in collaboration). Lācis’ archival materials, curated by Andris Brinkmanis, were exhibited in Documenta 14 (2017) in Kassel, Germany. 

 

Everyone is welcome to join us and contribute to the discussion!

 

Jaana Kokko is an artist, filmmaker, and teacher based in Helsinki, whose background is in arts and economics. She is interested in the languages and places/spaces of individuals in which the singularity of experience opens onto the collective and its historicity in ways that allow us to reflect on the ethical, political, and aesthetic dimensions of not only self-representation but also life itself as something shared. Currently, she is working on two films, both located on the peripheries, where she is trying to shift the gaze to the outskirts of the seen and heard. 

Andris Brinkmanis is an art critic and curator, born in Riga and based in Brunate and Milan. He is a Senior Lecturer and the Course Leader of the BA in Painting and Visual Arts at NABA in Milan and Visiting Professor for the Art Academy of Latvia Curatorial Course. In 2021, he curated and edited the book Asja Lācis. L’agitatrice rossa. Teatro, femminismo, arte e rivoluzione (Meltemi, 2021).

The seminar and workshop take place in the framework of Communicating Difficult Pasts (2019–2024) and are organized in collaboration of MACA and Institute of Art History and Visual Culture.

Posted by Anu Vahtra — Permalink

19.04.2024

Panel Discussion “From Present to Future: The Journey of Digital Theatre”

held in human_sept 2023 photography alana proosa-108

We invite you to a panel discussion inspired by the article “From Past to Present: The Journey of Technological Theatre” by R. Kelomees, T. Jansen, and P. Hoppu. The article discusses how technological innovation has been essential in developing theater and the visual arts since the “beginning of time.” Moderated by digital theater researcher Katie Hawthorne, the event promises to be an engaging discussion about the potential and shortcomings of digital technologies in the contemporary world and how this might affect theater and contemporary art more extensively. A moderated panel discussion will follow short presentations by Raivo Kelomees, Taavet Jansen, and Maike Lond. 

This mini-conference is part of the project Acute, Culture Testbeds for Performing Arts and New Technology, which focuses on the development of performing arts and new technologies and is also part of the satellite program of the New European Bauhaus Festival.  Together, we will rethink the role of theater and art in our shared space, discuss how technology and art can connect people in these challenging times, and question the important issues that surround us.

The event take place at Estonian Academy of Arts on April 19th at 4pm(EET), room A101 and will be livestreamed in EKA Youtube.

 

SPEAKERS

Taavet Jansen is an artist and researcher at the intersection of performing arts and technology. He has a rich background in theatre, creative coding, digital arts, and teaching. Taavet studied at Tallinn University and completed a Master’s in Choreography and New Media at the Theater School in Amsterdam. He is a doctoral student at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Art and Design and a multimedia lecturer at the University of Tartu Viljandi Cultural Academy.  In recent years, Taavet has focused on digitally mediated performance art as a researcher and creator. He is one of the founders of the interdisciplinary art platform e⁻lektron and the technological art network MIMproject. As a researcher, he has been involved as PI in research projects such as “INDEX—Reconnecting the digital audience with the creative team in the online events” and “Online theatre as a research tool,” both of which focus on online theatre through the development of interaction tools that allow real-time audience feedback. His creative work spans a range of theatrical performances, installations, and media design projects where he has been blending his artistic expression with technological innovations. Recent works include “Held in Human,” “Memento,” and “Wolves,” all of which explore interactive digital performances. Taavet’s academic publications explore the confluence of technology and the performing arts, underscoring his commitment to advancing the field through research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Taavet Jansen’s career embodies a dedication to enhancing the performing arts through technological innovation and research to understand and improve audience engagement in digital spaces. 

 

Raivo Kelomees, PhD (art history), is an artist, art historian and new media researcher. He
studied psychology, art history and design in Tartu University and the Academy of Arts in
Tallinn. He is senior researcher at the Fine Arts Faculty at the Estonian Academy of Arts and
professor at the Pallas University of Applied Sciences. Kelomees is author of Surrealism
(Kunst Publishers, 1993) and article collections Screen as a Membrane (Tartu Art College
proceedings, 2007) and Social Games in Art Space (EAA, 2013). His doctoral thesis is
Postmateriality in Art. Indeterministic Art Practices and Non-Material Art (Dissertationes
Academiae Artium Estoniae 3, 2009). Together with Chris Hales he edited the collection of
articles Constructing Narrative in Interactive Documentaries (Cambridge Scholars
Publishing, 2014). In collaboration with Varvara Guljajeva and Oliver Laas he edited the
collection of articles The Meaning of Creativity in the Age of AI (EKA Press, 2022).

