Category: Doctoral School

On Thursday, February 12 at 16:00–17:30, a public review and opening of the third exhibition of the doctoral project of Jane Remm “Moths are chewing the uneven fabric of life,” will take place at the Terra Gallery of Tallinn University.
The doctoral thesis is supervised by Dr. Urve Sinijärv (Tallinn Botanical Garden), the exhibition reviewers are Prof. Linda Kaljundi (Estonian Academy of Arts) and Dr. Nelly Mäekivi (University of Tartu).

The first signs of spring are out there – the sky is higher, tits are singing of spring, icicles and noses are dripping like birches sap. How did our ancestors, who spent the long dark autumn and winter in the dirty and cold farm houses, perceived the arrival of new light? Jane Remm’s exhibition “Moths chew the neven fabric of life” focuses on the everyday and experiential connection of traditional human culture with other species and local nature. Through mutual interdepence, people have been connected to plants and animals, forests and waters. This connection is expressed in metaphors and symbols used in language and images to this day, such as plant and animal-named patterns and the transcriptons of bird songs, as well as conventions when communicating with nature. Jane Remm is interested in the bodily and everyday interweaving with other life forms, (women’s) connection with local nature and its symbolic expression in traditional culture, patterns, food, healing – in the fabric of life. Through art, she creates a dialogue between the traditional ecological knowledge of our ancestors and contemporary ecology and environmental humanities and explores how we can learn from other lfe forms. The more diverse life, the more connections, vitality and love.

The exhibition “Moths chew the neven fabric of life” is the third peer-reviewed event of Jane Remm’s doctoral project “Art’s (artist’s) possibilities for relating to nature from representation to co-creation and ecological art interventions”. The exhibition “Moths chew the neven fabric of life” is open from January 19 to March 8 at the Terra Gallery of Tallinn University (Terra House, 2nd floor).

Jane Remm is an artist and art educator, lecturer at the BFM at Tallinn University and doctoral student at Estonian Academy of Art. Jane Remm’s work focuses on the representation of experience of nature, co-creation and communication with different life forms. In her artistic practice, she seeks ways to act more locally, more sustainably and meaningfully in collaboration with humans and nonhumans. As a visual artist with a background in painting, a teacher, and a artistic researcher, she finds that art’s way of creating knowledge about the world is special, valuing manual work and collaboration as an opportunity to perceive oneself as part of nature.

On February 9, 14.30-16.00 the public peer-review of Taavi Varm’s doctoral project “The Plant Walker” will take place in Zoom.
Zoom LINK  (Meeting ID: 616 6458 4084, Passcode: 182273).

Reviewers of the project: Dr. Liina Unt, PhD (University of Tartu), Dr. Steinunn Hildigunnur Knúts-Önnudóttir.
Supervisors: Dr. Varvara Guljajeva (Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar), Dr. Helen Uusberg (University of Tartu).

The Plant Walker is the third part of Taavi Varm’s doctoral thesis, “Designing Video Games as Experiential Practice: Co-Creation and Sustainable Psychological Well-Being.” Game was created during the 2024/25 academic year as part of the EVA Lab’s ‘Small Lives’ course and research project at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Project reflects on the video game’s creation process and outcome through a video essay as a Work Story.

The Plant Walker became a turning point in the research, where the researcher turned back to being a creator and artist.  The creative process consciously used theories of mindfulness and flow theory, later enriched by ecological, societal, and political valuation through practical analysis. Therefore the project views creation as a process that supports the artist’s mental health and creative sustainability.

Creating slow, ecologically sensitive game meant deliberately rejecting patterns based on competition, optimization, and constant performance. The Plant Walker offers a playful space for slowing down, being present, and ways of being in harmony with nature.

The video essay is available via a YouTube link. Headphones and viewing on a smartphone are recommended.
Youtube link (english version): https://youtu.be/zw6Cfy6PNpc
Small lives games:
Apple App Store / Google Play

On February 3rd, 2026 at 19:00 Azeem Hamid’s doctoral study second peer-review “Participation as Relation: Designing Relations of Care” will take place online on zoom.
Peer-review zoom LINK (Meeting ID: 660 0113 5320, Passcode: 807935).

