“Possible Worlds” at EKA Billboard Gallery 3.03.–2.04.2025

POSSIBLE WORLDS
EKA Billboard Gallery 3.03.–2.04.2025
Open 24/7, free

An exhibition by III year graphic design students displaing fragments of their graduation thesis projects.

Participants: Andres Alliksaar, Rasmus Einman, Anete Ots, Mette Mari Kaljas, Kätriin Reinart, Nelli Viisimaa, Filipp Rodtšenkov, Diana Tammets, Kasper Korsen, Hanna Marnat, Markus Laanisto, Lola Pärna, Ines Uudam, Martin Merirand, Rasmus Lukas, Marlene Schwindt

Supervisors: Ott Kagovere, Kert Viiart

Japanese Happiness. In search of the happiness of inner peace through aesthetic experiences

ARS Project Space
7-23 March 2025

Opening ceremony (by invitations only): 6 March 18:00 at Studio 98

Guided tours and workshops by appointment: Mon–Fri

Exhibition opening hours: Sat–Sun 12:00–18:00

 If there is one universal desire that connects humanity, it is the pursuit of happiness. Despite the challenges we face, our determination to seek joy never wanes. Around the globe, individuals explore various avenues in their quests for greater happiness, and there is much we can learn from one another. The exhibition Japanese Happiness – In search of the happiness of inner peace through aesthetic experiences invites visitors to discover new and often overlooked inspirations that enrich our lives. It highlights the profound relationship between aesthetics and happiness, a bond deeply embedded in Japanese culture. This immersive and sensory exhibition illuminates the connections between happiness and Japanese aesthetics through a curated selection of everyday items, design pieces, and works of art – raging from metal tools created with extreme attention to detail, as well as the uniform of the Tokyo public toilet cleaners made famous in Wim Wenders’ film Perfect Days.

The objects on display at the exhibition were selected 20 representatives of the fields of art, design, philosophy, cooking, Japanese studies, music, fiction, fashion, photography and typography from both Europe and Japan who are inspired by Japanese culture. The initiators of the exhibition are the Identity Foundation, which develops philosophical culture in Düsseldorf, and Philipp Teufel, professor emeritus of exhibition design at the Peter Behrens School of Art (PBSA). It is a traveling exhibition that first opened in the spring of 2024 at the Japanese Cultural Institute in Cologne. The design of the exhibition was completed in collaboration with the PBSA exhibition design and the interior architecture master’s students of the Estonian Academy of Arts. The exhibition design is both experimental and playful, radiates calmness and simplicity and evokes a wide variety of sensory impressions.

The exhibition in the ARS Project Space (Pärnu mnt 154) is open to the public on weekends: 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23 March from 12:00 to 18:00. On all other days, visits to the exhibition take place with pre-registered guided tours. The exhibition is accompanied by a daily programme of workshops, film evenings, lectures and discussion groups at ARS Project Space and EKA in cooperation with TTK University of Applied Sciences, the Japanese Cultural Society in Estonia and the Japanese Embassy in Estonia.

Information and registration: https://www.artun.ee/en/curricula/interior-architecture/japanese-happiness/side-programme/

Curator: Philipp Teufel

Exhibition team: Masayo Ave, Annika Kaldoja, Jüri Kermik, Veiko Liis, Ranvir Singh Sandhu, Rainer Zimmermann, Gregor Taul

Organisation: Department of Interior Architecture of the Estonian Academy of Arts in cooperation with TTK University of Applied Sciences, the Japanese Cultural Society in Estonia and the Japanese Embassy in Estonia

Supporters:

Identity Foundation, Estonian Artists’ Association, ARS Art Factory, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Arts, Erasmus+ Program

Text by Gregor Taul

Additional information:

Gregor Taul
Guest lecturer, EKA Interior Architecture Department
gregor.taul@artun.ee
+37255690456

EKA Department of Photography invites everybody to the screening of the film “Failed Emptiness” on March 5th at 18.00.
Duration: 66”
Location: A-101
A discussion with the film’s director Mika Taanila will follow after the screening.
______

“Failed emptiness” (2024) describes a three-week vacation in the middle of a heatwave. The protagonist prepares reports that begin to bother her more. The deeper she sinks into the report, the deeper she gets into herself.
______

Mika Taanila (1965) is a filmmaker and visual artist based in Helsinki. Taanila’s works have been shown at major international group shows, such as La Biennale di Venezia (2017), Aichi Triennale (2013), Documenta (2012), Shanghai Biennale (2006), Berlin Biennale (2004), Manifesta (2002) and Istanbul Biennial (2001). Solo shows include Padiglione de l’Esprit Nouveau in Bologna (2020), EMMA Espoo (2018), Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki (2013–14), Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2013), TENT, Rotterdam (2013), Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe (2008), Dazibao, Montréal (2007) and Migrosmuseum, Zurich (2005).

Taanila’s films have been screened at several international film festivals and special events including TIFF Toronto International Film Festival, IFFR Rotterdam, International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand, Karlovy-Vary Film Festival, Midnight Sun Film Festival, CPH:DOX, IDFA Amsterdam, Oberhausen Kurzfilmtage, Austrian Filmmuseum, Cork Film Festival, ICA and Whitechapel Gallery in London. Ars Fennica Award 2015 was presented to Mika Taanila.