Katie Hawthorne is a researcher based in Scotland. She is an alumna of the Academy for Theatre and Digitality’s fellowship programme and became a member of staff at the Academy in 2022, with a role focussed on the documentation and dissemination of research. Katie is the author of the first cross-European study Digital Theatre: Digital Strategies and Business Models in European Theatre (2023), commissioned by the European Theatre Convention and first presented at the European Theatre Forum in Opole, Poland. The study drew on her Ph.D research, completed at the University of Edinburgh in 2022, which explored how ‘liveness’ in theatre and performance is evolving through the use of digital tools and technologies. She has given papers at a host of international conferences and institutions, including the IFTR in Shanghai and TaPRA in Exeter, and authored a chapter on the Berliner Theatertreffen in the Edinburgh German Yearbook in 2021. Katie is also an accomplished freelance journalist, and regularly contributes to publications including The Guardian and The Scotsman.

 

Posted by Kati Saarits — Permalink

Panel Discussion “From Present to Future: The Journey of Digital Theatre”

Friday 19 April, 2024

held in human_sept 2023 photography alana proosa-108

We invite you to a panel discussion inspired by the article “From Past to Present: The Journey of Technological Theatre” by R. Kelomees, T. Jansen, and P. Hoppu. The article discusses how technological innovation has been essential in developing theater and the visual arts since the “beginning of time.” Moderated by digital theater researcher Katie Hawthorne, the event promises to be an engaging discussion about the potential and shortcomings of digital technologies in the contemporary world and how this might affect theater and contemporary art more extensively. A moderated panel discussion will follow short presentations by Raivo Kelomees, Taavet Jansen, and Maike Lond. 

This mini-conference is part of the project Acute, Culture Testbeds for Performing Arts and New Technology, which focuses on the development of performing arts and new technologies and is also part of the satellite program of the New European Bauhaus Festival.  Together, we will rethink the role of theater and art in our shared space, discuss how technology and art can connect people in these challenging times, and question the important issues that surround us.

The event take place at Estonian Academy of Arts on April 19th at 4pm(EET), room A101 and will be livestreamed in EKA Youtube.

 

SPEAKERS

Taavet Jansen is an artist and researcher at the intersection of performing arts and technology. He has a rich background in theatre, creative coding, digital arts, and teaching. Taavet studied at Tallinn University and completed a Master’s in Choreography and New Media at the Theater School in Amsterdam. He is a doctoral student at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Art and Design and a multimedia lecturer at the University of Tartu Viljandi Cultural Academy.  In recent years, Taavet has focused on digitally mediated performance art as a researcher and creator. He is one of the founders of the interdisciplinary art platform e⁻lektron and the technological art network MIMproject. As a researcher, he has been involved as PI in research projects such as “INDEX—Reconnecting the digital audience with the creative team in the online events” and “Online theatre as a research tool,” both of which focus on online theatre through the development of interaction tools that allow real-time audience feedback. His creative work spans a range of theatrical performances, installations, and media design projects where he has been blending his artistic expression with technological innovations. Recent works include “Held in Human,” “Memento,” and “Wolves,” all of which explore interactive digital performances. Taavet’s academic publications explore the confluence of technology and the performing arts, underscoring his commitment to advancing the field through research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Taavet Jansen’s career embodies a dedication to enhancing the performing arts through technological innovation and research to understand and improve audience engagement in digital spaces. 

 

Raivo Kelomees, PhD (art history), is an artist, art historian and new media researcher. He
studied psychology, art history and design in Tartu University and the Academy of Arts in
Tallinn. He is senior researcher at the Fine Arts Faculty at the Estonian Academy of Arts and
professor at the Pallas University of Applied Sciences. Kelomees is author of Surrealism
(Kunst Publishers, 1993) and article collections Screen as a Membrane (Tartu Art College
proceedings, 2007) and Social Games in Art Space (EAA, 2013). His doctoral thesis is
Postmateriality in Art. Indeterministic Art Practices and Non-Material Art (Dissertationes
Academiae Artium Estoniae 3, 2009). Together with Chris Hales he edited the collection of
articles Constructing Narrative in Interactive Documentaries (Cambridge Scholars
Publishing, 2014). In collaboration with Varvara Guljajeva and Oliver Laas he edited the
collection of articles The Meaning of Creativity in the Age of AI (EKA Press, 2022).

Katie Hawthorne is a researcher based in Scotland. She is an alumna of the Academy for Theatre and Digitality’s fellowship programme and became a member of staff at the Academy in 2022, with a role focussed on the documentation and dissemination of research. Katie is the author of the first cross-European study Digital Theatre: Digital Strategies and Business Models in European Theatre (2023), commissioned by the European Theatre Convention and first presented at the European Theatre Forum in Opole, Poland. The study drew on her Ph.D research, completed at the University of Edinburgh in 2022, which explored how ‘liveness’ in theatre and performance is evolving through the use of digital tools and technologies. She has given papers at a host of international conferences and institutions, including the IFTR in Shanghai and TaPRA in Exeter, and authored a chapter on the Berliner Theatertreffen in the Edinburgh German Yearbook in 2021. Katie is also an accomplished freelance journalist, and regularly contributes to publications including The Guardian and The Scotsman.

