Open Lecture by EKA Honorary Doctor Antoine Picon

As part of EKA’s 110th birthday week, Honorary Doctor Antoine Picon presents an public lecture “Architecture and Materiality in the Age of the Digital and the Anthropocene”.
The lecture will take place on November 6 at 18:00 in the main hall of the Estonian Academy of Arts and is open to all interested parties.

Antoine Picon is the G. Ware Travelstead Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology at the GSD where he is also Chair of the PhD in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning. He teaches courses in the history and theory of architecture and technology. Trained as an engineer, architect, and historian, Picon works on the relationships between architectural and urban space, technology, and society, from the eighteenth century to the present.
A series of Picon’s books offer a comprehensive overview of the changes brought by the computer and digital culture to the theory and practice of architecture as well as to the planning and experience of the city.

It is almost impossible to work on the history of technology without encountering the question of nature or rather of the relationship between the natural and the artificial. This question is at the core of Picon’s latest book, Natures Urbaines: Une Histoire Technique et Sociale (2024) follows two main threads: the technological component of the presence of nature in cities as well as its social and political dimension.

Picon has received a number of awards for his writings, including the Médaille de la Ville de Paris, and twice the Prix du Livre d’Architecture de la Ville de Briey, as well as the Georges Sarton Medal of the University of Gand. In 2010, he was elected a member of the French Académie des Technologies. In 2015, he became a member of the French Académie d’Architecture. He is Chevalier des Arts et Lettres since 2014. He was Chairman of the Fondation Le Corbusier from 2013 to 2024.

Since Picons first lecture in Estonian Academy of Arts 2017, 4th of May a deep bond has developed. This was also the year when PhD supervision began for our academy’s researcher and architect, Siim Tuksam, culminating in a very successful defense and dissertation on Modulated Modularity.

Since last year, Professor Picon has been appointed to the EKA Arh International Board of Advisors. He has initiated discussions regarding the global objectives of our architecture faculty, particularly the relative significance of the technological component compared to the artistic aspect. Additionally, he has raised questions about the positioning of our research and doctoral programs, and whether these could serve as a guiding framework for our faculty’s activities, both locally and internationally.

You can find the events of the whole EKA110 Birthday Week here:
https://www.artun.ee/en/calendar/eka-110th-birthday-week/

On Wednesday, November 6 at 4:00 p.m., the newly elected EKA honorary doctor prof. will hold an open lecture in hall A101. Linda van Deursen. 

Linda van Deursen is a graphic designer based in the Netherlands. Together with Armand Mevis, she founded the studio Mevis & van Deursen in 1987, which has collaborated with various cultural institutions: their partners have included the Stedelijk Museum, documenta 14, Haus der Kulturen der Welt and the artists Armin Linke, Yael Davids and Aglaia Konrad, with whom they worked on publications and exhibitions.

Since 1990, Linda van Deursen has taught at various schools, for example at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (where she was head of the graphic design department), the Yale School of Art and currently at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague.

Van Deursen is a designer whose approach and design ideas have been among the most influential in the last twenty years. She has also had a great influence on the local design scene, because many Estonian designers have studied under her at various art universities in Europe and North America.

The lecture is held in English

We are pleased to invite you to the opening of Kirke Kits‘s exhibition “Late in October” on Tuesday 29.10 at 18:00 at Täisnurga Gallery.

The exhibition “Late October” plays with the liberation of poetry from the regular print format. As a photograph, diary or painting, poems escape the anonymity of a book page for a while. The possibility of experiencing them is hidden in a specific time and space, and above all related to the present moment before the snow and the final devastation, the place of enlightenment of the senses and sensations before the soporific arrival of winter.

You can find Täisnurga Gallery by entering the back door of the Painting Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts (C201).

The exhibition is supported by the painting department of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

You can find the Täisnurga Gallery through the back door of the painting department (C201) of the Estonian Academy of Arts. The exhibition is supported by the Painting Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

The exhibition will remain open until November 8th.

In the frame of the EAA 110th anniversary celebrations, the Institute of Art History  and Visual culture is organising a festive research seminar with alumni Kai Lobjakas.

Kai Lobjakas. Inventing and institutionalising design. Bruno Tomberg and the museum’s collections

A one-man view of the development of the field of design in Estonia and the links with museum collections.

Traditional Christmas Fair of Estonian Academy of Arts takes place 08.12.2024 11:00–17:00 at EKA building Kotzebue 1.

All of the EKA students, workers and alumni are very welcome to sell their products.

PRICE LIST FOR THE SELLER:

EKA students/workers 20€
EKA alumni 50€
Table rent 10€

Last day for registration is 05.11.2024

Information about the participation fee will be sent to those who got to the fair no later than 11.11.2024. On the same day, the EKA Student Council will also announce the designers and artists who will be attending the fair in the description of the Facebook event and consistently on our social media platforms.

REGISTER HERE

“An Artistic Journey from Sculpture to Animated Film”
Martina Mestrovic Masterclass

November 14th, 5 p.m. in room A-101

In this masterclass, Croatian filmmaker and artist Martina Meštrović will examine her extended work in sculpture and animation.

She will discuss the creative inspirations behind her films, including the animation documentary “A Cat is Always Female” (2019, co-directed with  Tanja Vujasinović) and her recent, mixed techniques film “Her Dress for the Final” (2023) – both of which have traveled extensively within the international film and animation festival circuit. 

