Category: Craft Studies

Sofiya Babiy
A spectrum of disappearance / Hääbumise varjundid
Location: Rävala 8, room A203
Defence: 12.05 at 10 o’clock

Elias Sormanen
Dreams of Novaja Zemlja / Unenäod Novaja Zemljast
Location: Pikk jalg 3, attic
Defence: 12.05 at 15 o’clock

Juulia Aleksandra Mikson
For a moment / Hetke vaid
Location: Manufaktuuri 7/2 ja Manufaktuuri kvartal apple orhid
Defence: 13.05 at 11 o’clock

Iohan Figueroa
Drifting / Kandumine
Performance: 13.05 at 16 o’clock
Location: Paljassaare hoiuala (outdoors)
Defence: 14.05 at 10 o’clock in Krulli Studio (Kopli 70a, II floor)

Hannah Segerkrantz
From Mines to Mountains / Maast Mägedeks
Location: Pikk jalg 3, III floor
Defence: 14.05 at 14 o’clock

Kati Saarits
Series of Belongings / Seeriad esemetest
Location: Koidu 23-6 apartment
Defence: 15.05 at 11 o’clock

Alyona Movko-Mägi
Creature. Maker. Mire. / Olend. Looja. Soo.
Location: Gallery SEEK, Väike-Pääsukese 5
Defence: 15.05 at 15 o’clock

Rait Lõhmus
reblow toolset: piiritus / infinite
Performance/demo: 16.05 at 13 o’clock
Location: Rakvere piiritustehas, Vabriku 6 in Rakvere
Defence: 16.05 at 14 o’clock

You are warmly invited to the opening of Juulia Aleksandra Mikson’s solo exhibition “For a Moment” on Tuesday, May 6th at 18:30, at Manufaktuuri 7/2, Tallinn.

From 6th to 16th of May Juulia Aleksandra Mikson is organizing her solo exhibition “For a Moment” as part of her master’s project at the Craft Studies department at the Estonian Academy of Arts. The overarching theme of the exhibition is the metamorphosis of life and the fading of matter. The materials used in the artworks engage with the gradual decay of life. The limited lifespan of the pieces — their potential to break, unravel, or fragment — conveys the uniqueness of both disintegration and creation.

By using the word ‘hääbuma’ that translates as decay or fading , often associated with melancholy or sorrow, the artist embraces the inevitability of life’s flow — where every end marks a new beginning. Nothing is permanent nor irreversibly lost, but rather in constant motion, always offering the potential for rebirth.

The exhibition site itself reflects a location-specific metamorphosis through time — the reinhabitation of the once-abandoned Baltic Cotton Spinning and Weaving Factory, now being transformed into the Manufaktuuri Quarter. The exhibition unfolds across three spatial environments: an apple orchard, liminal space between old factory buildings , and a contemporary residential development. This new architecture contrasts visually with the remaining factory buildings — at least, for now, before the old is fully absorbed by the new.The exhibition space brings together the works that embody various forms of textility and stages of transformation.

Juulia Aleksandra Mikson is a textile artist who explores the boundaries between materials. Her creative process is guided by the intrinsic properties of the materials, allowing them to lead the dynamics of creation. In her liminal practice, she has combined textiles with clay, and metal with textiles — revealing new layers within the relationships between materials. Working with both metal and clay, she values the freedom found in not knowing — a space where limitations do not hinder experimentation or the flow of creativity. For her, the essence of creation lies in the pure joy of making, where technique and material naturally become extensions of the hands and the mind.

Juulia’s work engages with themes surrounding the relationship between humans, the Earth, and nature. Through this lens, she reflects on the contemporary fear of dacy and fading — where, in denying disappearance, we live in illusion.

“For a Moment”, Juulia Aleksandra Mikson’s solo exhibition, forms part of her master’s thesis in the Art Studies curriculum at the Estonian Academy of Arts and is presented within the EKA TASE Graduation Festival.