 

Posted by Kati Saarits — Permalink

14.03.2024

Open architecture lecture: Jess Myers

The Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.

 

The lecture series aims to engage with values, imaginaries and systems of knowledge that shape the contemporary fields of architecture and urbanism. Unlearning is coordinated by Maroš Krivý, professor of Urban Studies.

According to Gayatri Spivak, for example, unlearning concerns not only what is said, but also what is not said as part of an ideological formation. There is now a broad push to transform design from a practice subservient to elite interests to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary practice capable of responding to a range of social and environmental urgencies. As part of this transformation, the four lectures engage with existing architectural imaginaries while proposing alternative ones.

 

Jess Myers will be the first to take the stage on March 14 in the EKA hall with the lecture Sound and the Built Environment: Unlearning the Visual Regime

 

In her lecture, Myers will propose sound studies as a critical framework for urban and architectural analysis. Myers challenges architecture’s exclusive relationship with visual communication and proposes instead a practice of “listening.” Myers will make the case for architects’ ears, for how they can be attuned to the soundscapes of the built environment and how a practice of “listening” might impact the dynamics of power in shared and personal space.

 

Jess Myers is an urbanist and assistant professor of architecture at Syracuse University whose practice includes work as an editor, writer, podcaster, and curator. Her podcast Here There Be Dragons examines the impact of security narratives on urban planning through the eyes of city residents. She holds a BA in Architecture (Princeton University) and a Masters of City Planning (MIT). Her writing can be found in The Architect’s Newspaper, Log, l’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, Avery Review, The Architectural Review, Places and Dwell.

 

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 lectures:

March 14 at 6 pm Jess Myers (architect, Syracuse University)

April 4 at 6 pm Oulimata Gueye (curator, Pariis)

April 18 at 6 pm Henriette Steiner (architectural historian, Copenhagen University)

May 2 at 6 pm Lara Almárcegui (artist, Rotterdam)

 

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. See all the lectures: www.avatudloengud.ee

 

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

 

Posted by Tiina Tammet — Permalink

Open architecture lecture: Jess Myers

Thursday 14 March, 2024

The Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.

 

The lecture series aims to engage with values, imaginaries and systems of knowledge that shape the contemporary fields of architecture and urbanism. Unlearning is coordinated by Maroš Krivý, professor of Urban Studies.

According to Gayatri Spivak, for example, unlearning concerns not only what is said, but also what is not said as part of an ideological formation. There is now a broad push to transform design from a practice subservient to elite interests to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary practice capable of responding to a range of social and environmental urgencies. As part of this transformation, the four lectures engage with existing architectural imaginaries while proposing alternative ones.

 

Jess Myers will be the first to take the stage on March 14 in the EKA hall with the lecture Sound and the Built Environment: Unlearning the Visual Regime

 

In her lecture, Myers will propose sound studies as a critical framework for urban and architectural analysis. Myers challenges architecture’s exclusive relationship with visual communication and proposes instead a practice of “listening.” Myers will make the case for architects’ ears, for how they can be attuned to the soundscapes of the built environment and how a practice of “listening” might impact the dynamics of power in shared and personal space.

 

Jess Myers is an urbanist and assistant professor of architecture at Syracuse University whose practice includes work as an editor, writer, podcaster, and curator. Her podcast Here There Be Dragons examines the impact of security narratives on urban planning through the eyes of city residents. She holds a BA in Architecture (Princeton University) and a Masters of City Planning (MIT). Her writing can be found in The Architect’s Newspaper, Log, l’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, Avery Review, The Architectural Review, Places and Dwell.

 

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 lectures:

March 14 at 6 pm Jess Myers (architect, Syracuse University)

April 4 at 6 pm Oulimata Gueye (curator, Pariis)

April 18 at 6 pm Henriette Steiner (architectural historian, Copenhagen University)

May 2 at 6 pm Lara Almárcegui (artist, Rotterdam)

 

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. See all the lectures: www.avatudloengud.ee

 

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

 

Posted by Tiina Tammet — Permalink

04.03.2024 — 05.03.2024

PHD VITAMIN 2024

1920x1080 FB

On March 4th and 5th, the PhD Vitamin event will once again be hosted at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

PhD Vitamin aims to support and pave the way – and inspire artists with a research approach on their way to doctoral studies. The goal is to introduce artistic research and advise potential candidates for postgraduate studies in planning a doctoral thesis project. In a program consisting of public lectures and one-on-one consultations, artists and experts discuss their approach to artistic research and share individual advice.

This year’s conference will focus on the problem of public space and its art. How can we decide what would be visible to all?

How do ethical challenges, the responsibility of the artist, historical and political issues and the authorship rights intertwine? What are the possibilities for artists to contribute to shaping past-present-future through the political aesthetics of public space? During the ongoing war in Ukraine, questions of what to do with the ‘red monuments’ left in the public space have come to the fore in Estonia. The debate is part of a global discourse that includes the Black Lives Matter movement. It touches on our social environment and tests our ability to ‘be good’.

