Mart Talvar “Out of center” at HOP Gallery

“When flying off-center, a new centerpoint shall be found to regain the balance” 

The opening of Mart Talvar’s first solo exhibition Out of Center is taking place at 22 nd of March at HOP gallery from 6 PM and is talking about finding balance within the process of transformation.

The theme of the exhibition began to unfold during his studies in the jewellery and blacksmithing department at the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2022 and is still an ongoing process. During the metal spinning process, a copper object unexpectedly
jumped off-center, resulting in a unique object. The artist became interested in what lies behind an experience that we could perceive as failure. From that moment, a thorough practice of metal spinning began with the outcome to be shared with a wider audience.

At the gallery, the techniques of metal spinning and porcelain slip casting meet each othernas opposites in nature. The copper work refers to the occurrence of flying off-center as a possibility to redefine the concepts of being centered and off-center, failure, and balance. The porcelain objects demonstrate the transformation of traces, that have transferred on
from the copper material and have significantly reduced in size after the firing process.

The design method of material empathy offers symbolic meaning to the “dialogue” between the materials. This blurs boundaries between the public space and social context, and leaves the viewer plenty of room for personal interpretations.

Location HOP gallery

The opening 22.03.2024 kell 18:00
Opening times N-T 22.03-16.04 11:00-18:00

Curator Liisi Kõuhkna

Graphic design Cristopher Siniväli

Technical aid HOP gallery; Valge Kuup Studio

Support Estonian Academy of Arts, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Shroomwell OÜ,
Põhjala Brewing AS, Tuulmet Holding OÜ

Cloe Jancis & Ann Pajuväli
“beginners”
EKA Billboard Gallery 22.03.–02.06.2024
Open 24/7, free
Opening: 22.03.2024 at 6 pm

A beginner’s mindset means letting go of assumptions, expertise, or preconceived notions that might cloud our perception or limit our understanding. In this state, we cultivate curiosity, humility and willingness to learn, even with prior knowledge and experience on the subject. It means embracing a sense of astonishment and discovery by trying things for the first time, which can lead to new perspectives and foster creativity and personal growth.

The artists emphasise that the exhibition is about growing out of the ways of representation they have become accustomed to: “We are in a phase of transition – it is not clear-cut, but it is lively and honest. Going through it means letting go (of former habits) and trusting that work teaches the doer. At the exhibition, we share parallel quests that may have a result, but not necessarily. This is a stopover, one possible version; unfinished thoughts, half-baked ideas, new beginnings and loose ends. The most honest expression of the current situation.

Opening drinks from Punch Drinks.

The annual Conference of EKA Doctoral School will take place on April 5th, 2024.

Please register by 01.04.

TIMETABLE

09:50 Registration

10:00 Introduction: Dr. Kristina Jõekalda
Guest Speaker
Moderator: Dr. Kristina Jõekalda
10:10 Prof. Danielle Wilde (Umeå Institute of Design, Umeå University)
„Food(Design) as a Force for Change“

Art & Design
Moderator: Dr. Jaana Päeva
11:00 Marta Põldma (Konovalov), „Designer, the Resilient Gardener“ (supervised by Dr. Kristi Kuusk, Dr. Julia Valle Noronha). Discussant Paco-Ernest Ulman.
11:40 Jane Remm, „Interspecies Social Sculpture as a Platform for Multi-Perspective Co-Creation“ (supervised by Dr. Urve Sinijärv). Discussant Triin Metsla.

12:20 Lunch break

Architecture & Urban Planning
Moderator: Dr. Siim Tuksam
13:40 Paco-Ernest Ulman, „A Fixed View: Connection Between Architecture and Image“ (supervised by Dr. Jüri Soolep). Discussant Maija Rudovska.
14:20 Discussion: Danielle Wilde, Siim Tuksam, Jaana Päeva

14:50 Coffee break

Art History & Visual Culture
Moderator: Prof. Andres Kurg
15:10 Triin Metsla, „The Need for Decanonization and a Polyphonic Canon: Towards a More Horizontal Approach to Art History“ (supervised by Prof. Krista Kodres). Discussant Regne Soosalu.
15:50 Maija Rudovska, „The Fluctuations:  Where Does an Artist as Curator Stand During the Transition Period of Late 1980s and Early 1990s in Latvia?“ (supervised Dr. Mari Laanemets). Discussant Marta Põldma (Konovalov).
16:30 Ragne Soosalu, „This is a Man’s World: on Humor, Women and Preservation of Art During the Interwar Era in Estonia“ (supervised by Dr. Katrin Kivimaa, Dr. Kristina Jõekalda). Discussant Hasso Krull.

