Screening and discussion: ART, LOVE AND REPAIR at the psychiatric hospital

What can we learn about love and repair through the development of arts-based programs in a psychiatric institution? What is the role played by art by generating innovative forms of knowledge, engagement, and education? What are the differences and similarities of the Estonian and Portuguese cases integrating arts-based programs in mental healthcare? And what kind of impact can be generated by these programs in patients, participants, the city, and in ourselves?

In this event we will look into particular cases of arts-based projects co-developed in portugal by the PhD researcher Lígia Fernandes (research focused on love and relational systems), and we will watch the film “On being human” by Laura Liventaal, developed during the PLAY(THE)GROUND residency, at Lisbon’s Psychiatric Hospital Center.

We will further foster a roundtable discussion about the role of creative and experimental initiatives in collaboration with psychiatric institutions and their impact in communities, residents and participants, with guest professionals, artists and researchers.

Both the screening and discussion are held in English.
Moderated by Maarja Mõttus. 

On Tuesday, 2 December, the Estonian Academy of Arts will host the opening of two exhibitions and an evening discussion focusing on the capacity of contemporary art to reinterpret difficult history and heritage.

At 17:00, at the outdoor gallery of EKA exhibition “New Frames for a Monument: The Past as Artistic Material”  will open (02.12.2025–25.01.2026), which introduces artists’ proposals for preserving and reframing three monumental artworks that are at risk of destruction. This will be followed by a tour led by Kirke Kangro and Ülo Pikkov of the short exhibition “The Monument and the Fairy Tale” (1.12.–5.12.2025) in the EKA foyer.

At 18:00, a science café will begin in the event area of the EKA foyer, featuring a roundtable discussion inspired by the artistic interventions presented in the exhibitions and by the experiences gathered during the creation of the works.

We live in a time when monuments cannot be ignored. Across the world, there are debates about their meaning and about whether and how to display contested memorials in public space. Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has brought one of the centres of monumental conflict to Eastern Europe. In Estonia, most Soviet-era monuments—especially those commemorating World War II—have now been removed.

The discussion will examine the capacity of contemporary art to engage with dissonant heritage and the memory conflicts embedded within it in public space—while also exploring the broader societal potential of contemporary art. The conversation takes its starting point from the three artistic design competitions held within the project “How to Reframe Monuments”, which experimented with different ways of reframing various kinds of controversial heritage—a memorial, a painting, and a sculpture. To date, only one of the artistic interventions has materialised: the reframing of the Tehumardi memorial.

Across the three art competitions, a total of 17 artists participated in 2024–2025.
Those involved in conceptualising the Tehumardi memorial complex on Saaremaa—now partially dismantled—were Kirke Kangro, Neeme Külm, Anna Mari Liivrand, Johannes Säre, Kristina Norman, and Taavi Piibemann.
Anna Škodenko, Hanna Piksarv, Jevgeni Zolotko, Kati Saarits, and Sigrid Viir proposed solutions for reworking the monumental murals from 1955 located in the former passenger terminal of Tallinn Airport.
Trevor Kinna, Bob Bicknell-Knight, Hasso Krull, Camille Laurelli, Samuel Lehtikoinen, Ülo Pikkov, and Yiyang Sun created digital artworks inspired by the memorial “Vyatchko and Meelis Defending Tartu” (1950/1956) located in Tartu.

Moderator: Gregor Taul (Estonian Academy of Arts)

Discussion participants: Kirke Kangro, Neeme Külm, Ülo Pikkov, Sigrid Viir, and Anna Škodenko

The exhibitions and discussion are part of the joint research project “New Frames for a Monument” (2024–2026) of the Estonian Academy of Arts and Tallinn University. The goal of the project is to create new approaches to reinterpreting monuments and other forms of dissonant heritage, bringing together knowledge and expertise from multiple fields (historical and art historical research, conservation and heritage studies, as well as contemporary art and creative research practices) and engaging various stakeholders and communities.