Artists, designers, alumni of EKA and other creative universities, and graduate students interested in artistic research methods are invited to participate.

PROGRAMME

 

March 4th, Monday, room A501

10:00 -10:30  Coffee and welcome

10:30 -11:15  Victoria Fareld “Responsibility in a Polychronic Present”

11:15 -11:45  Kristina Norman “Looking Back at After-War (2009) During the War”

Lunch break

12:30-13:15 Esther Shalev-Gerz “From the Monument Against Fascism to The Shadow”

13:15-13:45 Gregor Taul “Monumental Trouble”

Coffee break 

14.00-14:45  Moderated discussion: Victoria Fareld, Esther Shalev-Gerz, Gregor Taul, Kristina Norman, moderator Kirke Kangro.

 

March 5th, Tuesday, room A501 

10:00-12:00 Individual consultations with Victoria Fareld and Esther Shalev-Gerz

 

SPEAKERS

 

Esther Shalev-Gerz, based in Paris, is internationally recognized for her seminal contributions to the field of art in the public realm and her consistent investigation into the construction of memory, history, the natural world, democracy and cultural identities. Her works challenge the notion and practice of portraiture and consider how its qualities may contribute to contemporary discourse about the politics of representation. Her monuments, installations, photography, video and public sculpture are developed through active dialogue, consultation and negotiation with people whose participation provides an emphasis to their individual and collective memories, accounts, opinions and experiences which then become both represented and considered.

Victoria Fareld is professor of intellectual history at Stockholm university in Sweden. Her research revolves around questions of historical guilt, responsibility and historical temporalities.

Gregor Taul is a lecturer, critic and curator. He has studied semiotics at Tartu University and art history at the Estonian Academy of Arts and is about to defend his PhD thesis on art in public space in the Baltics. He is currently working as a lecturer at the General Theory and Interior Architecture departments at EKA.

Kristina Norman, based in Tallinn, is an artist whose interdisciplinary work includes video installations, sculpture, and projects in the city space, as well as documentaries and performance. She is interested in the issues of collective memory and forgetting, the memorial uses of the public space, but also the subtle sphere of the body politics that transgresses the boundaries between the public and the private. In 2009 she represented Estonia at the 53rd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia with a solo project, a multilayered mixed media installation After-War. The project was a study of a conflict around the relocation of a Soviet monument in Tallinn. In 2022 Norman represented Estonia at the 59th Venice Biennial within an ecocritical exhibition Orchidelirium. An Appetite For Abundance. Norman’s experimental film trilogy commissioned for the Pavilion, offers multiple ways to reflect on the legacies of colonialism from a specific Eastern European perspective.

The event will be held in English.

Please registrate through following LINK.

To participate in individual consultation to discuss your PhD proposal, please fill out the FORM. A detailed consultation schedule will be sent to your email after registration. Be quick – the number of participants in consultations is limited!

Additional info: kati.saarits@artun.ee

Posted by Kati Saarits — Permalink

PHD VITAMIN 2024

Monday 04 March, 2024 — Tuesday 05 March, 2024

1920x1080 FB

On March 4th and 5th, the PhD Vitamin event will once again be hosted at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

PhD Vitamin aims to support and pave the way – and inspire artists with a research approach on their way to doctoral studies. The goal is to introduce artistic research and advise potential candidates for postgraduate studies in planning a doctoral thesis project. In a program consisting of public lectures and one-on-one consultations, artists and experts discuss their approach to artistic research and share individual advice.

This year’s conference will focus on the problem of public space and its art. How can we decide what would be visible to all?

How do ethical challenges, the responsibility of the artist, historical and political issues and the authorship rights intertwine? What are the possibilities for artists to contribute to shaping past-present-future through the political aesthetics of public space? During the ongoing war in Ukraine, questions of what to do with the ‘red monuments’ left in the public space have come to the fore in Estonia. The debate is part of a global discourse that includes the Black Lives Matter movement. It touches on our social environment and tests our ability to ‘be good’.

Artists, designers, alumni of EKA and other creative universities, and graduate students interested in artistic research methods are invited to participate.

PROGRAMME

 

March 4th, Monday, room A501

10:00 -10:30  Coffee and welcome

10:30 -11:15  Victoria Fareld “Responsibility in a Polychronic Present”

11:15 -11:45  Kristina Norman “Looking Back at After-War (2009) During the War”

Lunch break

12:30-13:15 Esther Shalev-Gerz “From the Monument Against Fascism to The Shadow”

13:15-13:45 Gregor Taul “Monumental Trouble”

Coffee break 

14.00-14:45  Moderated discussion: Victoria Fareld, Esther Shalev-Gerz, Gregor Taul, Kristina Norman, moderator Kirke Kangro.