17:10 Coffee Break

17:30 Hasso Krull, „Trickster on the Mythical Landscape“ (supervised by Prof. Virve Sarapik, Dr. Margus Ott). Discussant Jane Remm.
18:10 Discussion: Kristina Jõekalda, Andres Kurg, Anneli Randla

For more information: rahel.eslas@artun.ee

On March 15 at 14.30-15.30 the peer review event of Triin Reidla’s exhibition “Bold and Beautiful. Estonian private houses from the 1980s” will take place in Estonian Museum of Architecture (seminar room). Triin Reidla is a PhD student in cultural heritage and conservation. The exhibition is part of her doctoral thesis that investigates postmodern residential architecture.

Supervisors: Dr. Maris Mändel (EKA) and Dr. Ingrid Ruudi (EKA)
Reviewers: Prof. Andres Kurg (EKA) and Prof. Marija Dremaite (Vilnius University)

The exhibition is open at the Museum of Architecture (Ahtri 1, Tallinn) from November 29, 2023 to May 12, 2024.
The exhibition “Bold and Beautiful: Estonian private houses from the 1980s” offers insights into the stories of private houses from the 1980s. The exhibition seeks answers to the following questions:
● In which (architectural) historical context do these houses fit?
● Where were postmodern residential buildings planned?
● How did historical peculiarities influence the construction of these buildings?
● What does a postmodernist home look like? What are the floor plans of these houses?
● What has become of these houses today?
● What do architects and owners think of postmodernist houses in the present day?

Triin Reidla is a cultural heritage specialist, architectural historian, editor, and lector, currently pursuing her doctoral studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Her research focuses on architecture in the 1980s.

The Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.

The lecture series aims to engage with values, imaginaries and systems of knowledge that shape the contemporary fields of architecture and urbanism. Unlearning is coordinated by Maroš Krivý, professor of Urban Studies.

According to Gayatri Spivak, for example, unlearning concerns not only what is said, but also what is not said as part of an ideological formation. There is now a broad push to transform design from a practice subservient to elite interests to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary practice capable of responding to a range of social and environmental urgencies. As part of this transformation, the four lectures engage with existing architectural imaginaries while proposing alternative ones.

Jess Myers will be the first to take the stage on March 14 in the EKA hall with the lecture Sound and the Built Environment: Unlearning the Visual Regime

In her lecture, Myers will propose sound studies as a critical framework for urban and architectural analysis. Myers challenges architecture’s exclusive relationship with visual communication and proposes instead a practice of “listening.” Myers will make the case for architects’ ears, for how they can be attuned to the soundscapes of the built environment and how a practice of “listening” might impact the dynamics of power in shared and personal space.

Jess Myers is an urbanist and assistant professor of architecture at Syracuse University whose practice includes work as an editor, writer, podcaster, and curator. Her podcast Here There Be Dragons examines the impact of security narratives on urban planning through the eyes of city residents. She holds a BA in Architecture (Princeton University) and a Masters of City Planning (MIT). Her writing can be found in The Architect’s Newspaper, Log, l’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, Avery Review, The Architectural Review, Places and Dwell.

The lectures are intended for all disciplines, not only for students and professionals in the field of architecture.

All lectures are held on Thursdays at 6 pm in the EKA main auditorium. All lectures are in English and free of charge.

Schedule of the spring lectures:

March 14 at 6 pm Jess Myers (architect, Syracuse University)

April 4 at 6 pm Oulimata Gueye (curator, Pariis)

April 18 at 6 pm Henriette Steiner (architectural historian, Copenhagen University)

May 2 at 6 pm Lara Almárcegui (artist, Rotterdam)

Within the framework of a series of open lectures, the Faculty of Architecture of EKA presents a dozen unique practitioners and valued theorists in the field in Tallinn every academic year. See all the lectures: www.avatudloengud.ee

The lecture series is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

We warmly invite all MA Contemporary Art applicants and prospective students to the portfolio⌁afternoon!

Monday, 26 February, 15.00–17.00, EKA, room A501

Portfolios will be discussed and questions answered by Mirjam Varik, Sarah Nõmm and Siim Preiman from 2nd year, Elo Vahtrik from 1st year and heads of curriculum Anu Vahtra and Maris Karjatse.

The portfolio⌁afternoon is structured as a set of simultaneous one-on-one sessions in an informal setting, during which participants will get feedback on their work from students and staff, who will share their experiences and give advice on preparing a portfolio and filling in the questionnaire.

Each session lasts 20 minutes, to register please fill in the form here.

• Admissions to MA Contemporary Art are open until 4 March, apply on SAIS (Estonian applicants) or DearmApply (international applicants). 
• Information on admissions artun.ee.

The book “About Architecture” by architect and professor Andres Alver has been published.

The book presentation will take place on February 29, 2024 at 6 pm in the EKA Gallery.

