Category: Doctoral School

On 12 December, 2025 Margus Tamm, external doctoral student of Art and Design curriculum, will defend his doctoral thesis „Artistic Interventions in the Public Space: Tactical Media and the Communicative Turn in Protest Culture at the Turn of the Millennium“ („Kunstilised sekkumised avalikus ruumis. Taktikaline meedia ja kommunikatiivne pööre protestikultuuris aastatuhande vahetusel“).
The public defense will take place at 11.00 at EKA (Põhja pst 7), room A101.

Thesis is available in EKA digital repository.

Supervisors: Prof. Andres Kurg (Estonian Academy of Arts)
Prof. Marek Tamm (Tallinn University)
External reviewers: Dr. Ingrid Ruudi (Estonian Academy of Arts)
Prof. Daniele Monticelli (Tallinn University)
Opponent: Prof. Daniele Monticelli (Tallinn University)

Summary:

The political culture of the 21st century is increasingly shaped by protest movements and protest politics. Against the backdrop of weakening traditional democratic institutions, protest activism has become a fertile ground for civic participation and democratic renewal – revitalizing political debate, creating new collective identities, and expanding the ways of political engagement.

This research focuses on the spectacular dimensions of contemporary protest culture and on the period 1990–2010 – an academically under-studied transitional era during which a radically democratic and artistically interventionist protest repertoire emerged. The dissertation consists of five articles that, through case studies and theoretical discussion, examine the defining features of interventionist artistic activism, accompanied by an introductory umbrella chapter that frames the research topic and situates it within a broader discussion.

The study addresses the following questions: what kind of social role do protest movements and popular protest politics play in contemporary Western democracies; how has the communicative turn in the social sciences shaped the conceptualization of protest movements; what is the role of artistic practices in contemporary protest culture; what developments characterize democratic protest culture during the period of 1990–2010; and finally – and most crucially – how can the passion for political change be reconciled with institutional sustainability?

The broader aim of the dissertation is to examine contemporary protest culture as a point of intersection between artistic and political expression, to contribute to the critical discourse on its expanding social role, and to highlight both the challenges and opportunities that arise from employing artistic practices for activist purposes.

On November 13 at 15.00, a peer-review of PhD student Karolin Poska’s performance „Spatial Hiccups“ will take place in EKA white house (Kotzebua 10), room V308.

The peer-reviewers are Annette Arlander (Uniarts, Helsinki) and Mart Kangro.
The thesis supervisor is Liina Unt.

In this doctoral research, I examine how a disruption within a system — a glitch — can be understood not merely as a technical malfunction, but as a creative strategy that enables the emergence of new ways of thinking and helps to overcome creative barriers.

In this research, I focus on site-specific performance as a structure, along with the everyday routines, logics, games, and the body connected to the site-specific place, Balti Jaama Market. As part of the preparatory work for the “Spatial Hiccups”, I embodied the roles of a vendor, a customer, and an observer at the Baltic Jaam Market, which allowed me to gain deeper, site-specific knowledge of the place.

As an artist, I sometimes perceive myself and my actions as a kind of glitch within society—an unexpected or unconventional behavior within an established structure. Therefore, I also aim to conceptualize glitch as a possible artistic attitude toward engaging with the world. I am like a gold tooth, a bone fracture, or a hiccup—an unexpected glitch that occurs within the structure itself.

The First Peer-Reviewed Project of Doctoral Theses “Playing with Fire: Possibilities for Designing Four-Dimensional Gemstones by Combining Traditional Faceting and Free-Form Engraving. Time as a Design Element.”

Travelling Light. A Study on the Movement of Light in Experimentally Cut Gemstones.
Exhibition at the Library of the Estonian Academy Of Arts  21 Oct.- 4 Nov. 2025

Peer-review: 4 Nov. 2025 12:00 at the EKA Library

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Krista Kodres
Peer-Reviewers: Prof. Dr. Virve Sarapik and Prof. Theo Smeets (Trier University of Applied Sciences)

The starting point of this doctoral research is the hypothesis that by combining traditional faceting with free-form carving, it is possible to create innovative reflection patterns within gemstones  – patterns that can be experienced not only in space but also in time. The creative research explores how to make jewelry four-dimensional by consciously using time as a design element, presenting jewels not as static objects but as dynamic works in continuous transformation. Reflection from curved surfaces enables the smooth modulation of reflected light intensity, linking rhythms into a fluid, variable whole.