The peer-reviewers are Dr. Oscar Tomico Plasencia (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands) and Dr. Jesper Falck Legaard (Designskolen Kolding, Denmark).
The thesis supervisors are Dr. Kristi Kuusk (EKA, Estonia) and Dr. Nithikul Nimkulrat (OCAD U, Canada).

Azeem Hamid invites attendees to engage with analysis and reflections from the Remote Grandparents project, the second case study of his ongoing doctoral research. The study explores participation as a relational and care-led design practice in remote, intergenerational contexts, focusing on sensorial play co-designed by children and their geographically distant grandparents.
Grounded in research-through-design, relational sensitivities, and autoethnographic practice, the inquiry challenges participation as co-presence by attending to distance, domestic settings, and family relations. The research identifies affective distance, sensory touchpoints, and improvised mutual shaping as key constructs through which relations are formed across people, materials, and places.
The research contributes to ethical and reflexive approaches to participatory and intergenerational design, by proposing vocabulary and methods for sensorial co-presence in distributed, care-centred contexts.
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).

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 consultations. Seminars are led by Dr. Jaana Päeva, head of the art and design PhD program, and Dr. Liina Unt. In addition to the theoretical part, doctoral students with a background in art and design will present their ongoing research. In the consultation, applicants will receive individual feedback on their research project proposal.

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

Preparatory course schedule:

17.02   17:45-19:15 A-302
Introduction to artistic and practice-based research.

18.02   17:45-19:15 A-403
Research problem and framework. Example of a practice-based research (Katrin Kabun).

25.02   17:45-19:15 A-403
Integrating theory and practice through research question and methods. Example of a practice-based research (Sofja Hallik).

26.02   17:45-19:15 A-202
Example of a practice-based research. Practitioner´s viewpoint (Jane Remm).

08.03   Deadline 08:00
Submitting research proposal drafts for consultations.

12.03   Individual consultations (Jaana Päeva, Liina Unt, Kristi Kuusk).

To participate, please send a short introduction (max 1.5 pages) to irene.hutsi@artun.ee by 12.02.2026. 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 13.02.2026.

The course will be held in English.

On 9 January, from 15:30 to 17:00, Kadri Liis Rääk will have her third peer-reviewed event as a part of her doctoral studies with the creative project “The artist’s body as a sensory threshold” at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), in room A202.

The peer-reviewers of the exhibition are Laura Põld and prof Esa Kirkkopelto.

The doctoral supervisor is dr Liina Unt.

Kadri Liis Rääk’s research is situated at the intersection of expanded scenography and speculative practices, offering an in-depth exploration of touch, affective attunement, and body–space relations. The third creative project, “The artist’s body as a sensory threshold”, focuses on embodied and sensory experience as a means of knowledge production within artistic practice.

The creative project unfolds the artist-researcher’s process through a heuristic unpacking presented in the form of a video journey. Rather than documenting a finished artwork, the video makes the movement of the research visible: introspective thought processes, forms of attunement shaped by neurodivergence, and the dynamic interplay between discovery and failure. At the core of the project is the artist’s performative withdrawal into a natural environment. The collapse of initial plans shifted the focus from expectation to the investigative activity itself, transforming the artist’s body into a sensory threshold where material-based making and spatial engagement converge. This approach places the creative process at the methodological centre, where negotiation with materials and sustained presence in a liminal in-between state give rise to unique, immediate forms of embodied knowledge.

On 9 January at 13.00 the peer-review event of Aman Asif’s exhibition Algal Phycosphere, will take place in EKA Valge maja, material lab. Exhibition is part of Asif’s practice-based doctoral thesis.

Supervisor. Kärt Ojavee
Reviewers: Marie Vihmar and Julia Lohmann

Aman Asif is an interdisciplinary designer and PhD-researcher interested in sustainable design practices that cultivate ecological wellbeing. The exhibition Algal Phycosphere marks the first peer review of her doctoral research.

Phycosphere frames the event as an inquiry into algal-centred relations. Asif’s research explores creative design practice as sites for attuning to microbial others. The works presented here emerge from her practice-led research, developed through ongoing encounters with algal in her home, the laboratory, and coastal environments in Tallinn. The exhibition includes material-led experiments and hand-crafted artifacts, as well as sensory probes developed in relation to algal.

Through this research, Asif traces a process in which meeting another living microbial presence reshapes how design is practised, and how relational negotiations at this scale can inform the values and conditions of designing amid concerns for ecological wellbeing.

Acknowledgements

Aman Asif would like to thank the many human and more-than-human collaborators who made this work possible.

She would like to thank Kärt Ojavee and Valentina Guccini for their guidance and sustained support.

She is grateful to Rameez Husnain, Pia Lindberg, Kim Janssen, Jaakko Kokko, Anjali VIjayan, Nashwa Attallah, Ero Kontturi and Sarvin Sefatyar for their collaboration and generosity at various stages of the work. Special thanks to Rando Tuvikene and his team at Tallinn University (TLU) for providing space, access, and support during the early stages of this research.

She would also like to acknowledge her colleagues Maria Kapajeva, Joanna Kalm, and the members of the EKA PhD cohort for feedback and shared thinking.

Finally, she would like to thank her family: Asif Latif Lone, Saima Asif, Shehryar Asif, and Danish Lone for always supporting her wellbeing and endless curiosities.

Photo credits: Sarvin Sefatyar

A public peer-review of knowledge transfer PhD student Liisi Tamm’s first case study will be held on December 17th at 16:00–17:30 at the Estonian Academy of Arts, room A202. The case study is part of a creative doctoral thesis analyzing design practice and methods of working with wool to determine its influence on design decisions and the designer’s role in meaning making. The knowledge transfer partner for the doctoral project is Pallas University of Applied Sciences.

Supervisors: Jaana Päeva PhD (EKA) and prof. Aet Ollisaar (Pallas)
The peer-reviewers are Ave Matsin and Nithikul Nimkulrat PhD (OCAD University)

The first case study focuses on the process of creating the material – making wool yarn. It examines how working directly with wool – from sorting and washing to hand- and machine-spinning – shapes textile students’ experience with the material, influencing their design process, aesthetic choices, and attitudes toward the value of local wool.

EKA Doctoral School will be hosting an online info session about doctoral studies at EKA on February 11, 2026, 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 2026/2027 starts on February 1st, 2026. Deadline for submitting application is March 31st, 2026, at 3pm (EET).

Admission requirements for PhD programmes can be found HERE.

NB! EKA Doctoral School invites candidates interested in applying to the creative research PhD at EKA to participate in a preparatory course, taking place on-site at EKA from February 17 to March 13, 2026. More information and registration HERE.

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

The peer-review of Kim Morgan’s artwork in the exhibition Anatomy of Dust will take place on December 4, 2025, at 15:30 – 17:00, at Valge maja, Kotzebue 10, V308.

The peer-reviewers are Dr. Maiju Loukola (Uniarts, Helsinki) and Professor Liina Siib (EKA, Tallinn).
The thesis supervisors are Dr. Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla (Tallinn, Estonia) and Jan Peacock, Professor Emerita (NSCAD University, Halifax, Canada).

Kim Morgan invites you to the public presentation on her artwork in Anatomy of Dust, a two-person exhibition with Estonian Artist Juss Heinsalu, at the Hobusepea Gallerii, Tallinn, August 27 – Sept 22nd.   During this exhibition Morgan also used the site of the gallery as a research/lab/studio space to present, examine, and discuss her ongoing doctoral research.

This presentation is the second peer-review of her practice-based doctoral artistic research titled Examining, Diagnosing, and Creating, Public Art Installations for Complex Spaces; such Health Care Facilities.  Kim Morgan will discuss her artistic research, reflections and method of working that resulted in the exhibition installations. 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.

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.

For more information on Anatomy of Dust exhibition https://hobusepeadraakon.ee/en/archive/

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.