 

March 5th, Tuesday, room A501 

10:00-12:00 Individual consultations with Victoria Fareld and Esther Shalev-Gerz

 

SPEAKERS

 

Esther Shalev-Gerz, based in Paris, is internationally recognized for her seminal contributions to the field of art in the public realm and her consistent investigation into the construction of memory, history, the natural world, democracy and cultural identities. Her works challenge the notion and practice of portraiture and consider how its qualities may contribute to contemporary discourse about the politics of representation. Her monuments, installations, photography, video and public sculpture are developed through active dialogue, consultation and negotiation with people whose participation provides an emphasis to their individual and collective memories, accounts, opinions and experiences which then become both represented and considered.

Victoria Fareld is professor of intellectual history at Stockholm university in Sweden. Her research revolves around questions of historical guilt, responsibility and historical temporalities.

Gregor Taul is a lecturer, critic and curator. He has studied semiotics at Tartu University and art history at the Estonian Academy of Arts and is about to defend his PhD thesis on art in public space in the Baltics. He is currently working as a lecturer at the General Theory and Interior Architecture departments at EKA.

Kristina Norman, based in Tallinn, is an artist whose interdisciplinary work includes video installations, sculpture, and projects in the city space, as well as documentaries and performance. She is interested in the issues of collective memory and forgetting, the memorial uses of the public space, but also the subtle sphere of the body politics that transgresses the boundaries between the public and the private. In 2009 she represented Estonia at the 53rd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia with a solo project, a multilayered mixed media installation After-War. The project was a study of a conflict around the relocation of a Soviet monument in Tallinn. In 2022 Norman represented Estonia at the 59th Venice Biennial within an ecocritical exhibition Orchidelirium. An Appetite For Abundance. Norman’s experimental film trilogy commissioned for the Pavilion, offers multiple ways to reflect on the legacies of colonialism from a specific Eastern European perspective.

The event will be held in English.

Please registrate through following LINK.

To participate in individual consultation to discuss your PhD proposal, please fill out the FORM. A detailed consultation schedule will be sent to your email after registration. Be quick – the number of participants in consultations is limited!

Additional info: kati.saarits@artun.ee

Posted by Kati Saarits — Permalink

12.01.2024

Open Architecture Lecture: Büro Bietenhader Moroder

Open architecture lecture “Dumb Emancipatory Housing. Dumb Emancipatory City Planning”: Sebastian Bietenhader and Matthias Moroder / Büro Bietenhader Moroder

On January 12 at 6 pm in room A-400

The lecture is held in English, is free and open to all interested parties.

The open lecture will finish the “Dumb emancipatory housing Workshop” held by EASA (European Architecture Student Assembly) on January 8 – 12. The workshop at EKA is supported by Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Sebastian Bietenhader and Matthias Moroder have been working together as Büro Bietenhader Moroder since 2015. Büro Bietenhader Moroder deals with copyness as a positive formal property of architecture, which makes it possible to work formally against the neoliberal architecture of differentiation, flexibilization and individualization. By simultaneously maximizing the formal relations of architectural settings to one another, which is conceptually defined as copyness, Büro Bietenhader Moroder opens up a re-reading of the formal characteristics of social housing of French and Russian revolutionary architecture and that of Red Vienna.

Cities are starting again to build housing as builder-owners to counter the suffocation of urban life through real-estate speculation. This new public housing needs its own architecture. However, the historical formal and aesthetic distinctions between public and free market housing have been lost, all housing mimics or is luxury housing.

In the search for an intrinsically public housing architecture Büro Bietenhader Moroder has discovered a totally overlooked formal quality of architecture: Maximalist intentional sameness, termed dumb copyness. Dumb copyness is fundamentally different than mere serial repetition. Instead, it relies on formal qualities that enhance the maximum sameness of rooms, flats, entire housing blocks or urban settings far beyond mere industrial or functionalist seriality.

Hereby methodological rigor is central. Through a rejection of creative ad-hoc-subversion, deviation on every level, – the ubiquitous demand for ‘smartness’ –, a methodical planning can be re-established that achieves a directness that is greatly and blatantly dumb.

Guided by this focus Büro Bietenhader Moroder seeks to rediscover and reclaim the historical forms and aesthetics of pre-WWII public housing, such as Russian revolutionary architecture and that built by Red Vienna from 1919 to 1934. In this period, we find specific formal articulations of a non-functionalist public housing architecture that is almost forgotten and that gives shape to a collective life that is affordable and emancipatory. Through this critical historical re-reading we are developing a design method for emancipatory housing that is so directly public, so clear and basic that it is dumb.

Sebastian Bietenhader and Matthias Moroder have been working together as Büro Bietenhader Moroder since 2015. Büro Bietenhader Moroder deals with copyness as a positive formal property of architecture, which makes it possible to work formally against the neoliberal architecture of differentiation, flexibilization and individualization. By simultaneously maximizing the formal relations of architectural settings to one another, which is conceptually defined as copyness, Büro Bietenhader Moroder opens up a re-reading of the formal characteristics of social housing of French and Russian revolutionary architecture and that of Red Vienna.