Facebook event

The annual Young Sculptor Award Exhibition 2025 of the EKA Sculpture and Installation Department, at the Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art (EKKM).

Participating artists: Yvette Bathgate, Bob Bicknell-Knight, Aurelia Grace Talmon, Liisa-Lota Jõeleht, Uku Jürgenson, Denis Kudrjašov, Nele Kurvits, Katariin Mudist, Daniil Musesovs, Rosa-Maria Nuutinen, Kati Saarits, Jake Shepherd, Sonja Sutt, Lea Joakim Svendby, Lume Tuum and Elo Vahtrik.

The aim of the Young Sculptor Award and the accompanying exhibition, which has been awarded since 2012, is to highlight and recognize the professional work of young artists working in sculpture and installation.

The laureates of the Young Sculptor Award 2025 are Kati Saarits, a master’s student of the EKA Craft Studies, and Katariin Mudist, a master’s student of EKA Contemporary Art, as well as Jake Shepherd and Yvette Bathgate, master’s students of EKa Contemporary Art.

Previous recipients of the Young Sculptor Award include Hanna Piksarv, Sten Saarits, Anna Mari Liivrand, Johannes Valdma, Rosa Violetta Grötsch, Johannes Luik, Siim Elmers, Sarah Nõmm, Junny Yeung and Mara Kirchberg and Sandra Ernits.

The exhibition is open until March 9.

Supported by the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

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!

Conversation evening on Japanese architecture with Yuma Shinohara

 on Monday, March 10 at 5:00 PM in room A-501

The Estonian Association of Architects and the Estonian Academy of Arts invite you to participate in a conversation evening, where Yuma Shinohara, curator of the Swiss Museum of Architecture, will introduce the work of the younger generation of Japanese architects, whose focus is on society and environmental issues. Moving away from the usual image of the architect-author, they have discovered for themselves the charm of working together. The conversation evening will be hosted by Siim Tanel Tõnisson and Saskia Krautman.

Exhibitions curated by Yuma Shinohara: “Make Do With What Is: New Directions in Japanese Architecture” (2024), “Make Do With Now” (2022), “SAY Swiss Architecture Yearbook” (2023), “Beton” (2021) and “Swim City” (2019). Before joining S AM Swiss Architecture Museum, he worked as an editor and curator at the Storefront for Art and Architecture gallery in New York, Ruby Press, the Academy of Arts in Berlin and the Canadian Centre for Architecture.

Yuma Shinohara was invited by the Estonian Association of Estonian Architects – he is a member of the jury for this year’s Young Architect Award.

Supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Opening 3rd March 2025, 6-9pm
Open from 4th – 6th March 2025, 3-9pm
The Monk’s Bunk Hostel, Lai 22, Tallinn

Artists: Bob Bicknell-Knight, Giulio Cusinato, Anastasiia Krapivina, Tonya Kroplya, Denis Kudrjasov, Olev Kuma, Fausta Norekaitė, Rosa-Maria Nuutinen, Anumai Raska, Nora Schmelter and Aidan Timmer

Organised by: Bob Bicknell-Knight and Fausta Norekaitė

Responding to its unusual location, Mapping Time is a group exhibition featuring new and previous works by local and international artists, all of which are currently studying on the Master of Contemporary Art program at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn. Hosted in the distinctive setting of The Monk’s Bunk Hostel, located in Tallinn’s Old Town, the exhibition explores themes related to ideas of the home, time, travelling and identity.

Aside from being a place that offers affordable accommodation, hostels are social spaces. The essence of a hostel lies in its ability to unite diverse individuals in one space, making it a perfect base for travellers seeking comfort and connection. The Monk’s Bunk Hostel is a unique place, not only because of its function today, but also because of the distinctive history of the building itself. Tracing its origin back to the Middle Ages, the building has undergone numerous transformations over time. Before becoming the home of the National Scientific Medical Library, in the mid-20th century, it housed the “Pluto” lacquer factory, and later, repurposed itself into a Republican Dispensary for dermatological and venereal diseases. The remaining structures of the building stand as a testament to the many roles it played over time and engages those that visit the hostel with its historic past.

Mapping Time draws inspiration from the transient nature of hostels themselves, but also the history of the building that it resides within. It seeks to explore how these spaces – often temporary, but profoundly impactful – mirror our experiences of change, transition, and an ever changing sense of belonging. The works included in Mapping Time engage with the past, whilst simultaneously contending with the business that currently resides within it, inviting viewers to question what it means to “belong” in a world that is constantly shifting, both physically and emotionally. As visitors, you are invited to explore the space and discover artworks in various locations around the building, both with the help of the map and guidelines on the floors and doors of participating rooms.