This experiment provides an overview of the basic principles of faceting – refraction and reflection of light – through the combination of faceted and freeform elements. The aim is to demonstrate how individual reflective elements, through mutual interaction, form the brilliance of a gemstone. To illustrate the experiment, the exhibition held at the EKA Library presents, in addition to transparent test objects, both works in progress and completed jewellery set with cut gemstones.

PhD Seminar “Socially Engaged Art as a Subject of Study and its Potential for Higher Arts Education’s Third Mission – Contributing to Society” will take place on 21 November 10.00-14.00 at Estonian Academy of Art. Lecturer Kai Lehikoinen (Uniarts Helsinki).

Seminar is open to PhD and MA students.
Please register HERE by 14 November.

What do we mean by socially engaged art, and why does it matter in higher arts education today? This seminar explores socially engaged art as a dynamic and interdisciplinary field of study that fosters creativity, collaboration, and societal transformation. In this theoretical and practical seminar conducted by Kai Lehikoinen we will get familiar with socially engaged art, its interests, central organising concepts, principles of practice, skills and competences, and criteria of success.

In this session, drawing from his new book Creativity, Society, and the Role of Socially Engaged Art in Higher Arts Education (Routledge, 2025), Kai Lehikoinen introduces case examples and invites participants to imagine how socially engaged arts practices can contribute to the Third Mission of higher arts education—engagement with society—by creating “third spaces” for dialogue, co-creation, and innovation. Through a lecture presentation, followed by group discussions and sharing, participants will reflect on how these practices can enrich research, pedagogy, and institutional impact across diverse cultural contexts.

This seminar is relevant for artists in all art forms, researchers, practitioners, and educators who are curious about how to expand their work and share it further, regardless of their previous experience with the field of socially engaged art.

Kai Lehikoinen is a Finnish scholar of dance pedagogy and socially engaged arts, currently serving as a University Researcher at the Research Institute of Uniarts Helsinki. His research spans socially engaged arts practices, masculinities in dance education, and the evolving professionalism of artists. He actively contributes to discourse on the futures of higher arts education, as well as equity and well-being in and through the arts.

Throughout his career, Lehikoinen has held several leadership roles, including Vice Director of ArtsEqual Research Initiative and Director of the CERADA research centre. He currently serves as a member of ELIA’s Representative Board, contributing to international dialogue on arts education and policy.

Estonian Doctoral School for the Humanities and Arts

Project “Cooperation between universities to promote doctoral studies” (2021-2027.4.04.24-0003) is co-funded by the European Union.

André Malraux’s Museum without Walls (1947) aims to “destroy” art history through the production of an eternal present of art in continuous metamorphosis. I will focus on the mimetic uses of Malraux’s Opus by various different artists in the 1950s and the 1960s, in order to show an important anti-historical shift not only in art, but also in the thought and politics of this period.
Maria Stavrinaki is Professor of history of contemporary art at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Lecture is held in collaboration between KVI and Estonian Doctoral school of humanities and Arts.

On 1 October, 2025 Eik Hermann, external doctoral student of architecture and urban planning will defend his doctoral thesis „Toward Matter-Environmental Pragmapoetics: Studies of Theory-Practice Separation“.
The public defense will take place at 13.00 at EKA (Põhja pst 7), room A101.

Thesis is available in EKA digital repository.

Supervisor: Margus Ott, PhD (Estonian University of Life Sciences)
External reviewers: Prof. Rein Raud (Tallinn University), Prof. Randall Teal (University of Idaho)
Opponents: Prof. Rein Raud and Jacob C.T. Voorthuis, PhD (Eindhoven University of Technology)

Summary:
A key distinction in Western culture is between theory and practice. Ideally, these two domains support and nourish each other. Practice benefits from reflection and a broader perspective, while theory gains from experiences and skillsets stemming from engagements with the world. Still, while humanity is facing major, almost insurmountable challenges (such as climate warming, loss of biodiversity, and rising social inequality), which call for tight cooperation between theorists and practitioners, these domains have grown increasingly apart. Moreover, there are deep divisions within both theory and practice themselves. The current thesis examines how the conceptual schemes and broader conceptware in the West have contributed to this situation, and how alternative conceptual schemes and conceptwares might help to mitigate it.