Supervisors: Marta Konovalov, Kärt Ojavee, Juss Heinsalu
Mentor: Ivar Veermäe
Installation Team: Martin Mikson, Anna-Liisa Pärt
Sound Artist: Karolin Sigus
Graphic Design: Katariin Mudist

The artist wishes to thank:
The EKA Ceramics Department, the EKA Jewellery and Blacksmithing Department, the EKA Textile Department, the EKA Art Studies programme, Karl Aunin, Kille-Ingeri Liivoja, Mari-Ann Reede, Paul Aadam Mikson, Aleš Rezler, Mia Tamme, and all other collaborators in thought.

Supported by: Estonian Cultural Endowment, Põhjala Brewery, Estonian Academy of Arts – Art Studies

Opening: May 6, 2025 | 18:30–21:00

Exhibition Open:

7th May: 16:00–19:00
9th May: 16:00–19:00
12th May: 16:00–19:00
14th–16th May: 16:00–19:00

Location: Manufaktuuri 7/2, Tallinn

On Tuesday, March 18th, we’re reading a series of writings by the EKA Craft Studies MA programme students.
All texts were composed through research, writing and editing supervised by Lieven Lahaye and Else Lagerspetz. The event takes place at the Craft Studies Krulli studio (Kopli 70a, II floor), from 18:00-20:00

There are 8 texts as part of the components required for graduation, reflecting on a diverse range of topics and approaches relevant to the students’ individual practices and the expanded field of design and craft, with links to the making and footwork-handwork-headwork relations.

Belongings

Written by Kati Saarits
This text is exploring local material culture history through the lens of industrial ceramics heritage, touching on questions of how sentimentality settles into material and how surroundings shape our perception of home.

Creature. Maker. Mire. 
Written by Alyona Movko-Mägi
Through the entanglement of organic and digital materiality Creature. Maker. Mire explores the bog as an archive — where bodies, landscapes, and crafts are preserved, transformed, and reinterpreted across time.

Reblow toolset
Written by Rait Lõhmus 
Reblow toolset examines ways to upgrade premade glass objects and explores the causes of devaluation and potential for revaluations.

Through the hammer, through the body

Written by Elias Sormanen
A deep look into the importance of skill in making, as seen through the craft of a metal hammerer.

Hääbuda, et taas tärgata.
Written by Juulia Aleksandra Mikson
A poetical observation of decay as an integral part of the cyclical process of life, while approaching it with acceptance and a sense of hope.

On Extractivism and Care for Landscapes:
From Mines to Mountains in the East of Estonia
Written by Hannah Segerkrantz
This text explores the post-industrial mountains of mining waste in the east of Estonia through questions about how we relate to our surroundings and their materiality.

Movement Matter. Embodied knowledge in material practices
Written by Iohan Figueroa
Series of dialogues between materials and the way we embody our practice, the importance of contact during the making process.

A Book of Mashed Potatoes
Written by Sofiya Babiy
A contemplation on shades of vanishing through photography, trees, cinema, land, time, death and family.

EKA Craft Studies MA programme invites prospective master’s students to join the programme’s online info session on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 17:00 EET (local Estonian time).

This will be a good opportunity to hear more about the curriculum, and to meet and ask questions from the people behind the programme.

The online info session will be hosted online over Zoom and the link will be e-mailed out to all registrants 2 hours before the start of the event.

If you would like to attend, please register online through the form below.

Register HERE

More information about the Craft Studies MA programme: https://www.artun.ee/en/curricula/craft-studies/overview/

Admissions period starts on the 1st of February 2025 and application deadline is 3rd of March 2025.

https://artun.ee/admissions

On Friday, January 3rd 2025 at 17:00 the group exhibition “Abundance” opens on the second floor of T1 shopping center (next to the central atrium).

The exhibition includes works by Emily Greenwood, Ulvi Haagensen, Cecile Hübner, Heleliis Hõim, Erki Kasemets, Sandra Kosorotova, Gary Markle and Sigrid Viir.