The book is introduced by the author Andres Alver. EKA Rector Mart Kalm, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture Sille Pihlak and President of the Estonian Association of Architects Andro Mänd will speak.

Andres Alver, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, has taught several generations of architects at the EKA Faculty of Architecture since 1985.

The book is on sale at the presentation.

The book has parallel texts in Estonian and English.

Editor: Triin Ojari

Language editor: Aime Kons

Translators: Refiner Translations OÜ

Design: Tiina Alver

Printing house: Omaraamat

ISBN 978-9916-4-2204-5

The publication was supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Estonian Academy of Arts.

On March 4th and 5th, the PhD Vitamin event will once again be hosted at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

PhD Vitamin aims to support and pave the way – and inspire artists with a research approach on their way to doctoral studies. The goal is to introduce artistic research and advise potential candidates for postgraduate studies in planning a doctoral thesis project. In a program consisting of public lectures and one-on-one consultations, artists and experts discuss their approach to artistic research and share individual advice.

This year’s conference will focus on the problem of public space and its art. How can we decide what would be visible to all?

How do ethical challenges, the responsibility of the artist, historical and political issues and the authorship rights intertwine? What are the possibilities for artists to contribute to shaping past-present-future through the political aesthetics of public space? During the ongoing war in Ukraine, questions of what to do with the ‘red monuments’ left in the public space have come to the fore in Estonia. The debate is part of a global discourse that includes the Black Lives Matter movement. It touches on our social environment and tests our ability to ‘be good’.

Artists, designers, alumni of EKA and other creative universities, and graduate students interested in artistic research methods are invited to participate.

PROGRAMME

March 4th, Monday, room A501

10:00 -10:30  Coffee and welcome

10:30 -11:15  Victoria Fareld “Responsibility in a Polychronic Present”

11:15 -11:45  Kristina Norman “Looking Back at After-War (2009) During the War”

Lunch break

12:30-13:15 Esther Shalev-Gerz “From the Monument Against Fascism to The Shadow”

13:15-13:45 Gregor Taul “Monumental Trouble”

Coffee break 

14.00-14:45  Moderated discussion: Victoria Fareld, Esther Shalev-Gerz, Gregor Taul, Kristina Norman, moderator Kirke Kangro.

March 5th, Tuesday, room A501 

10:00-12:00 Individual consultations with Victoria Fareld and Esther Shalev-Gerz

SPEAKERS

Esther Shalev-Gerz, based in Paris, is internationally recognized for her seminal contributions to the field of art in the public realm and her consistent investigation into the construction of memory, history, the natural world, democracy and cultural identities. Her works challenge the notion and practice of portraiture and consider how its qualities may contribute to contemporary discourse about the politics of representation. Her monuments, installations, photography, video and public sculpture are developed through active dialogue, consultation and negotiation with people whose participation provides an emphasis to their individual and collective memories, accounts, opinions and experiences which then become both represented and considered.

Victoria Fareld is professor of intellectual history at Stockholm university in Sweden. Her research revolves around questions of historical guilt, responsibility and historical temporalities.

Gregor Taul is a lecturer, critic and curator. He has studied semiotics at Tartu University and art history at the Estonian Academy of Arts and is about to defend his PhD thesis on art in public space in the Baltics. He is currently working as a lecturer at the General Theory and Interior Architecture departments at EKA.

Kristina Norman, based in Tallinn, is an artist whose interdisciplinary work includes video installations, sculpture, and projects in the city space, as well as documentaries and performance. She is interested in the issues of collective memory and forgetting, the memorial uses of the public space, but also the subtle sphere of the body politics that transgresses the boundaries between the public and the private. In 2009 she represented Estonia at the 53rd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia with a solo project, a multilayered mixed media installation After-War. The project was a study of a conflict around the relocation of a Soviet monument in Tallinn. In 2022 Norman represented Estonia at the 59th Venice Biennial within an ecocritical exhibition Orchidelirium. An Appetite For Abundance. Norman’s experimental film trilogy commissioned for the Pavilion, offers multiple ways to reflect on the legacies of colonialism from a specific Eastern European perspective.

The event will be held in English.

Please registrate through 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. Be quick – the number of participants in consultations is limited!

Additional info: kati.saarits@artun.ee

We will hold the EKA information session, where the main results and conclusions of the self-evaluation report for institutional accreditation will be presented. The info-hour will take place on Wednesday, 21 February, at 15:00 in the EKA auditorium (A-101). It will be conducted in Estonian. This is a great opportunity to understand the current state and future directions of the academy.

Institutional accreditation evaluates the academy’s overall management, work organisation, teaching and research activities, and the quality of the study and research environment, its compliance with both legislation and EKA’s vision and development plan.