The thesis begins with a conceptual-historical study, with particular attention to the social aspects of this history. The separation of theory and practice began already in Ancient Greece, where, under the influence of aristocratic values, the highest regard was given to knowledge that was not directly useful and could be pursued primarily by those who could afford leisure time. In addition to its detachment from practical usefulness, such knowledge was characterized by independence from spatio-temporal surroundings: ideal knowledge was supposed to hold true in every context. As revealed by a comparison with the conceptware of premodern China, this choice was by no means the only possible one. The early foundational choices in the West subsequently shaped the development of its later conceptual frameworks, resulting in a dominant scheme that views practice as the application (and so-called re-environmentalization) of theory. Among its other effects, this scheme has also influenced the formation of divisions and hierarchies between different domains of practice.

After conducting the initial conceptual-historical analysis, the thesis takes a more experimental turn. The aim is to explore and experiment with new concepts and conceptual schemes in the hope of untangling the web of current conceptual knots and behavioral patterns, and fruitfully reconfiguring the relationship between theory and practice. One important strategy guiding these experiments is a rethinking of the relationship between knowledge and surroundings. Another key strategy is to focus on the initial phases of both knowledge making and action – the underlying assumption is that different domains share more commonalities at the beginning of a work process than at its end. I outline a vision of human practice that is based on the “practice” of the world itself, sometimes engaging with it by riding its tendencies like a wave, and sometimes offering them resistance and shifting them. At the end of the thesis, I also propose the seeds or an outline for beginning-heavy research.

On Wednesday, 27th of August 2025 at 6 PM, the exhibition Anatomy of Dust, by Juss Heinsalu and Kim Morgan, opens at Hobusepea Gallery.

Anatomy of Dust brings together two artistic practices that meet at the intersection of material investigation, scientific inquiry, and narrative building. Through intricate objects, experimental processes and installations, the gallery transforms into a cohesive spatial experience, a hybrid lab–studio environment, exploring the physical and conceptual forms of matter – from dust and dirt to blood, skin, and ash.

The viewer encounters “material bodies,” human and non-human, and the complex systems and cycles that connect and sustain them – presented in a range of altered micro-macro scales, amplified textures, scientific and medical imaging technologies, archive research and poetic interventions. The gallery’s large front window is used as a living interface between interior and exterior, offering passersby glimpses into the ongoing dialogue between organic and inorganic, life and death, matter and meaning.

“Informed by the experience of vibrant matter at the microscopic level these works offer new forms of body representation and an opportunity to bridge the gap between science, medicine, and art. Equally important to these installations are my propositions for the work to be situated in public space.” – Kim Morgan

“My recent work focuses on meteoritic origins, petrification and speculative conditions that present alternative mineral-based lifeforms. I have been curiously exploring ways to combine metal and ceramic compounds. Additionally, some older lines are included, such as optical devices and breathing clay-lungs animated by air pumps.” – Juss Heinsalu

The project extends beyond the visual: Kim Morgan will be using the gallery space as a studio/lab/research space to discuss her work within the context of her doctoral research, which includes situating the work in public space. A panel for public discussion (presenters TBA) is organised to engage with the scientific, artistic, and speculative ideas underpinning the works.

Artist tour: Saturday 13.09.2025 at 15 PM in ENG and 16:30 in EST
Panel discussion: Thursday 18.09.2025 at 18 PM (discussion will be held in ENG)

The exhibition will remain open until the 22nd of September.

Juss Heinsalu is an Estonian artist based in Tallinn. His autonomous research-creation process explores the embodiment of life in clay, merging scientific hypothesis, mythological and ethnographic knowledge with material-led studio practice. Heinsalu holds a degree in ceramics from the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) and received his MFA at NSCAD University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Currently, he is an associate professor and the head of the Craft Studies MA programme at EKA.

Kim Morgan is a Canadian visual artist working in multi-media installation and public space. Her work explores the impact of technology on people’s perceptions of time, space, and the body, and the shifting boundaries between the private and the public. Morgan is a professor at NSCAD University, Canada, and a PhD candidate at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Graphic designer: Aimur Takk

Many thanks to: Estonian Academy of Arts, Arts Nova Scotia, The Dalhousie Art Gallery, Heron Vrubel, Eric-Olivier Theriault Raymond, Gary Markle, Bruce Anderson, Kärt Ojavee, Katherine Diemert, friends and family members.

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

On June 4th, 2025 at 14:00 Azeem Hamid’s first peer-review “Participation as Relation: Designing with People, Materials and Spaces” will take place at EKA in room A202.

The peer-reviewers are Dr. Oscar Tomico Plasencia (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands) and Dr. Nithikul Nimkulrat (OCADU, Canada). The thesis supervisor is Dr. Kristi Kuusk (EKA, Estonia).

