Institute of Art History and Visual Culture

The Institute of Art History and Visual Culture (in Estonian KVI) is the only research institute in art history (Kunstwissenschaft) in Estonia, and a leading one in the Baltic States, covering a wide range of fields of study, from the medieval period to contemporary art.  KVI is a member of the International Association of Research Institutes in the History of Art, RIHA. The Institute was founded in 1992 as the Institute of Art History of the Tallinn Art University.

The Institute of Art History and Visual Culture serves both as a research and teaching institution, conducting major research projects in art history and providing education in all three academic levels.

The professors and faculty members in our Institute are top specialists in their fields and recognized experts; our graduates include Estonia’s leading younger generation curators, critics and art theoreticians. The Institute’s curriculum combines historical and object-centred approaches to art with excellent knowledge of theoretical viewpoints. Visual culture studies explore the pictorial and spatial environment, the connections between them, and their functioning society. The curriculum is supplemented by study trips and practical training.

The Institute’s MA programme offers three areas of specialization: Art History and Visual Culture Studies, Museology or Curatorial Studies. The goal of the doctoral programme is to prepare high-level professionals who are able to work both as teaching or research staff members in the academic sphere and as top-level specialists outside it.

The aim of the Institute of Art History and Visual Culture is to offer a diverse, innovative and inspirational environment for study and research. Training in the speciality is supported by research conducted in the Institute, our research projects, conferences and publications.

History of the KVI

1992 – an art history programme was opened at the Tallinn Art University (established in 1914 as the Estonian Art Society’s Tallinn School of Arts and Crafts). The first entrance examinations were held that summer. The art history department was renamed the Institute of Art History.

1995 – the first doctoral dissertations were defended (Juhan Maiste and Rein Zobel).

1996 – the first graduates in the BA programme.

1998 – the first state-funded research grant was received for beginning the compilation of the series of volumes “Eesti kunsti ajalugu” (The History of Estonian Art).

29 March 2016 – the Institute of Art History was renamed the Institute of Art History and Visual Culture.

In 2019, KVI became a member of the International Association of Research Institutes in the History of Art (RIHA).

See also about the prehistory and formation:

Jaak Kangilaski, The Teaching of Social Sciences and Art History at the State Art Institute of the Estonian SSR 1944–1989. –  Kunsttööstuskoolist Kunstiakadeemiaks. 100 aastat kunstiharidust Tallinnas / From the School of Arts and Crafts to the Academy of Arts. 100 Years of Art Education in Tallinn. Toim Mart Kalm. Tallinn: Eesti Kunstiakadeemia Kirjastus, 2014, lk 396–411 [pdf]

 

Heads of KVI:

1992-1994 associate prof. Helli Sisask

1994-2007 prof. Mart Kalm

2007-2012 prof. Katrin Kivimaa

2012-2017 prof. Andres Kurg

2017-2023 prof. Virve Sarapik

since 2023. senior researcher dr. Epp Lankots.

 

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News and events

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Foreign Art Study trip to Lithuania

The annual spring study trip in the history of foreign art for students of Art History and Visual Culture and Heritage and Conservation in late April and early May of 2025 took us to Lithuania. The overall aim of the trip was to explore the architectural, artistic and cultural heritage of a region which, geographically and in terms of historical experience, might seem relatively close to ...
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Meeting of Estonian UNESCO chairs

On 13th May 2025, two UNESCO chairs – the University of Tartu chair on Applied Studies of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the Estonian Academy of Arts’ chair on Cultural Heritage and Conservation – will organise a joint seminar. The roundtable features prof. Kristin Kuutma, dr. Elo-Hanna Seljamaa, dr. Riin Alatalu and dr. Anneli Randla, moderated by dr. Kristina Jõekalda. The meeting is ...
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Book launch of the edited volume “The Manor as a Phenomenon of Baltic Cultural History: Crossdisciplinary Perspectives”

Roundtable with Karsten Brüggemann (Tallinn University), Tiina-Mall Kreem (Gesellschaft für deutschbaltische Kultur in Estland) and Anneli Randla (Estonian Academy of Arts), moderated by Ulrike Plath (Tallinn University). The edited volume: Manors are one of the most well-known and beloved phenomena in Estonian cultural history – they are widely studied and visited, written and spoken about, ...
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Seminar „Friedrich Ludwig von Maydell’s Letters: Archival Discovery“

The seminar takes a close look at one of the most diverse artists in the Baltic art scene, Friedrich Ludwig von Maydell (1795–1846), and asks which kind of new knowledge do his letters to architect Wilhelm Stier (1799–1856) reveal about Baltic art and cultural life in the first half of the nineteenth century, incl. about the contacts with German artists both in Germany and in Italy. Their ...
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Galerists study trip to Dakar, Senegal

In the last week of March, a study trip to Senegal took place for the curatorial students of the Institute of Art and Visual Culture. The study trip was part of the gallery studies course led by Triin Metsla and aimed to introduce students to global art history and contemporary art outside Europe and the Anglo-American cultural space. Dakar, the capital of Senegal, was chosen as the ...
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KVI Research Seminar: Art Historical Contact Zones: Popular and Fictional Mediations of Art History in Estonia

In this seminar, we will discuss the results of the EKA research project ‘Art Historical Contact Zones: Popular and Fictional Mediations of Art History in Estonia’ (2023–2024). Our aim was to explore different ways of representing art (and its history), i.e. to investigate how art has been presented by media external to the art world, and whether and how this has changed the meanings of art, ...
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KVI Open Lecture: “Life in Spite of Everything: Decolonial Approaches to Writing and Research”

In this public talk, Victoria Donovan will introduce how decolonial thinking has informed her research and projects, as well as her new book Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (2025). Life in Spite of Everything is a cultural portrait of Ukraine’s east before it was devastated by Russia’s full-scale invasion. It is a history on foot through the beautiful Donbas region, ...
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A Study by Estonian Cultural Historians on the Manor Phenomenon Has Been Published

Kristina Jõekalda, Linda Kaljundi and Ulrike Plath compiled the edited volume The Manor as a Phenomenon of Baltic Cultural History: Crossdisciplinary Perspectives. Manors are one of the most well-known and beloved phenomena in Estonian cultural history – they are widely studied and visited, written and spoken about, photographed and filmed, restored, bought and sold. In fact, the manor is one ...

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