 

 

Sebastian Bietenhader studied architecture at the ETH Zurich (BSc.) and at the Harvard GSD, as well as history and philosophy of knowledge, also at the ETH Zurich (MSc.), where he did a thesis on the development of the computer modelling space, which will be essential for BIM. He headed the student discussion group “Ambitus”. He is a regular guest critic at the ETH and has been teaching architecture at various (non)- institutions.

Matthias Moroder studied architecture (AA Dipl.) at the Architectural Association in London, art history (BA) and philosophy (BA) at the University of Vienna and history and theory of architecture (MAS) at the ETH Zurich. Besides the work as Büro Bietenhader Moroder, since 2018 he is co-leading MAGAZIN, an independent exhibition space for architecture in Vienna. He is currently a PhD candidate at the department of art history of the University of Vienna and has been teaching architecture and architectural history and theory at various (non)- institutions. Matthias is also co-founder of the Vienna Architecture Summer School.

 

Posted by Tiina Tammet — Permalink

Open Architecture Lecture: Büro Bietenhader Moroder

Friday 12 January, 2024

Open architecture lecture “Dumb Emancipatory Housing. Dumb Emancipatory City Planning”: Sebastian Bietenhader and Matthias Moroder / Büro Bietenhader Moroder

On January 12 at 6 pm in room A-400

The lecture is held in English, is free and open to all interested parties.

The open lecture will finish the “Dumb emancipatory housing Workshop” held by EASA (European Architecture Student Assembly) on January 8 – 12. The workshop at EKA is supported by Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Sebastian Bietenhader and Matthias Moroder have been working together as Büro Bietenhader Moroder since 2015. Büro Bietenhader Moroder deals with copyness as a positive formal property of architecture, which makes it possible to work formally against the neoliberal architecture of differentiation, flexibilization and individualization. By simultaneously maximizing the formal relations of architectural settings to one another, which is conceptually defined as copyness, Büro Bietenhader Moroder opens up a re-reading of the formal characteristics of social housing of French and Russian revolutionary architecture and that of Red Vienna.

Cities are starting again to build housing as builder-owners to counter the suffocation of urban life through real-estate speculation. This new public housing needs its own architecture. However, the historical formal and aesthetic distinctions between public and free market housing have been lost, all housing mimics or is luxury housing.

In the search for an intrinsically public housing architecture Büro Bietenhader Moroder has discovered a totally overlooked formal quality of architecture: Maximalist intentional sameness, termed dumb copyness. Dumb copyness is fundamentally different than mere serial repetition. Instead, it relies on formal qualities that enhance the maximum sameness of rooms, flats, entire housing blocks or urban settings far beyond mere industrial or functionalist seriality.

Hereby methodological rigor is central. Through a rejection of creative ad-hoc-subversion, deviation on every level, – the ubiquitous demand for ‘smartness’ –, a methodical planning can be re-established that achieves a directness that is greatly and blatantly dumb.

Guided by this focus Büro Bietenhader Moroder seeks to rediscover and reclaim the historical forms and aesthetics of pre-WWII public housing, such as Russian revolutionary architecture and that built by Red Vienna from 1919 to 1934. In this period, we find specific formal articulations of a non-functionalist public housing architecture that is almost forgotten and that gives shape to a collective life that is affordable and emancipatory. Through this critical historical re-reading we are developing a design method for emancipatory housing that is so directly public, so clear and basic that it is dumb.

Sebastian Bietenhader and Matthias Moroder have been working together as Büro Bietenhader Moroder since 2015. Büro Bietenhader Moroder deals with copyness as a positive formal property of architecture, which makes it possible to work formally against the neoliberal architecture of differentiation, flexibilization and individualization. By simultaneously maximizing the formal relations of architectural settings to one another, which is conceptually defined as copyness, Büro Bietenhader Moroder opens up a re-reading of the formal characteristics of social housing of French and Russian revolutionary architecture and that of Red Vienna.

 

 

Sebastian Bietenhader studied architecture at the ETH Zurich (BSc.) and at the Harvard GSD, as well as history and philosophy of knowledge, also at the ETH Zurich (MSc.), where he did a thesis on the development of the computer modelling space, which will be essential for BIM. He headed the student discussion group “Ambitus”. He is a regular guest critic at the ETH and has been teaching architecture at various (non)- institutions.

Matthias Moroder studied architecture (AA Dipl.) at the Architectural Association in London, art history (BA) and philosophy (BA) at the University of Vienna and history and theory of architecture (MAS) at the ETH Zurich. Besides the work as Büro Bietenhader Moroder, since 2018 he is co-leading MAGAZIN, an independent exhibition space for architecture in Vienna. He is currently a PhD candidate at the department of art history of the University of Vienna and has been teaching architecture and architectural history and theory at various (non)- institutions. Matthias is also co-founder of the Vienna Architecture Summer School.

