Category: Doctoral School

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.

On April 16 at 11.00 Kadri Liis Rääk’s second peer-reviewed exhibition “Morphogenesis”, will take place in the ARS Project Space, Pärnu mnt 154.

The exhibition’s peer reviewers are Dr. Erik Alalooga and Professor Esa Kirkkopelto.
The supervisor of the doctoral thesis is Dr. Liina Unt.

The second creative project is part of Kadri Liis Rääk’s doctoral thesis, “Touch and Tactility as a Means for Shared Immersion in Art” which focuses on embodied, multisensory experiences within the exhibition context. Using methods of expanded scenography, Rääk explores how to create immersive spaces for alternative encounters through interactive bodily sculptures, atmospheric mood, and tactility. Through sculptures grounded in her own bodily experiences, Rääk examines the singularity of experience and the boundaries of self and the Other. She is initerested in what beliefs and values are carried with oneself and the surrounding world, and how these are expressed through the experience of touch.

Kadri Liis Rääk is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher, focusing on creating immersive and tactile environments. Operating simultaneously in the expanded fields of art and design, she investigates how tactile interactions with artworks shift perceptions and foster dialogues extending beyond the visible. She studied scenography (BA) and contemporary art (MA) at the Estonian Academy of Arts and autonomous design (MA) at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent (KASK, Belgium). Her works engage with bodily and symbolic narratives, addressing entanglements and dialogues between humans and other life forms. She has participated in exhibitions and residencies in Peru, Czech Republic, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, and Estonia.

Annual Conference of EKA Doctoral School will take place on 10 April 2025.

Please register by 01.04.

PROGRAM

08.20 – Registration
08.30 – Opening words
prof. Linda Kaljundi (EKA Vice Rector for Research)

Panel 1: Cultural Heritage & Conservation, moderator prof. Victoria Donovan
08.35 Footwear Fashion in Late Medieval Europe
Tuuli Jõesaar (supervisors dr. Erki Russow, dr. Marquita Volken)

09.10 Climate Impact on Wall Paintings and Salt-Induced Decay
Mariam Sagaradze (supervisors dr. Lisa Shekede, dr. Anneli Randla, prof. Hilkka Hiiop)

09.45 Rethinking of Historical Wood Waste
Aljona Gineiko (supervisors dr. Mihkel Kiviste, dr. Riin Alatalu)

10.20 Eiffel’s Lighthouses and the Theseus’s Paradox: A Study of Identity and Change
Indrek Laos (supervisor dr. Riin Alatalu)

10.55 – Coffee, tea, snacks (15 min)

Panel 2: Art & Design, and Art History & Visual Culture, moderators dr. Jaana Päeva and prof. Andres Kurg
11.10 Painting as a Mirror: Symmetries and Reflections.
Sirja-Liisa Eelma (supervisor dr. Alari Allik)

11.45 Listen To My Scream: Autotheory in Practice-Based Research
Maria Kapajeva (supervisors dr. Redi Koobak, prof. Annika von Hausswolff)

12.20 What Kind of Art is Expected in School Buildings?
Karin Paulus (supervisors prof. Virve Sarapik, prof. Kara Diane Brown)

12.55 Oak Night: Looking for Any-Space-Whatevers in the Poststructuralist Thicket of Estonian Experimental Art and Literature in the 2000s
Sven Vabar (supervisors prof. Virve Sarapik, prof. Jaak Tomberg)

13.30 – Lunch break (30 min)

Panel 3: Architecture & Urban Planning, moderator dr. Jan van Schaik
14.00 Non-manifold Topology in Digital Architectural Models: Bridging Spatial Design and Industrial Production
Kaiko Kivi (supervisor dr. Renee Puusepp)

14.35 New Force Majeure in Urban Greenery: Nature Restoration and Amending
Regulation of the European Parliament and The Council
Karin Bachmann (supervisors prof. Urve Sinijärv, prof. Mart Kalm)

15.10 Climate Branding, Local Perceptions, and the YIMBY-NIMBY Conflict: The Case of Putukaväil Place-Making
Karina Vabson (supervisor prof. Maroš Krivy)

15.45 Chapters of Temperate. The Challenge of Doing More with Less in Urban
Greening
Anna-Liisa Unt (supervisor dr. Epp Lankots)

16.20 – Coffee, tea, snacks (10 min)

16.30 – Decolonising Research and Curating in Ukrainian Industrial Areas (= Institute of Art History and Visual Culture open lecture)*
prof. Victoria Donovan (University of St. Andrews), moderator prof. Linda Kaljundi

17.50 – Break (10 min)

18.00 – The Work is the Knowledge (= Faculty of Architecture open lecture)*
dr. Jan van Schaik (RMIT University, MvS Architects, Melbourne), moderator dr. Siim Tuksam

* The lectures are organised in cooperation with the Estonian Doctoral School. Project “Cooperation between universities to promote doctoral studies” (2021-2027.4.04.24-0003) is co-funded by the European Union.