A screening of two of her films will be included, and Martina will share a sneak peek of her new animated documentary film in development.

Erik Sigge will give an open lecture “The Worth of Welfare: A Historical Perspective on the Costing and Financing of Public Buildings”

on October 28 at 5 pm at EKA classroom A-501

Since 1993, Sweden has deregulated many of its welfare services, with a majority of the privatization taking place after 2007. In a historical perspective, the longstanding problem of being able to make decisions regarding policies and programs on the basis of social needs – the classic problem of a welfare economy – has gradually been formalized into questions of efficiency and competitiveness.

The talk will address some of the historical changes of welfare policies in relation to building construction and focus on understanding the hidden logics of welfare economics in order to elucidate how architecture and real estate are contingent on the economic policies of its time. Central to “the cost of architecture” is how costing and budgeting are activities that have changed from primarily being conducted in direct relationship to production expenses, to being done in relation to financial opportunities.

Erik Sigge is an architectural historian and preservationist, and Lecturer in theory and history of architecture at the Department of Architecture and the Built Environment, Lund University in Lund, Sweden. He is Head of Unit of Form, Design, Culture and primarily teaches courses in the bachelor program. Erik gained his PhD in architectural history from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and holds a master degree in Historic Preservation from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, New York (M.Sc. 2003).

The lecture is organised by Urban Studies Curriculum.

On November 25 at 4:30 p.m., Hanna Norrna’s lecture “Metamorphosis in Weaving” will take place in room A501. 

The lecture focuses on creative practice centered around silk.

Norrna grows her own silkworms, watches the transformation of caterpillars into butterflies and processes their cocoons into silk, which in turn is woven into fabrics. Mythologies, spirituality and materiality intertwine in his practice.

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Hanna Norrna works with weaving as an alchemical formula and ritual gesture – an intertwining of silent knowledge and spirituality, mythology and materiality. Her practice touches how craft, passion, vulnerability, body and sanctity are connected and claims its space.

At the core of Norrna’s weaving process is the silkworm. An originally wild species, domesticated for thousands of years for human needs and productions. In the summers, she breeds silkworms in her home and follow the caterpillars’ growing transformation into butterflies. She processes their cocoons into thread and dye them with symbolic plants.

In her loom, the home-grown silk is placed into systems of bindings and meetings between metallic and animal materials. Layers and fields with various centers of gravity and density grow. In exhibitions, the woven material extends into spatial and site-specific installations.

Textile 110 is a series of events celebrating the 110th anniversary of EKA’s textile design education, as part of which a series of open lectures focusing on textiles will be held, a series of publications will be published, and a selection of works from the EKA Museum’s textile collection can be seen throughout the year.

The lecture series opens up the spectrum of diverse opportunities in the field of textiles, both in design, industry, and creative practices, bringing out different roles and methods of creation in the field through various invited guests.

Supported by the Research Fund of EKA and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia

On October 30 at 4:30 p.m., the lecture “The making of Inspiration” by Hanna Kaisa Korolainen will be held in room A501

The lecture focuses on the artist’s research and opens up his work, which extends from textiles to other media as well.

Hanna Kaisa Korolainen is a designer, artist and lecturer at Aalto University. He defended his doctoral thesis The making of Inspiration at Aalto University in 2022.

Korolainen is a visual artist whose diverse production includes textiles, glass and ceramics. She has been living and working in Paris, Beijing, Brussels and Helsinki. In addition to her artistic career, she teaches in Aalto University of Arts, Design and Architecture, and writes about art and design.
Korolainen’s artworks have been presented both in her natal Finland and abroad, consequently her works belong to several public and private collections. Her recent exhibitions include Emma Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Design Museum of Helsinki and Hvitträsk, a historical Art Nouveau site near Helsinki.
Korolainen is fascinated by the idea of time travelling to a fictional past. For her this dialogue between the past and the present represents an inexhaustible source of inspiration. In her creative practice, Korolainen is constantly influenced by old craft techniques; she is interested in updating them for the world of today.

“Sketching is the heart of everything; it is the decisive moment of the process. I try to work as much as possible with my hands and as little as possible with the computer.”

Supported by the Research Fund of EKA and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia

On Friday, November 8, starting at 8:30 PM, a public auction will be held as part of EKA 110th Birthday Week, featuring works by EKA faculty and alumni.

The auction will include works from the following artists: Anne Pikkov, Anna Škodenko, Britta Benno, Eero Alev, Holger Loodus, Jaan Toomik, Lilli-Krõõt Repnau, Mihkel Ilus, Sille Pihlak, and Urmas Lüüs.

The auction will be conducted by Siim Raie, an EKA alumnus and owner of Artrovert Gallery.

Participation is free for everyone, and no prior registration is required.

The auction pieces will be on display in the open area on the second floor of EKA from November 4 to 7. Photos and information about the works will also be gradually added to the EKA 110 auction’s Facebook event feed.

Written bids can be submitted via email to siim.raie@artun.ee from the time the pieces are published online until 12:00 PM on the day of the auction.

Half of the proceeds from each sale will be donated to the EKA Young Artist, Young Designer, and Young Applied Artist Award funds, managed by the Estonian Academy of Arts Foundation. The other half will go to the artist. The starting price for each piece is €110.

Payments for works purchased at the auction can be made in cash, by bank transfer, or by card. Settlement will take place immediately after the auction ends.

EKA 110th anniversary week program: https://www.artun.ee/eka110

See you there!