 

Posted by Tiina Tammet — Permalink

16.01.2024

Open Lecture: Michaela Režová

Open Lecture
 Blood-sweat-tears-love-animation

Animation at UMPRUM in Prague

Michaela Režová  

The Department of Animation and Film at the University of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague is the oldest in the Czech Republic, founded in 1951. The department has a rich history and is known for its exploration of formal intersections and experimentation with audiovisual works. In a lecture by Michaela Režová, a filmmaker and studio lecturer, the evolution of the studio’s history over the past 70 years will be discussed, along with the changes in teaching and curriculum. Režová, herself a graduate of the department, is known for her work in the animated documentary genre, with a focus on different forms within that genre. She has collaborated with Czech Radio and worked as a creative director on various projects, including a permanent exhibition at the National Museum in Prague. The lecture will be followed by the screening of short films.

 

Blood-sweat-tears-love-animation / Animation at UMPRUM in Prague
The Animation and Film Department at the Academy of Art, Architecture, and Design in Prague, established in 1951, holds the distinction of being the oldest in the Czech Republic. While it cherishes and builds upon traditions, the department actively explores formal crossovers and possibilities for experimenting with audiovisual works. Lecture will present 70 years and their transformations. How did the research of the studio’s history unfold? What have we discovered? And what does the teaching and curriculum look like today? This will be presented by Michaela Režová, a filmmaker and lecturer from the studio. In conclusion, a presentation of short films will follow.

 

bio

Michaela Režová is a filmmaker and director whose work primarily focuses on the genre of animated documentary and its various forms. In 2017, she graduated from UMPRUM with a specialization in animation and film. Her diploma project, the short film Chase (2017), brings to life the glory days of Czechoslovak hockey, exploring both its triumphs and darker moments. In 2018, she collaborated with Czech Radio on the film Gambler. Between 2020 and 2022, she was the curator for the exhibition ANIMATION 70 (celebrating the 70th anniversary of the animation studio at UMPRUM) and also she was the editor of a publication bearing the same name.
As a creative director, she worked on a 360° video for the permanent exhibition History of the 20th Century at the National Museum in Prague and on six films for the exhibition Design and Transformation: Stories of Czech Design 1990-2020. She stands behind the platform f-a-t.cz which works under the motto “From animators to animators” and brings content from animation world. Currently she is also a lecturer at UMPRUM.

 

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Open Lecture: Michaela Režová

Tuesday 16 January, 2024

Open Lecture
 Blood-sweat-tears-love-animation

Animation at UMPRUM in Prague

Michaela Režová  

The Department of Animation and Film at the University of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague is the oldest in the Czech Republic, founded in 1951. The department has a rich history and is known for its exploration of formal intersections and experimentation with audiovisual works. In a lecture by Michaela Režová, a filmmaker and studio lecturer, the evolution of the studio’s history over the past 70 years will be discussed, along with the changes in teaching and curriculum. Režová, herself a graduate of the department, is known for her work in the animated documentary genre, with a focus on different forms within that genre. She has collaborated with Czech Radio and worked as a creative director on various projects, including a permanent exhibition at the National Museum in Prague. The lecture will be followed by the screening of short films.

 

Blood-sweat-tears-love-animation / Animation at UMPRUM in Prague
The Animation and Film Department at the Academy of Art, Architecture, and Design in Prague, established in 1951, holds the distinction of being the oldest in the Czech Republic. While it cherishes and builds upon traditions, the department actively explores formal crossovers and possibilities for experimenting with audiovisual works. Lecture will present 70 years and their transformations. How did the research of the studio’s history unfold? What have we discovered? And what does the teaching and curriculum look like today? This will be presented by Michaela Režová, a filmmaker and lecturer from the studio. In conclusion, a presentation of short films will follow.

 

bio

Michaela Režová is a filmmaker and director whose work primarily focuses on the genre of animated documentary and its various forms. In 2017, she graduated from UMPRUM with a specialization in animation and film. Her diploma project, the short film Chase (2017), brings to life the glory days of Czechoslovak hockey, exploring both its triumphs and darker moments. In 2018, she collaborated with Czech Radio on the film Gambler. Between 2020 and 2022, she was the curator for the exhibition ANIMATION 70 (celebrating the 70th anniversary of the animation studio at UMPRUM) and also she was the editor of a publication bearing the same name.
As a creative director, she worked on a 360° video for the permanent exhibition History of the 20th Century at the National Museum in Prague and on six films for the exhibition Design and Transformation: Stories of Czech Design 1990-2020. She stands behind the platform f-a-t.cz which works under the motto “From animators to animators” and brings content from animation world. Currently she is also a lecturer at UMPRUM.

 

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

11.12.2023

Jordi Closa / Adidas Maker Lab: “Go Hack Yourself!”