More information:

Triin Metsla, triin.metsla@artun.ee
Mirje Tammaru, mirje.tammaru@artun.ee

3.03–07.03

Join us for Mental Health Week – take a break and prioritize your well-being!

Monday – Digi Detox (3.03)
Swap your phone for a piece of fruit for a set time of your choice and enjoy a screen-free moment. Plus, grab a wellness shot during lunch!

Tuesday – Quiz Night (4.03)

Test your knowledge in a fun quiz night!
https://fb.me/e/63DbEu5zp

Wednesday – Yoga Class (5.03, kl 18, A501)
Find your balance and unwind in a yoga class. Suitable for all levels!

Pre-registration required

Wednesday & Thursday – Sauna Evenings (5.–6.03)

Relax and unwind in the sauna after a long day.

Pre-registration required

Thursday – Scream Room (D600)
Release your stress in a safe and soundproof space!

And much more! Find more details on Instagram.

See you at Mental Health Week!

The annual PhD Vitamin conference returns to the Estonian Academy of Arts on March 14, offering a day of inspiration, guidance and discussion for artists and designers considering doctoral studies.

PhD Vitamin is designed to support artists and creative practitioners with a research-driven approach, providing insight into artistic research as a methodology and helping potential candidates in planning on their doctoral thesis proposals. Through a series of public lectures, discussions and one-on-one consultations, experts in the field will share their work and experiences.

This year, the conference will focus on one of the key topics of the art doctoral program – Ecological Critique in Contemporary Art, exploring environmental and ecological perspectives within creative research. Speakers will reflect on how contemporary artistic practices engage with pressing ecological questions, fostering dialogue between artistic inquiry, sustainability, and environmental awareness.

For those considering doctoral studies, PhD Vitamin offers individual consultation sessions with invited experts and researchers. These 30-minute consultations provide feedback and guidance for finishing up a doctoral research proposal. Consultations will be scheduled in time slots following the conference. 

The event is open to artists, designers, EKA alumni, graduate students and creative practitioners interested in artistic research methods and postgraduate studies.

Please register through the 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. 

PROGRAMME

10:00 -10:30  Gathering, coffee and welcome words

10:30 -11:15   Keynote by Taru Elfving “Site-sensitive research on the shifting shorelines”

11:20 – 11:40  Presentation by John Grzinich “Serious play, experimentation or research? Stories from the field”

Lunch break

12:30 -12:50 Presentation by Britta Benno  “Of Becoming a Land(scape). Abstract Geology as a Way of Thinking”

12:55 -13:40 Keynote by Pascal Marcel Dreier “Activist Aesthetic Research”

Coffee break

13:50 -14:15 Discussion and Q&A, moderator Kirke Kangro.

SPEAKERS:

Taru Elfving, PhD, is a curator and writer focused on nurturing undisciplinary and site-sensitive enquiries at the intersections of ecological, feminist and decolonial practices. As artistic director of CAA Contemporary Art Archipelago she currently leads a research residency programme on the island of Seili in the Baltic Sea. Her curatorial projects include Research Pavilion (Uniarts, Helsinki, 2023); Hours, Years, Aeons (Finnish Pavilion, Venice, 2015); Frontiers in Retreat (HIAP, Helsinki, 2013-18); Towards a Future Present (LIAF, Lofoten, 2008). She has co-edited publications such as Contemporary Artist Residencies (Valiz 2019) and Altern Ecologies (Frame 2016). Elfving lives and works in Helsinki.

https://contemporaryartarchipelago.org/about/

Britta Benno is a drawing and printmaking artist living in Tallinn. Benno is constantly extending the fields and combining conventional media with unexpected layers. Benno defended her doctoral thesis Thinking in Layers, Worlding in Layers: Posthuman Landscapes in the Expanded Field of Printmaking and Drawing in 2023.  Benno is working as a lecturer in the Estonian Academy of Arts. Her artworks have been exhibited throughout Europe, also in Australia and Canada.

www.brittabenno.com

Pascal Marcel Dreier listens to and narrates more-than-human stories. They combine aspects of aesthetic research with activist, forensic, and ethnographic methods, employing a multitude of media such as 3D laser measurement data, bones, game engines, video, sound, and music. Pascal co-founded the non profit research group TRACES Studio for Creative Investigation (Berlin) and is a member of Minding Animals Germany. They studied Media and Fine Arts with a focus on Artistic Research at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and hold an MA in Art & Ecology from Goldsmiths, University of London. Currently, Pascal is assistant professor of Multispecies Storytelling at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and teaches, talks, and holds workshops at universities and art institutions internationally, among them the University of Cambridge, University of Western Australia, University of Siegen, Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, Karlstad University, and Köln International School of Design (KISD).

www.pascaldreier.com
multispecies.studio
traces.studio

John Grzinich (b. 1970 in United States) is an audio-visual artist based in Estonia. His work integrates sound, moving images and site-specific installations to explore perceptions of sound and space, seeking resonances between people and places. Grzinich’s recent focus questions our anthropocentric views through performative and fixed media works by combining earthly agencies, expanded listening practices and participatory engagement.

www.maaheli.ee/main/

For more information contact kati.saarits@artun.ee

Dear EKA members!