Please register for participation by 28 November 2025 HERE.

The event is free, and all those interested are welcome.

Drinks and snacks will be provided at the science café.

Join us for the upcoming T4EU Transforming Heritage Conference “Spatial Dimensions of Heritage | Creative Research Capacities”, organized by EKA on 27–28 January 2026 in Tallinn. This convergent event delves into the complexities of heritage preservation and embodied knowledge, from the tangible layers of paint on walls and canvases to the intangible realms of conceptual techniques or digital multidimensionality enriched with metadata.

The conference itinerary is available as a PDF below (3 pages).

The conference aims to bridge diverse disciplines, encouraging contributions from architecture, art, design, digital humanities, history and beyond. It will explore how ephemeral site-element-context relationships impact cultural heritage and emerging technologies—like AR, VR, and 3D modeling—can enhance preservation efforts.

The conference welcomes diverse perspectives with sessions to address participants across disciplines, including the arts, humanities, and sciences, with an emphasis on two main topics: spatial and artistic research in the context of heritage. The topics are meant to connect advanced research concepts with practice-based conceptual applications aiming to foster interdisciplinary dialogue. Inviting insights from varied academic and professional backgrounds to deepen our understanding of both cultural heritage and artistic research.

Register as a listener HERE. Join the live stream via this link.

More information and inquiries: hanna-britt.augasmagi@artun.ee

The event will take place under the auspices of the Transform4Europe Alliance — a collaborative network of 11 European universities focused on climate change, digitalisation, and social challenges — and is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

What is Palestinian literature talking about today? And who is it talking to? Hazem Jamjoum and Heba Hayek, curators of the November issue of Vikerkaar magazine devoted to Palestinian literature, discuss the role of art in dark times – in the Middle East and around the world.

On December 10th at 4 p.m., an open lecture entitled “Palestinian Literature Today” will take place in the EKA foyer event area. The lecture takes place in English. It will be followed by a discussion and moderated by Hille Hanso. 

Hazem Jamjoum is a cultural historian, archivist, and teacher based in London. He is the managing editor of the recently established publishing house Safarjal Press. His translation of Ghassan Kanafani’s “The Revolution of 1936–1939 in Palestine” published by 1804 Books won the 2024 Palestinian Book Award. Her translation of Maya Abu al-Hayyati’s novel “No One Knows Their Blood Type” was published by CSU Poetry Center in 2024.Heba Hayek is a writer, workshop facilitator, and communications consultant based primarily in London. She seeks out stories that challenge traditional archives and imposed conditions of visibility. Her debut book, “Sambac Beneath Unlikely Skies” won the 2022 Palestine Book Award. The White Review, Middle East Eye, and The New Arab named it Book of the Year 2021.

From 21 November to 4 January, the Palm Hall of the Tallinn Botanical Garden will present the exhibition “BOTEXSEMANTIC GARDEN / HORTUS BOTEXEMANTICUS” by Kadi Kibbermann and Piret Valk, lecturers from the Department of Textile Design at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

The exhibition presents experimental textile installations that tell the story of the role and meaning of plants in the lives of the artists – about the materials obtained from plants and their survival strategies.

The exhibition responds to the challenge of adapting to a world in which intergenerational memory is being replaced by instructions and rules; great stories have become impoverished language abbreviations and direct contacts have become virtual. Algorithms have become landmarks in plant-blind artificial landscapes.

The support-root of artists of maintaining balance with the real world are their contact with nature and relationships with other species. They explore what could be learned from plants through practical interest, poetic interpretations and artistic practice based on them. The inspiration is the diversity, essential and distinctiveness of the plant world – forms, patterns and textures; their necessity for people and the environment; their ability to adapt to change and survive even in very difficult conditions. The works combine knowledge and practical experience to show the importance of plants as an endless source of resources – as fertilizer, providing role models and seeds of ideas, as fibers and natural colors; and as communication with plants, health and balance. Plants help to remember and depict stories that affirm identity.