How to Investigate a Propaganda Exhibition? Medieval and Contemporary Art at the Service of Politics 

The seminar will focus on a hitherto almost unknown exhibition: the Livland-Estland-Ausstellung, which travelled through Germany in the summer and autumn of 1918, with evident colonial ambitions. To the surprise of many scholars today, the exhibition included, among a wealth of other material, some of the best-known artworks from the medieval, Enlightenment as well as contemporary era. Moreover, the organising team of the exhibition that was supported by German royal families, included Heinz Pirang and Wilhelm Neumann, the best-known Baltic art historians at the time. Jõekalda will present new aspects of the subject, which several years of archival work in Estonian, Latvian and German collections have brought to light, asking: How to interpret projects with such high stakes today? As an embodiment of German imperialism? As the last straw for the preservation of Baltic German superiority in the region? As a desperate outcome of the turbulent war years?

The seminar presentation will look at how Baltic German art is approached in the Kumu Art Museum’s permanent exhibition Identity Landscapes and what opportunities the international exhibition programme offers for this.

The annual PhD Vitamin conference returns to the Estonian Academy of Arts on March 14, offering a day of inspiration, guidance and discussion for artists and designers considering doctoral studies.

PhD Vitamin is designed to support artists and creative practitioners with a research-driven approach, providing insight into artistic research as a methodology and helping potential candidates in planning on their doctoral thesis proposals. Through a series of public lectures, discussions and one-on-one consultations, experts in the field will share their work and experiences.

This year, the conference will focus on one of the key topics of the art doctoral program – Ecological Critique in Contemporary Art, exploring environmental and ecological perspectives within creative research. Speakers will reflect on how contemporary artistic practices engage with pressing ecological questions, fostering dialogue between artistic inquiry, sustainability, and environmental awareness.

For those considering doctoral studies, PhD Vitamin offers individual consultation sessions with invited experts and researchers. These 30-minute consultations provide feedback and guidance for finishing up a doctoral research proposal. Consultations will be scheduled in time slots following the conference. 

The event is open to artists, designers, EKA alumni, graduate students and creative practitioners interested in artistic research methods and postgraduate studies.

Please register through the following LINK.

To participate in individual consultation to discuss your PhD proposal, please fill out the FORM. A detailed consultation schedule will be sent to your email after registration. 

PROGRAMME

10:00 -10:30  Gathering, coffee and welcome words

10:30 -11:15   Keynote by Taru Elfving “Site-sensitive research on the shifting shorelines”

11:20 – 11:40  Presentation by John Grzinich “Serious play, experimentation or research? Stories from the field”

Lunch break

12:30 -12:50 Presentation by Britta Benno  “Of Becoming a Land(scape). Abstract Geology as a Way of Thinking”

12:55 -13:40 Keynote by Pascal Marcel Dreier “Activist Aesthetic Research”

Coffee break

13:50 -14:15 Discussion and Q&A, moderator Kirke Kangro.

SPEAKERS:

Taru Elfving, PhD, is a curator and writer focused on nurturing undisciplinary and site-sensitive enquiries at the intersections of ecological, feminist and decolonial practices. As artistic director of CAA Contemporary Art Archipelago she currently leads a research residency programme on the island of Seili in the Baltic Sea. Her curatorial projects include Research Pavilion (Uniarts, Helsinki, 2023); Hours, Years, Aeons (Finnish Pavilion, Venice, 2015); Frontiers in Retreat (HIAP, Helsinki, 2013-18); Towards a Future Present (LIAF, Lofoten, 2008). She has co-edited publications such as Contemporary Artist Residencies (Valiz 2019) and Altern Ecologies (Frame 2016). Elfving lives and works in Helsinki.

https://contemporaryartarchipelago.org/about/

Britta Benno is a drawing and printmaking artist living in Tallinn. Benno is constantly extending the fields and combining conventional media with unexpected layers. Benno defended her doctoral thesis Thinking in Layers, Worlding in Layers: Posthuman Landscapes in the Expanded Field of Printmaking and Drawing in 2023.  Benno is working as a lecturer in the Estonian Academy of Arts. Her artworks have been exhibited throughout Europe, also in Australia and Canada.

www.brittabenno.com

Pascal Marcel Dreier listens to and narrates more-than-human stories. They combine aspects of aesthetic research with activist, forensic, and ethnographic methods, employing a multitude of media such as 3D laser measurement data, bones, game engines, video, sound, and music. Pascal co-founded the non profit research group TRACES Studio for Creative Investigation (Berlin) and is a member of Minding Animals Germany. They studied Media and Fine Arts with a focus on Artistic Research at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and hold an MA in Art & Ecology from Goldsmiths, University of London. Currently, Pascal is assistant professor of Multispecies Storytelling at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne and teaches, talks, and holds workshops at universities and art institutions internationally, among them the University of Cambridge, University of Western Australia, University of Siegen, Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, Karlstad University, and Köln International School of Design (KISD).

www.pascaldreier.com
multispecies.studio
traces.studio

John Grzinich (b. 1970 in United States) is an audio-visual artist based in Estonia. His work integrates sound, moving images and site-specific installations to explore perceptions of sound and space, seeking resonances between people and places. Grzinich’s recent focus questions our anthropocentric views through performative and fixed media works by combining earthly agencies, expanded listening practices and participatory engagement.

www.maaheli.ee/main/

For more information contact kati.saarits@artun.ee