SISU 2026 TALGU TALK
The Department of Interior Architecture and spatial practice tektuur are delighted to invite you to the Interior Architecture and Spatial Design symposium SISU to take place in the last week of August on Muhu island. The flagship event in Estonian interior architecture and spatial design, SISU, will take place on August 28–30 on the island of Muhu at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) Tamse study base. Held under the title TALGU TALK, this year’s symposium focuses on forms of collaboration, exploring the boundaries between architecture, interior architecture, design, and construction through hands-on joint action. Over three days, thirty interior architects, architects, designers, artists, filmmakers, and thereoticians will take the stage through presentations, lectures, and panel discussions. The symposium is preceded by a week-long international summer school, where students from across Europe will experience and conceptualize contemporary talgud culture. In recent decades, we have witnessed a shift in which architecture, interior architecture, and design have drifted away from traditionally dominant individual authorship toward fields that increasingly value collective creation. Various forms of collaboration and shared work practices have also expanded into other spheres of society. Talgud can be considered the most authentic form of togetherness from the pre-screen era, offering much for our present day to learn from. It is about presence – here and now. Schedule Friday, August 28 18:00 tektuur’s opening words 18:30 Tinatin Gurgenidze on Tbilisi’s spontaneous balconies 19:00 Triin Mänd on Terra low-tech park 19:30–20:30 Dinner 20:30 Alex Römer on Constructlab’s building workshops 21:00 Lauri Eltermaa on reasonable working 21:30 Joonas Hellerma on labor and workers 22:00 Film and Q&A with the director: Kullar Viimne “Tower” Saturday, August 29 08:00–10:00 Breakfast 10:00 Elise Rohtmets on care work 10:30 Vokal (Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä) on inclusion in spatial design 11:00 Lee Ell Space (Helmi Marie Langsepp) on site-specific building 11:30–12:00 Coffee break 12:00 Philipp Heidkamp on eco-critical curricula 12:30 Yvette Bathgate and Jake Shepherd on community gardens 13:00 Laura Garbštienė on institutional critique and wool spinners 13:30–15:30 Lunch break 15:30 Gregor Taul on work, too 16:00 Francisco Martinez on labor in post-socialism 16:30 Aurelia Minev on accessibility to work 17:00–17:30 Coffee break 17:30 kuidas.works on work in progress 18:00 Sandra Mirka on “he who does not work, shall not eat” 18:30 Aet Ader on labor in the bigger picture 19:00 Sille Pihlak and Johan Kirsimäe on the work of PAKK The evening will conclude with a sauna, a concert by Meisterjaan, and a dance party with DJs. The organizers reserve the right to make changes to the schedule. The curatorial team for this year’s SISU are tekstuur, a young collective operating at the intersection of architecture and interior architecture, comprising Ardo Hiiuväin, Diana Drobot, Eeros Lees, Johann Ortin Õun, Päär-Joonap Keedus, and Rebecca Peets. SISU is coordinated by the Department of Interior Architecture at EKA. The symposium kicks off with presentations on Friday evening from 18:00 to 21:00. On Saturday, presentations continue throughout the day from 09:00 to 19:00. Both days conclude with a joint dinner and a sauna session. Saturday’s schedule wraps up with a party and a talgud concert. SISU can be reached via the “talgu bus,” which departs from outside EKA on Friday, August 28 at 14:00 and returns guests to Tallinn by Sunday afternoon. Some places still left https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSffk6tcj6ey4G…/viewform Participants will be provided with communal soup (talgusupp), and local food trucks will also be on-site to offer food and drinks. At Tamse, overnight accommodation with your own mattress and sleeping bag is available in the main hall (sleeping quarters separated by screens). Camping outside in your own tent or camper van is also permitted. SISU is supported by the Estonian Association of Interior Architects, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Erasmus+, Essve, Muhu Pagarid, Muhu Rural Municipality Government and Thermory. Further information: Gregor Taul gregor.taul@artun.ee +372 55690456