“Abundance” delves into the themes of invisible systems in the age of consumerism. By organizing an exhibition in a shopping center, a question of dealing with the existing surrounding arises. How do we work both with and against the overwhelming presence of consumerism and capitalism? The exhibition acts as a space to take time, observe and briefly escape from the sea of information. It aims to slow down visitors and make them reflect on their surroundings.

The exhibition is curated by Piret Arukaevu, Sylvia Burgess, Maia Hellman, Kaur Järve, Marite Kuus and Mariam Mestvirishvili as part of the Curatorial Studies Seminar, led by Brigit Arop, at Estonian Academy of Arts.

Exhibition is open from 03.01–17.01.2025.

Open hours:
Tue–Fri 16:00–20:00,
Sat–Sun 12:00–20:00

Finissage event on Friday, January 17th at 17:00, programming will begin at 17:30.

Information about public programming during the exhibition will be announced on the Facebook event – https://www.facebook.com/events/2404807066531874

Graphic design by Andrew Hill.

The exhibition is supported by the Estonian Academy of Arts, department of Art History and Visual Culture and Craft Studies.

Special thanks to T1 Mall of Tallinn and SUHE bar.

On November 30, the presentation of the visually formatted process model and exhibition of the project “MUUSA: Synthesis and Development of Material Research” supported by the Ministry of Culture will take place.

The exhibition in the format of an open studio includes both completed and unfinished material assemblages and supporting structures. The MUUSA project was carried out by lecturers from the Estonian Academy of Arts and the heads of the Craft Studies Master’s programme, Kärt Ojavee and Juss Heinsalu.

One of the goals of the project was to develop a model of creative research based on materials using the co-creation method. During the work period, different versions were tested and synthesized and, for example, the following were studied: how to approach the study of the composition and properties of materials in creative practice; how to apply material as a method in managing the process; how to involve material as a muse to guide creative goals and interpretive solutions? The study of materials through artistic practice involves both meaning-making, sensory approaches, and the discovery and integration of the applicable properties of materials in possible final results. Eik Hermann helped to conceptualize and formulate the process based on the material and the knowledge generated through collaboration.

* moment of appearance – the moment when one production cycle has been completed and the work has reached the draft or rough draft level, when it can either be tried out in reality or temporarily or permanently shared with a smaller or larger audience; if it is a moment of showing the draft phase, then a new production cycle follows the showing.

During the project, collaboration has also been carried out with Marie Vihmari, Fibenol OÜ, Reval Stone and AAA Patent Office.

The project presentation will take place at Kopli 27.

The project space can be visited until 12.12.2024 by agreement with the authors.

MUUSA project space exhibition design: Annika Kaldoja
Graphic design: Indrek Sirkel

Project manager: Anna Lohmatova

Thanks to: Eik Hermann, Piret Valk, Gert Preegel, Janno Rauk, Soldi Rent OÜ, Eesti Killustik OÜ, Villavennad OÜ, Selgase Dolomitit OÜ, Mattias Veller, Estonian Academy of Arts Research and Development Department, Ceramics, Textiles, Jewelry and Blacksmithing, Sculpture Workshops, Bruce Anderson, Joosep Kivimäe, Gary Markle, Andrus Ojavee, Heron Vrubel.

 The works of EKA students offer a new look at Estonian design classics at the exhibition Selected Interventions

On the 29th of November, the exhibition Selected Interventions will open at the Estonian Museum of Applied Arts and Design. Selected Interventions is a collection of new works and dialogues within the museum’s permanent exhibitions by the MA students of Craft Studies of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

The MA programme brings together people from various backgrounds and with a deep interest in materials and making. The Craft Studies curriculum expands on understanding contemporary crafts and advances professional development, critical expression, and artistic research into materials, processes, concepts and identities. 

Through this unique intervention, the exhibition examines the works of applied art and design classics on display in the permanent exhibitions Collected Works and Introduction to Estonian Design.

Based on their background and interests, each student selected a piece, a series of works, or an artist to have a closer dialogue with. They were encouraged to respond with new pieces based on past techniques, approaches, materials, stories, aesthetics, forms, and more. This project consists of interventions that redirect our attention, study the heritage or add a new layer of meaning. 