Azeem Hamid invites attendees to engage with the outcomes and reflections of the Sensorial Design Residency: Analog+Digital=Sensorial, a collaborative initiative between EKA and OCAD University, held in August 2024 in Tallinn.

His doctoral research explores how participatory design unfolds as a relational, situated, and more-than-human practice, and how participants co-create the experience of place and space through relation, sensory exploration and engagement with material. Grounded in relational design theory, sensory ethnography, and posthumanist pedagogy, the study challenges traditional models of participation as procedural inclusion.

Drawing on participant reflections, material practices, and field documentation, Hamid illustrates how participation emerges through play, friction and improvisation and how space is not a passive backdrop, but a co-actor in learning. The residency’s concluding exhibition at Põhjala Tehas is framed not as an endpoint, but as a spatial proposition that exemplifies relational pedagogy in practice.

His research contributes to broader conversations on pluriversal and situated design education, advocating for a shift from participation as management to participation as mutual becoming and co-dwelling within shared environments.

Azeem Hamid, originally from Lahore, Pakistan and now based in Tallinn, is a design researcher, educator, and facilitator focusing on transition design, placemaking, and design pedagogy. He is a doctoral student at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and holds a MSc. in Design and Technology Futures alongwith MPhil. in Art & Design Education (Research).

The peer-review of Kim Morgan’s exhibition Blood and Breath, Skin and Dust, will take place on April 28th at 15:30, at EKA in room A502. This presentation is the first review of her practice-based doctoral artistic research titled Examining, Diagnosing, and Creating, Public Art Installations for Complex Spaces.

The peer-reviewers are Dr. Maiju Loukola (Uniarts, Helsinki) and Pan Wendt, Curator (Confederation Arts Gallery, PEI, Canada).

The thesis supervisors are Dr. Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla (Tallinn, Estonia) and Jan Peacock, Professor Emerita (NSCAD University, Halifax, Canada).

Kim Morgan invites you to her public presentation on her exhibition Blood and Breath, Skin and Dust, curated by Susan Gibson Garvey, currently showing at the Confederation Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, Feb 1 – May 11, 2025.).

“The exhibition Blood and Breath, Skin and Dust focuses on interdisciplinary artist Kim Morgan’s research and artistic production using electron microscopy to explore materiality and the body. Informed by the experience of vibrant matter at the microscopic level these works offer encounters in human-scaled space and time, and an opportunity to bridge the gap between science, medicine, and art.” (Susan Gibson Garvey, Exhibition Catalogue).

Kim Morgan will discuss her artistic research and method of working that resulted in the exhibition installations, public presentations, and off-site interventions. She will situate this discussion within the larger context of her doctoral thesis. With this body of work and ongoing research and activities, Morgan proposes that site-specific relevant art installations situated in health care facilities have the potential to enhance our understanding of the human body, and shift our experience and relationship to these complex spaces. And, hopefully, to promote a new sense of health, care, and well-being.

The artist would like to thank the following institutions for supporting this exhibition:
The Confederation Art Gallery, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada; Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax, NS, Canada; Arts Nova Scotia; Canada Council for the Art; and Halifax Regional Municipality. Individual works have received support from Artpace San Antonio, Arts Nova Scotia, Dalhousie Medical School, and Ferno Canada.

Kim Morgan is a doctoral student at the Estonian Academy of Arts and Professor at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

On April 17 at 13.00 Marta Konovalov’s second peer-reviewed process “Designer, the resilient gardener”, will take place in room A-501.
The reviewers of the process are Dr Marium Durrani and Prof Danielle Wilde (Umeå University, University of Southern Denmark).
Supervisors are Dr Kristi Kuusk ( EKA) and Dr Julia Valle Noronha (Aalto University).

Marta Konovalov invites you to view her garden and her research artefacts. She presents the second phase of her doctoral research on repair and regenerative textile design.
With her practice-based research she investigates how a designer can promote emotional durability and support the development of the aesthetics of affect in the context of fashion and textiles. To better understand the potential of regenerative textile design Marta Konovalov discusses the common values of my textile repair and gardening practice from the overlapping perspective of a designer, mender and an amateur gardener. She has set out to explore how a designer can address crises and encourage response-ability resilient practice through the interconnected activities.
With this work she aims to promote the discussion over interfering in the standardised, growth oriented processes of textile production and to empower the individual and nature in the multifaceted crises.

Marta Konovalov is a designer-researcher, craftivist and educator focusing on repair and regenerative textile design. She is a lecturer and doctoral student at Estonian Academy of Arts.