I invite you all to the celebrations of the 107th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia on Friday, February 21st at 13.00 on the lobby steps.

The keynote speaker will be Signe Kivi, EKA’s Rector Emerita, textile artist and member of the Riigikogu. Among many other activities, Signe Kivi has a solo exhibition “Signature” running until the first Sunday in March at the Estonian Museum of Applied Arts and Design.

The event will end as tradition dictates with a shot of vodka, kissel and sprat sandwich.

Long live Estonia!

Mart Kalm
Rector

Doctoral School invites candidates interested in applying to the creative research PhD at EKA to participate in a preparatory course.

Creative research (artistic and practice-based research) is rooted in the professional practice of artists, designers, and/or architects, generating new knowledge that takes shape both in creative practice (artwork, creative process, product, service, etc.) and in a written dissertation.

The course focuses on designing and developing a creative research project, introducing completed and ongoing doctoral dissertations. It also helps participants clarify how to connect their research problem, methods, and creative practice.

The course consists of four seminars and individual consultations, providing participants with personalized feedback on their projects. It is led by Dr. Jaana Päeva, head of the art and design PhD program, and Dr. Liina Unt. Additionally, Dr. Kristi Kuusk and Dr. Siim Tuksam will join for consultations.

During the course period, participants will also have the opportunity to attend the Faculty of Fine Arts’ traditional “PhD Vitamin” event, which brings together creative research experts and prospective doctoral students through public lectures and consultations.

NB! The course takes place on-site at EKA.

Preparatory course schedule:

18.02, 17.00-18.30   Introduction to artistic and practice-based research. A501

19.02, 17.00-18.30   Research problem and framework. Example of a practice-based research (Nesli Oktay). A302

25.02, 17.00-18.30   Integrating theory and practice. Example of a practice-based research (Tõnis Jürgens). A403

26.02, 17.00-18.30   Research question and methods. Example of a practice-based research (Taavet Jansen). A501

14.03, 10.00   PhD Vitamin. Lectures, discussion, consultations. A501

11.03   Submitting research proposal drafts for consultations.

18.03   Individual consultations.

To participate, please send a short introduction (max 1.5 pages) to irene.hutsi@artun.ee by 11.02. The text should address your motivation, previous experience and the potential topic of your research. The number of places is limited, the acceptance will be confirmed by 14.02.

The course will be held in English.

Additional info:

Online info session: doctoral studies at EKA, 04.02.2025

Conditions for admission to doctoral studies

Estonian Artistic Research Framework Agreement

EKA Doctoral School will be hosting an online info session about doctoral studies at EKA on February 4, 2025, at 15:00-16:30 EET (local Estonian time) . 

Info session provides a good opportunity to hear more about doctoral studies at EKA, available programmes, admission requirements and procedure, etc; also meet and ask questions directly from people behind the Doctoral School and the programmes. The info session will be hosted online over Zoom. A link to attend will be e-mailed to registered participants shortly before the event begins.

REGISTER HERE

The Estonian Academy of Arts offers following PhD level programmes for international applicants:

• Architecture and Urban Planning
• Art and Design
• Art History and Visual Culture
• Cultural Heritage and Conservation

Admission period for international PhD applicants for 2025/2026 starts on February 1st, 2025. Deadline for submitting application is March 31st, 2025.

Admission requirements for PhD programmes can be found HERE.

More information:
Irene Hütsi
Doctoral School coordinator
irene.hutsi@artun.ee

On 20 January at 15:00 Risto Paju will defend his thesis “The Art of Late Medieval Stone Carving in Tallinn: Fragments – History and Interpretation” (“Tallinna hiliskeskaegne raidkivikunst. Fragmendid – ajalugu ja tõlgitsemine”).

The public defence will be held in EKA (Põhja pst 7), room A501. The defence will be broadcast on EKA TV.
The defence is in Estonian.

Supervisor: Dr. Anneli Randla (Estonian Academy of Arts)
External reviewers: Prof. Kersti Markus (Tallinn University), Dr. Erki Russow (Tallinn University)
Opponent: Dr. Erki Russow

Thesis is available HERE.

There are works of art and architecture that draw attention with their exceptional state of preservation, but there are also many that have survived only as fragments. This thesis examines the 15^th– and 16^th-century carved stone fragments from Tallinn, which are located in the collections of the Tallinn City Museum and the Tallinn City Urban Planning Department, as well as in situ within the city.

The main body of the thesis consists of published articles, each focusing on a selected fragment and aiming to reconstruct its original whole based on existing data, and place it into its historical context. The final part of this thesis discusses the exhibition of fragments in the Carved Stone Museum, which opened in 2016 under the Tallinn City Museum, and suggests approaches for future exhibitions. The analysis is based on the studies by Jacqueline Lichtenstein and Cesare Brandi concerning the relationship between the fragment and the whole.

Defence Committee: Prof. Hilkka Hiiop (Head of the Committee), Dr. Anu Allas, Prof. Krista Kodres, Prof. Juhan Maitse, Prof. Kurmo Konsa