Open Design Lecture: “Go Hack Yourself!” by Jordi Closa / Adidas Maker Lab

In the dynamic world of arts and design, where innovation is the heartbeat of progress, we often find ourselves facing complex challenges that demand fresh perspectives and out-of-the-box thinking. That’s where hacking steps in—a powerful and transformative problem-solving tool that can revolutionize the way we approach creativity, adaptability, and sustainable design.

With over two decades of experience as an influential product designer and a fervent advocate for hacking as a means of problem-solving, Jordi Closa has redefined what it means for him to create and innovate.

From his explorations in furniture, lighting, sports gear, and even food design, Jordi demonstrates a deep commitment to pushing the boundaries of conventionality. Drawing inspiration from the very ingredients that fuel our bodies and excite our senses, he has harnessed the transformative potential of materials in ways that captivate and leave an indelible mark on our experiences.

It is his passion for upcycling, his efforts to repurpose and reinvent materials and objects, that truly sets him apart. By extending the life of discarded products, Jordi boasts an unwavering commitment to diverting waste from landfills, protecting our precious oceans, and cultivating a more sustainable future.

Together, let us delve into the captivating realm of the Adidas MakerLab Network, a vibrant community of creatives, inventors, and problem solvers united by their insatiable curiosity and shared dedication to pushing the boundaries of design. Here, Jordi’s vision of hacking as a problem-solving tool has flourished. Through collaboration and experimentation, he has uncovered unique and thought-provoking solutions to even the most complex design challenges.

Let us embrace the power of hacking as a catalyst for creativity, innovation, and sustainable progress.

The lecture is in English and will be recorded for EKA TV. Everyone is welcome to join!

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Jordi Closa / Adidas Maker Lab: “Go Hack Yourself!”

Monday 11 December, 2023

Open Design Lecture: “Go Hack Yourself!” by Jordi Closa / Adidas Maker Lab

In the dynamic world of arts and design, where innovation is the heartbeat of progress, we often find ourselves facing complex challenges that demand fresh perspectives and out-of-the-box thinking. That’s where hacking steps in—a powerful and transformative problem-solving tool that can revolutionize the way we approach creativity, adaptability, and sustainable design.

With over two decades of experience as an influential product designer and a fervent advocate for hacking as a means of problem-solving, Jordi Closa has redefined what it means for him to create and innovate.

From his explorations in furniture, lighting, sports gear, and even food design, Jordi demonstrates a deep commitment to pushing the boundaries of conventionality. Drawing inspiration from the very ingredients that fuel our bodies and excite our senses, he has harnessed the transformative potential of materials in ways that captivate and leave an indelible mark on our experiences.

It is his passion for upcycling, his efforts to repurpose and reinvent materials and objects, that truly sets him apart. By extending the life of discarded products, Jordi boasts an unwavering commitment to diverting waste from landfills, protecting our precious oceans, and cultivating a more sustainable future.

Together, let us delve into the captivating realm of the Adidas MakerLab Network, a vibrant community of creatives, inventors, and problem solvers united by their insatiable curiosity and shared dedication to pushing the boundaries of design. Here, Jordi’s vision of hacking as a problem-solving tool has flourished. Through collaboration and experimentation, he has uncovered unique and thought-provoking solutions to even the most complex design challenges.

Let us embrace the power of hacking as a catalyst for creativity, innovation, and sustainable progress.

The lecture is in English and will be recorded for EKA TV. Everyone is welcome to join!

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

11.12.2023

Thomas Ayme / Adidas Originals: “From Numbers to Sneakers”

Morning Coffee: “From Numbers to Sneakers – Unconventional Design Story” by Thomas Ayme / Adidas Originals

Thomas Ayme is a French footwear color-and-material designer currently working at adidas Originals. However, his journey as a designer was not straightforward and began in a very different field.

After graduating in Mathematics, Economics, and Finance, Thomas joined Adidas, initiating his ten-year tenure at the brand as a business analyst. Realizing that analytics was not his true calling, he embarked on a journey toward becoming a footwear designer, navigating through multiple countries and jobs along the way. His unique background now informs his approach to design and has become one of his greatest assets.

Learn more about Thomas’ journey and his advice on how to reach your personal goals and ambition.

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Thomas Ayme / Adidas Originals: “From Numbers to Sneakers”

Monday 11 December, 2023

Morning Coffee: “From Numbers to Sneakers – Unconventional Design Story” by Thomas Ayme / Adidas Originals

Thomas Ayme is a French footwear color-and-material designer currently working at adidas Originals. However, his journey as a designer was not straightforward and began in a very different field.

After graduating in Mathematics, Economics, and Finance, Thomas joined Adidas, initiating his ten-year tenure at the brand as a business analyst. Realizing that analytics was not his true calling, he embarked on a journey toward becoming a footwear designer, navigating through multiple countries and jobs along the way. His unique background now informs his approach to design and has become one of his greatest assets.

Learn more about Thomas’ journey and his advice on how to reach your personal goals and ambition.

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink