Category: Faculty of Art and Culture

EKA Graduation Show TASE ‘25 opens on May 28, 2025

The Estonian Academy of Arts’ grad show TASE ’25 is back, with the main event being the graduation exhibition held at the “Projekteerijate maja”, located at Rävala puiestee 8, Tallinn.

The TASE ‘25 opening event will be held on Wednesday, May 28, at 17:00 in the park in front of the Rävala 8 building. During the public opening event, awards for Young Artist, Young Applied Artist, and Young Designer will be presented to both bachelor’s and master’s level students.

PROGRAM

TASE ’25 opening events schedule on Wednesday, May 28, 4:00 PM–11:00 PM:

4 PM procession from the Estonian Academy of Arts to the building at Rävala Puiestee 8

5 PM opening ceremony on the lawn in front of Rävala Puiestee 8, announcement of the Young Designer, Young Artist and Young Applied Artist MA and BA awards

6 PM TASE ’25 exhibition doors open

7.30 PM Avemaria concert on the lawn in front of Rävala Puiestee 8

8 PM Taavet Kirja DJ set

11 PM End of the party

In addition, Hulkur Bar and ÖKU food truck will be present.

TASE pop-up shop

28.05.–1.06.25 Rävala puiestee 8 first floor lobby, open Wed 18.00–23.00 Thu–Sun 13.00–19.00

TASE ANIMA 2025 animation final project screening on Friday, June 13, 17.00–19.00 at Sõprus cinema, free admission.

Participants: Paulina Belik, Maya Chaudhary, Nataliia Domini, Kate Jansone, Timofei Jerjomenko, Annaliisa Lepik, Anne Lucas, Natalya Mirzoyan, Léo Dominique Mourey, Katrina Oll, Mia Rulli, Yiyang Sun, Alex Toodu, Kaisa Vallaots, Lukas Wind, Shunyuan Yao

Thesis of the Faculties of Architecture, Design, Art Culture and Liberal Arts

Rävala puiestee 8, Tallinn29.05.–19.06.25, open daily from 13.00–19.00, free admission

The final project of contemporary art master’s students Yvette Bathgate & Jake Shepherd “a space for gathering, a space for growing”

EKKM Community Garden, Kursi 5, Tallinn

28.05.–19.05.25, open 24/7, free admission

The program has been prepared in collaboration with Keithy Kuuspu, Kati Saaritsa, Feminist Culture House, and Laura De Jager.

Art Studio Master’s student Alyona Movko-Mägi’s final project “Being. Creator. Gender.” Seek Gallery, Väike-Pääsukese 5, Tallinn6.06.–27.09.25, open June–August 20:00–2:00, September 20:00–00:00, admission 7€/5€

Event introducing the final theses of graphic design master’s students “Cover, Show”

Skoone bastion, Tallinn

6.06. 11:00–19:00

Participants: Fatima-Ezzahra El Khammas, Hanafi Gazali, Rok Ifko Krajnc, Linnea Lindgren, Laura Martens, João Pedro Nogueira, Karthik Palepu, Archil Tsereteli

Thesis “Internal Spheres” by Dana Lorên Vares, Master of Jewelry Design

Rehearsal Hall of the Von Krahl Theatre, Telliskivi 60a-9, Tallinn

2.–3.06.25, entrance from the railway side, free

Introduction of Bachelor’s and Master’s theses in Interior Architecture led by Gregor Taul, starting in the lobby of Rävala Puiestee 8.

Wednesday, June 4, 15:00–16:00, in Estonian

Social Design Studio – a series of events and installations for social design master’s students

The exhibition ends with a discussion by recent graduates on the topic “What is social design?”

6.–7.06.25 Rävala Puiestee 8, first floor lobby, free admission.

More information:  https://www.facebook.com/sotsiaalsedisainistuudio/

Faculty of Architecture exhibition tours

Open to all space enthusiasts, both incoming students and professionals in the field:
June 4, 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Interior Architecture Final Theses, Curriculum Director Gregor Taul
June 11, 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Architecture Today, Dean Sille Pihlak
June 18, 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Faculty of Architecture final theses will be introduced by architect and head of master’s studies, Prof. Toomas Tammis
June 18, 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Faculty of Architecture final theses will be introduced by architect and head of master’s studies, Prof. Toomas Tammis

Register for the tour here

Anna-Liisa Villmann-led tours with the laureates of the Young Designer, Young Artist and Young Applied Artist MA and BA awards, starting in the lobby of Rävala puiestee 8.

Saturday, May 31, 13–14:30, in Estonian

Saturday, June 14, 13–14:30, in Estonian

Saturday, June 14, 14:30–16:00, in English

Public defenses of final theses

Final theses defenses at the Estonian Academy of Arts and at the TASE Final Thesis Festival at Rävala puiestee 8, Tallinn, 26.05.–11.06.2025

Check out the schedule on the website https://www.artun.ee/et/kalender/eka-loputoode-kaitsmised/

Get to know TASE ‘25 program and list of graduates on the website tase.artun.ee – the website will open on May 23.

The written parts of the theses can be viewed in the EKA Digital Archive at https://eka.access.preservica.com/

TASE ’25 Facebook event

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!

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

The Estonian Academy of Arts (Associate Prof. Kristina Jõekalda) together with Yale University (Prof. Bradley Woodworth) is organizing a history seminar on the Baltic Germans on February 7-8 2025:

“Bulwark against the East or Imperial Outpost? Baltic Germans in the Russian Empire“.

Among the speakers is also EKA’s junior researcher Ragne Soosalu.

The seminar takes place at Yale University in USA, but can be followed via Zoom. For an overview see the recap.

On Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 4:00 p.m., open debate of EKA rector candidates will take place.

EKA rector candidate programs (in Estonian):

Rector candidate Hilkka Hiiop’s program
Rector candidate Kirke Kangro’s program

Hilkka Hiiop is the dean of EKA’s Faculty of Arts and Culture from 2021. Hiiop is a professor in the Department of Cultural Heritage and Conservation. Hiiop’s candidacy was submitted by the members of the EKA Council.

Kirke Kangro is the dean of EKA’s Faculty of Fine Arts from 2016. She is a professor at the Department of Installation and Sculpture. Kangro was nominated by the Faculty of Fine Arts and Faculty of Design of EKA.

The EKA rector’s elections will take place in auditorium A-101 on Friday, January 31, 2025, at 2:00 p.m.

At the election meeting, the members of the electoral board will vote by secret ballot. The rector candidate who receives more than half of the votes will be elected.

Information related to the rector’s elections can be found at artun.ee/rektori-valimised.

The term of office of the new EKA Rector will begin on April 4, 2025.

On Friday, December 6th at 11:00, a symposium on postmodernism “Lost in Time Like Tears in the Rain” will take place at the Tartu Elektriteater.

The transition period from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the rise of independence Estonia can be considered in many ways an unique and exceptional period. It was a time of historical openness, where one way of doing things had ceased to exist, but another was just taking off. It was a time of intellectual and artistic possibilities, in spite of the fact that means and possibilities were scarce. And it was at this time that the new postmodernism as a new cultural logic, promising perhaps another kind of diversity, plurality and freedom. A confused thing arrived in a confused time and began to resonate in its own way. What it was or much of it was there at all? That is what Estonia’s leading cultural figures and researchers will give their own perspective on what was in the air and what it was like for them, what postmodernism meant to them then and what it means now.

SCHEDULE

11–12:30 Session I
Peeter Laurits / Ene-Liis Semper / Janek Kraavi / Kiwa / Tõnis Kahu /
Barbi Pilvre

12:30–13 Coffee break

13–14:30 Session II
Hanno Soans / Virve Sarapik / Luule Epner / Andrus Laansalu / Piret
Viires / Marju Lauristin

14:30–15:30 Lunch break

15:30–17 Session III
Hasso Krull / Märt Väljataga / Valle-Sten Maiste / Epp Annus / Raili
Marling / Aare Pilv

17–20 Reception (Lossi 3 lobby)

The event is organized by the Institute of Cultural Studies of the University of Tartu and the Interuniversity Research Group of Contemporary Estonian Culture

The event is supported by the Estonian Science Foundation grant PRG636 “Patterns of development in Estonian culture of transition period 1986–1998)”.

Mental Vitamin Week is back and happening next week! From November 18–22, we will host various exciting activities to bring some fun and relaxation to the long and tiring school days.

**MONDAY, 18.11.2024**

– Morning run at 8:00 (meeting in front of the school)
– Fruit in exchange for your phone
– 12:00–18:00 Sauna in the school courtyard
– Gaming in A300

**TUESDAY, 19.11.2024**

– Morning run at 8:00 (meeting in front of the school)
– Health shots
– 12:00–18:00 Sauna in the school courtyard
– Gaming in A300
– Scream room in the ÜE tower
– 19:00 EKAAJU quiz (in the atrium, registration required)

**WEDNESDAY, 20.11.2024**

– Morning run at 8:00 (meeting in front of the school)
– Gaming in A300
– Confession room and worry box (5th floor box)

**THURSDAY, 21.11.2024**

– Morning run at 8:00 (meeting in front of the school)
– Gaming in A300

**FRIDAY, 22.11.2024**

– Final morning run of the week at 8:00 (meeting in front of the school)
– Gaming in A300

On Saturday, October 19, the Spooky Drag Night organized by the EKA Students Queer Association (ETKÜ) will take place at EKKM, where drag artists from EKA and elsewhere will perform.

The event celebrates the birth of a new student initiative, the goal of which is to bring together the queer community of EKA and stand for a safer learning environment. People who would like to try drag for the first time, but have not yet found the opportunity to do so, are also invited to perform.

Location: EKKM
Time: 19.10 at 20.00
Ticket information: Admission by donation.

More info: https://fb.me/e/1SJ2IwwjT

EKA celebrates its 110th anniversary with a birthday week. 

From November 4th to 8th exhibition tours, lectures and film screenings will take place. The week will end on Friday with the opening of the EKA’s new building, the White House and a birthday party. Departments’ alumni parties will take place on Friday. 

Monday

15.30 Defense of Ulvi Haagensen’s doctoral thesis | Auditorium A-501

17.30 Curator’s tour and model drawing at the EKA museum exhibition “EKA 110 Clothed and Nude. 110 Years of Figure Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts” | EKA Gallery

18:00 New Media 30: Laura Schmidt (DE) – ZKM_Gameplay. The Next Level (Paul Galloway will be joining us from New York city via screen. In English) | Main hall A-101

Tuesday

17.30 Curator’s tour and model drawing at the EKA museum exhibition “EKA 110 Clothed and Nude. 110 Years of Figure Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts” | EKA Gallery

18:00 New Media 30: Ava Imogen Grayson (CA/FI) & John Grzinich (US/EE) – Discussing Sound Art (Ava will be joining us from Helsinki via screen. In English) | B-305

19:15 New Media 30: Jaime Lobato (MX/EE) – The right to forget. Artificial intelligences humanly inspired in contemporary art (Jaime will be joining us from Mexico via screen. In English) | B-305

Wednesday

16.00 Open Lecture by honorary doctor Linda van Deursen | Main hall A-101

17.30 Curator’s tour and model drawing at the EKA museum exhibition “EKA 110 Clothed and Nude. 110 Years of Figure Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts” | EKA Gallery

17.30 Awarding of inners of applied research and development work | The Hole

18.00 Open Lecture by honorary doctor Antoine Picon | Main hall A-101

Thursday

17.30 Curator’s tour and model drawing at the EKA museum exhibition “EKA 110 Clothed and Nude. 110 Years of Figure Studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts” | EKA Gallery

19.00 Cinema: The best of by the Animation Department | Main hall A-101

Friday – PARTY!

16.00 Anniversary assembly and conferment ceremony | Main hall A-101

18.00 Departments’ parties for alumni | EKA Main Building

19.00 Opening of the EKA White House | EKA White House

19.30 Musical performers until the end of the party | Both houses:

• 19.30 – EKA Students Queer Association | EKA white house
• 20:00 – DJ Vaatab jooksvalt | EKA main building
• 21.00 – Karameel | EKA white house
• 21.30 – EKA Chamber Choir | EKA main building
• 21.45 – karaoke with Helina Risti | EKA main building
• 22.30 – Motonormal | EKA white house
• 00.00 – Avemaria | EKA white house

20.30 Auction | Main hall A-101

22.00 EKA 110 gift opening

The programme of events will be updated on a rolling basis.

EKA Birthday Week events are free of charge and open to all.  

Events of EKA Departments as part of the EKA 110 Celebration

Monday, November 4th

• 18:00-21:00 – EKA Open Academy Open Lecture: “EKA 110 | How to Collect Art?” (in Estonian)
• 18:00 – EKA New Media 30: Paul Galloway (US) – Video Games at MoMA

Tuesday, November 5th

• 16:30 – EKA Graphic Design + Product Design present: Open Archive of the Design Faculty 1966-1994 (open area on the 2nd floor, A300)
• 17:00 – EKA Graphic Design + Product Design panel discussion: Design Thinking – Establishing Design in Times of Change (EKA lobby)
• 18:00 – EKA New Media 30: Ava Imogen Grayson (CA/FI) & John Grzinich (US/EE) – Discussing Sound Art (room B305)
• 19:15 – EKA New Media 30: Jaime Lobato (MX/EE) – The Right to Forget: Artificial Intelligences in Contemporary Art
• 17:00 – EKA Graphic Art: Exhibition of Nominees for the Edmund Valtman Young Graphic Artist Scholarship (EKA glass gallery)

Thursday, November 7th

• 18:00 – EKA New Media 30: Raivo Kelomees – Metamorphoses of Media Art (room A101)

Friday, November 8th

• 16:00-00:00 – EKA Textile 110: Installation Textile in 110 Squares (room D504)
• 10:00-17:00 – EKA Interaction Design and Animation Departments’ installation Godseed (Kotzebue 10 basement)
• 17:00 – Opening of EKA New Media 30th Anniversary Outdoor Exhibition: Video Installations
• 18:00 – Formal Research Seminar of the Institute of Art History and Visual Culture (room A501)
• 18:00 – EKA Glass Department Book Launch Glass Painting – Painting with Light (room B604)
• 22:00 – EKA Architecture / PAKK – Opening of EKA’s Gift (Kotzebue 2)

Alumni Gatherings on Friday, November 8th

• 17:30 – Ceramic Department Gathering: Viewing of Past Works and Identifying Authors (room B602)
• 17:30 – Fashion Design Alumni and Faculty Gathering, Tour of Workspaces and Works (room D507)
• 18:00 – Formal Research Seminar and Gathering of the Institute of Art History and Visual Culture (room A501)
• 18:00 – Design and Innovation (formerly known as Applied Art) Room Open! Welcoming future and current alumni, instructors, and friends! (room D404)
• 18:00 – Product Design Alumni and Student Gathering and “Cafe” (room C301)
• 18:00 – Interaction Design Alumni and Student Party (room D306)
• 18:00 – Textile Design Alumni and Student Reunion (room D505)
• 18:00 – Photography Department Gathering at Maitselabor. Opportunity to tour department spaces and studios. Wide Angle Gallery Exhibition (room B407)
• 18:00 – Faculty of Architecture Introduction and Social Space (room A400)
• 18:00 – Glass Department Book Launch, Formal Gathering, and Studio Tour (room B604)
• 18:00 – Accessory and Bookbinding Department open! Welcoming future and current alumni, instructors, and friends. Showcasing the accessory and bookbinding studio; recent student work exhibited in the glass display at the entrance. Leather drink bar by accessory artisans! (rooms B510 and B511)
• 18:00 – Jewellery and Blacksmithing Department open! Tour of department spaces and workshops (room B504)
• 18:00 – The Department of Heritage Protection and Conservation invites its alumni and friends to the sculpture conservation studio (room D308)

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has sparked debates and conflicts over Russian and Soviet monuments in the former Eastern Bloc and has also revitalized global discussions about dissonant heritage. This has created a new need and a new framework for comparisons – for comparing monuments, as well as their toppling and rebuilding in different parts of the world and historical contexts.

This event is primarily about learning from cases of reframing. The lectures, seminars and workshops will bring together expertise and knowledge from different fields and contexts to explore solutions that aim not to dismantle dissonant heritage but to place it in a new, critical framework. During the three days, we will discuss the broader conceptualizations and histories of reframing monuments and heritage, as well as focus on concrete cases. The cases will include various artistic interventions as well as other means of reframing, ranging from educational programs and museology to community engagement.

We believe that there is an urgent need to bring together knowledge of existing cases also to develop future practices for reinterpreting heritage through cross-disciplinary collaboration: artistic research and memory studies, heritage conservation and digitization, and spatial interventions. Thus, this event aims to generate new knowledge and skills for dealing with complex heritage at different levels.

The event will consist of lectures, seminars, tours and group work. Students are divided into interdisciplinary groups to develop a reframing project, each of which will focus on a case study representing dissonant heritage from Narva and the neighbouring industrial regions of northeastern Estonia.

The workshop will include the following events open to the public:

September 2 @ NART

13:00-14:45 Introductions:
Conceptualisations of Dissonant Heritage

Linara Dovydaitytė (Vytautas Magnus University):
How to Articulate Dissonance in a Dissonant Heritage?

Kristo Nurmis (TLU),
Illiberal Heritage: Preserving Soviet-Era Historical Layers in Estonia

Moderator: Linda Kaljundi (EKA)

15:00-16:00
Victoria Donovan (University of St Andrews):
Towards a Method of Critical Care: Community and artist engagement with ‘difficult heritage’ in Ukraine’s industrial East

Moderator: Hilkka Hiiop (EKA)

September 3 @ NART

10:00-11:30
Case studies – the artist in focus

Runo Lagomarsino:
Geography of Haunted Places

Kristina Norman:
Looking Back at “After-War” (2009) during the War

Moderator: Epp Annus (Ohio State University / TLU)

12:00-14:00
Case studies – bridging different contexts

Olha Honchar (Territory of Terror Museum, Lviv):
Formation and interpretation of the collection of Soviet totalitarian sculpture in the “Territory of Terror” Museum in Lviv

Tullia Catalan (University of Trieste):
Managing Controversial Memories: The Recontextualisation of Fascist Legacies at the Italian Borders. Case Studies of Bolzano and Trieste

Moderator: Anneli Randla (EKA)

15:00-16:00
Case studies – Estonia

Epp Annus (Ohio State University / TLU):
Rotting Bones and Caked Blood: War Graves and Reburials in Estonian Literature

Kirke Kangro (EKA):
Art and Recontextualisation of Heritage: The Case of Tehumardi in a Wider Context

16:30-17:45
Egle Grebliauskaite (Vilnius University):
Artistic Autonomy Against Political Control: Clash of Wills in Memory Transformations (presentation and film screening)

19:00 Screening of Alyosha (2008) and discussion with the film director Meelis Muhu

September 4 @Sillamäe Cultural Center

14:00-14:45
Riin Alatalu, Anu Soojärv (EKA):
Sillamäe – fascinating dissonance

September 6 @ EKA, room A 501 and EKA TV

14:00 Presentations of the group work
Moderator: Gregor Taul (EKA)

Experts: Riin Alatalu, Kirke Kangro, Gregor Taul, Anu Soojärv and Triinu Väikmeri (Estonian Academy of Arts), Kristo Nurmis (Tallinn University), Victoria Donovan (University of St. Andrews), Oksana Denisenko and Linara Dovydaitytė (Vytautas Magnus University), Egle Grebliauskaite (Vilnius University), Olha Honchar (Territory of Terror Museum, Ukraine)

The workshop takes place within the framework of the Transform4Europe (T4EU) project. T4EU, consisting of ten universities, operates under the European Universities Initiative with the aim of making European higher education more competitive, based on European values ​​and identity.

More info:
Triinu Väikmeri (triinu.vaikmeri@artun.ee)