To adapt to today’s world, a new language of communication – BOTEX has been created in the context of the exhibition. Botany + textile + poetry + meanings = BOTEX semantics.

There are BOTEXophies growing in the BOTEXemantic garden.

BOTEXophies are synthesized from plants and textiles.

BOTEX is spoken by plant-loving BOTEXegees, to translate plants and their strategies through BOTEXophies.

BOTEXophies are named and organized into the BOTEXonomic system: INDEX BOTEXEMANTICUM.

The exhibition is open until the 4th of January 2026.

More information about the opening hours of the Palm House and greenhouses can be found at: https://botaanikaaed.ee/en/opening-hours/

With an extraordinary Open Architecture Lecture, legendary architect and lecturer Sir Peter Cook will take the stage at the EKA hall on November 20 at 6 pm with a presentation “Piquant Motivations”, which will be supplemented by a quick overview of Archigram 10.

The lecture will examine the topics “The piquancy of the isolated object”, “The insidious charm of vegetation” and “Odd skins and clothing” through the prism of architecture, but will also seek an answer to the question, is color analogous to chatter?

“There is no more vivid dean, architect, and professional changer than Peter, who has spoken to several generations of practitioners in doing all this. I am sincerely pleased that he will come to EKA to introduce his new work and will also be selling the book in the Architecture Museum’s bookstore,” says Sille Pihlak, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, inviting everybody to listen to the lecture.

Professor Sir Peter Cook, founder of Archigram, former Director the Institute for Contemporary Art, London (the ICA) and Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London has been a dominant figure in the architectural world for over half a century. His ongoing contribution to architectural innovation was recognised in 2007 when he was knighted by the Queen for his services to architecture. Cook’s achievements with radical experimentalist group Archigram have been the subject of numerous publications and public exhibitions and were recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2002, when members of the group were awarded the RIBA’s highest award, the Royal Gold Medal.

Cook’s continuing work as a lecturer of considerable renown makes him a familiar voice within cultural institutions around the world. With his team of architects and innovators, he continues to make waves with visionary architecture built around the world.

Also check out https://www.petercookarchitecture.com/

The lecture will be held in English and is free and open to all interested parties.

Event in FB

On 12 December, 2025 Margus Tamm, external doctoral student of Art and Design curriculum, will defend his doctoral thesis „Artistic Interventions in the Public Space: Tactical Media and the Communicative Turn in Protest Culture at the Turn of the Millennium“ („Kunstilised sekkumised avalikus ruumis. Taktikaline meedia ja kommunikatiivne pööre protestikultuuris aastatuhande vahetusel“).
The public defense will take place at 11.00 at EKA (Põhja pst 7), room A101.

Thesis is available in EKA digital repository.

Supervisors: Prof. Andres Kurg (Estonian Academy of Arts)
Prof. Marek Tamm (Tallinn University)
External reviewers: Dr. Ingrid Ruudi (Estonian Academy of Arts)
Prof. Daniele Monticelli (Tallinn University)
Opponent: Prof. Daniele Monticelli (Tallinn University)

Summary:

The political culture of the 21st century is increasingly shaped by protest movements and protest politics. Against the backdrop of weakening traditional democratic institutions, protest activism has become a fertile ground for civic participation and democratic renewal – revitalizing political debate, creating new collective identities, and expanding the ways of political engagement.

This research focuses on the spectacular dimensions of contemporary protest culture and on the period 1990–2010 – an academically under-studied transitional era during which a radically democratic and artistically interventionist protest repertoire emerged. The dissertation consists of five articles that, through case studies and theoretical discussion, examine the defining features of interventionist artistic activism, accompanied by an introductory umbrella chapter that frames the research topic and situates it within a broader discussion.