“I was intrigued by the opposition of qualities Rait Präät’s work gives; the glass was no longer used as glass but as a layered cake, painting each floor with a different life. Prääts’ work made me question the choices we make about storing memory in our bodies and minds. What do we put in the frame? What do we perceive?” explains Craft Studies student Sofiya Babiy. 

Selected Interventions includes work by Sofiya Babiy, Iohan Figueroa Rojas, Rait Lõhmus, Juulia Aleksandra Mikson, Alyona Movko-Mägi, Katariin Mudist, Maarja Mäemets, Kati Saarits, Hannah Segerkrantz, and Elias Sormanen. 

The project was supervised by Juss Heinsalu and Kärt Ojavee.

Selected Interventions is a satellite exhibition of the 9th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial.

The exhibition tours conducted by students of Craft Studies will take place on 30.11 at 13:00 (in Estonian), 7.12 at 13:00 (in Russian) and 14.12 at 13:00 (in English).

More information: Sandra Nuut, tel: +372 58717871

Follow the announcements at etdm.ee 

The material-led group exhibition “Objects or Things” opens on May 30th at 18:00 in the Krull Quarter.

Objects or Things brings together ten master students from the academy’s new Craft Studies program, presenting works in various materials, including glass, metal, stone, textile and ceramics. The presented works stay on the border between objects and things and question the importance of functionality with their nature, combining different craft disciplines. The group members position themselves in between the worlds of art, design, and craft, brought together by a deep interest in the nature and roles that different materials shaped by humans have and occupy. The crafts represent traditions with long histories that are nevertheless alive and capable of changing with the world.

Participants: Sofiya Babiy, Iohan Figueroa, Rait Lõhmus, Juulia Aleksandra Mikson, Katariin Mudist, Maarja Mäemets, Alyona Movko-Mägi, Kati Saarits, Hannah Segerkrantz, and Elias Sormanen.

Objects or Things is open from 31.05–9.06.2024, Fri-Sat 13:00–19:00, or by appointment. Address: Kopli 70a, Krulli Quarter, 2nd floor.

This exhibition is part of the TASE satellite programming.

For more information and rsvp, please contact Maarja Mäemets maarja.maemets@artun.ee

The exhibition opening is sponsored by Põhjala Brewery.

Dezeen is featuring our international collaborative project Algae for Design-led Transition Towards Blue Bio-economy and the exhibition Seaweed Ceremony.

Algae for Design-led Transition Towards Blue Bio-economy

“Over the years, the design and architecture faculties of the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) have focused on local environments – from post-industrial landscapes to wild forests and the Baltic Sea.

“While focusing on process and experience-led methods in design education, EKA has been involved in the following ongoing project, including summer schools, fieldwork, laboratory experiments, exhibitions and published texts.

“The main objective of the joint projects is to realise the potential of what is emergent – to co-design alternative pathways for bio-economy development in the Nordic-Baltic region – while preserving the health and well-being of ecosystems.

Read more: 
https://www.dezeen.com/2023/02/27/estonian-academy-of-arts-algae-project-schoolshows/

Blue Bio-economy project is funded by Nordplus.

Craft Studies @ Scan Magazine

Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA): Develop your field at Estonia’s world-leading arts academy
By Lena Hunter

Inside the Craft Studies Master’s programme

The Craft Studies course is spearheaded by the interdisciplinary artists Juss Heinsalu and Kärt Ojavee, whose own practices in ceramics, smart textiles and broader material exploration shape the uniquely inquisitive curriculum. Accepting some ten students per year, the course offers a framework for drafting individual material-based practice and advancing critical thinking.

“It’s a heavily studio-based approach, composed of one-on-one mentoring, collaborative and unconventional learning experiences. In the contemporary world, studio practice is not something fixed. Nomadic aspects have to be considered. The crucial footwork – collective field trips – takes us to the local bogs, wild woods and coastal boundaries here by the Baltic Sea, as well as on journeys further afield,” explains Heinsalu.

…

Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA): Develop your field at Estonia’s world-leading arts academy