The study addresses the following questions: what kind of social role do protest movements and popular protest politics play in contemporary Western democracies; how has the communicative turn in the social sciences shaped the conceptualization of protest movements; what is the role of artistic practices in contemporary protest culture; what developments characterize democratic protest culture during the period of 1990–2010; and finally – and most crucially – how can the passion for political change be reconciled with institutional sustainability?

The broader aim of the dissertation is to examine contemporary protest culture as a point of intersection between artistic and political expression, to contribute to the critical discourse on its expanding social role, and to highlight both the challenges and opportunities that arise from employing artistic practices for activist purposes.

We invite all architecture and urbanism students to join on Monday, November 17, at 18:00, in EKA auditorium A101, to the presentation of TU Delft students work in the city of Tallinn, which is going on now for the third consecutive year. Professor Klaske Havik will give an overview of earlier projects, as this year’s students during the ongoing two weeks are  researching the city’s diverse urban spaces and developing their own design briefs based on these studies.

The graduation studio ‘A Matter of Scale’ examines the Estonian capital Tallinn, where the human scale is constantly challenged by buildings and urban plans of very different sizes. Layers of Hanseatic, Soviet, and contemporary market-driven developments coexist as much as they clash in Tallinn, conditioned as they are by the city’s distinct natural and cultural conditions.

The graduation studio is the chair of Methods of Analysis and Imagination is led by Klaske Havik (Prof.Dr.Ir.), Jorge Mejía Hernández (Dr.Ir.), Pierre Jennen (Ir.), and Freek Speksnijder (Ir.).

Teams link:

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/5c5cc647-a839-4491-a006-cc7c3dc2013d@6d356317-0d04-4abc-b6b6-8c9773885bb0

Bintan Titisari (Postdoctoral researcher, University of Leeds, Colour4CRAFTS)

“Natural dyes ecosystem in textile and fashion industry” (in English, online)

Description: Natural dyeing is one of the oldest traditions in European textiles, deeply tied to cultural heritage and local craftsmanship. Today, it is re-emerging as an important practice in the textile and fashion industries, extending from small workshops into larger-scale production. This lecture examines the broader ecosystem of natural dyes, exploring how they intersect with heritage, sustainability, design practice, and trend forecasting. The relationship between artisanal and industrial approaches can appear divided, yet each contributes valuable knowledge and innovation. By recognising these interconnections, we can better understand how natural dyes offer not only a link to tradition but also a pathway toward more sustainable and creative futures for fashion and textiles.

Bintan Titisari (PhD), University of Leeds, postdoctoral researcher. Bintan Titisari (PhD) is a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Design, University of Leeds. Her research interests are in the textile and fashion design industry, focusing on the interdisciplinary aspects of textile design, colourants, sustainable practices, and consumer behaviour. With over a decade of academic experience in Indonesia, Brunei, and the UK, she has taught and developed courses in sustainable fashion, craft design, resist dyeing, and smart textiles. In her textile-making practice, she combines natural dyes with the resist dyeing technique to create unique textiles. She is a member of the EU Horizon project Colour4CRAFTS.

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The lecture is part of a series “Textile Dyes of the Past and Future: sharing the Colour4CRAFTS Experience” begins, initiated by the EU Horizon project Colour4CRAFTS.

The webinar series brings together EU Horizon project Colour4CRAFTS members and important guests to discuss and share their knowledge on textile dyes of the past and future. The series is brought together by the University of Tartu and Viljandi Culture Academy in collaboration with the Estonian Academy of Arts.

EU Horizon project Colour4CRAFTS combines a multidisciplinary team of experts from research institutes and R&D companies to carry out studies of bio-based textile colouration in traditional historic perspective and in combination with cutting-edge technologies of colourants biosynthesis and waterless applications techniques. Colour4CRAFTS members are the University of Helsinki, University of Lapland, University of Tartu, KIK-IRPA, University of Leeds and PILI Bio.