Juan Duyos’ Collection “Estonia” Premier in Estonia

The Embassy of Spain and the Estonian Academy of Arts invite:

The first presentation of the fashion collection “Estonia” by Spanish fashion designer Juan Duyos in Estonia will take place on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 16:00 in the auditorium A–501 of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

All fashion enthusiasts and lovers are welcome!

Juan Duyos is a well-known fashion designer in Spain who, among others, designs for the Spanish royal family. The fashion collection, which will be presented for the first time in Estonia, is inspired by the Estonian land, fashion and craft culture.

“A visit to Estonian nature, the symbiosis of folklore and modernity, and the new use of old techniques was the initial impetus for the “Estonia” collection,” says Piret Puppart, professor of fashion, textile and accessory design at the Estonian Academy of Arts, who was the guide for Duyos’s trip to Estonia and himself in his work on Estonian ethnology. draws ideas from nature and folklore. Puppart adds:

“Estonia has two great sources of design inspiration that I have introduced to design-minded people over the years – one of them is nature and its organic place in everyday life. We don’t have the tallest trees, the longest rivers, the mightiest mountains, but we have a certain way of thinking and relating to it all. We can see and understand in a different way — that’s what makes our stay in nature extraordinary. Another important aspect is that tradition is a living culture, not just a museum piece. Juan Duyos had the opportunity to see folk costumes and their masters actively making them here and now.”

In Piret Puppart’s opinion, thanks to the Duyos “Estonia” collection, Estonia itself is also gaining recognition. For example, the collection was presented at last year’s Madrid Fashion Week, which received extensive coverage in the foreign press.

“Fashion and travel go hand in hand. The novelty of a new city or an unfamiliar environment can stimulate the imagination. Such was the case of Spanish fashion designer Juan Duyos, who celebrated 25 years as a fashion designer on the runway with a collection inspired by a midsummer trip to Estonia,” says Piret Puppart, fashion designer and head of EKA’s fashion department.

Please inform us of your participation via the RSVP link.

May brings an opportunity to experience, in an exhibition format, works produced by students in the Faculty of Fine Arts as their term projects: every day there will be a fresh crop of university students’ works on display in the gallery.

Works in contemporary art, prints, installation, sculpture and painting curricula will be on display. On each morning of the marathon, a new exhibition will be installed and in the evening the exhibit will give way to the next one. Hopefully, viewers will be able to keep up with the pace of the young artists.

SCHEDULE

02.05. Painting, supervisors Merike Estna, Alice Kask, Kristi Kongi, Holger Loodus
03.05. Photography, supervisor Madis Kurss
04.05. Drawing, supervisors Maiu Rõõmus, Matti Pärk
05.05. Drawing, supervisors Tõnis Saadoja
08.05. Drawing, supervisor Ulvi Haagensen
9.05. Drawing, supervisor Lilli-Krõõt Repnau
10.05. Drawing, supervisor Tõnis Saadoja
11.05. Graphic Art, supervisors Charlotte Biszewski, Eve Kask, Rene Haljasmäe, Viktor Gurov
12.05. Graphic Art, supervisors Kadi Kurema, Maria Erikson, Charlotte Biszewski, Britta Benno
15.05. Photography, supervisors Marge Monko, Paul Kuimet
16.—17.05. Scenography, supervisors Ene-Liis Semper, Mark Raidpere
18.—19.05. Contemporary Art, supervisors Marge Monko, Kirke Kangro, Merike Estna, Taavi Talve, Anu Vahtra, John Grzinich, Paul Kuimet, Taavi Piibemann, Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Eve Kask, David K. Ross

The Dirt Road, Vent Space Exhibition by Masters of Contemporary Art student Sarah Noonan opens May 2 at 18.00.

Exhibition Opening times are 2–7 May from 15.00–19.00.

02.05–07.05 The Dirt Road by Sarah Noonan

On September 24th, 2022 a small hurricane in Atlantic Canada destroyed an abandoned tree farm on a dirt road. The exhibition The Dirt Road symbolizes how the attachment to a specific location and the origin of home can turn a place into somewhere that is precious. Materials and memory teleport familiarity while roaming unnaturally through structures and color. To explore the ethereal desolation of nature, textile sculptures create an abstract representation of the dirt road. This installation environment recollects sensitive traits from this cherished place. It reveals how the roots of our upbringing are abandoned by abstract forms and imagining memories; But ground feelings of regret with youthful honesty.

Sarah Noonan uses her own discarded clothes and belongings to transform worn and renewed fabrics into hand-sewn, mixed media sculptures. Through indiscriminate uses of craft and textile materials they investigate material qualities of durability and softness. Their art reveals fragile layers of sentiment around us that navigate connections to inhabiting places. Changes in time, place, and acceptance encourages us to identify feelings of intrinsic worth.

Anu Vahtra will open her solo exhibition along the wall, down the stairs, outside in Hobusepea gallery at 17:00 on Thursday, May 4th, 2023. Exhibition will be open until May 29, 2023.

The exhibition along the wall, down the stairs, outside is a new installation by Anu Vahtra, consisting of works created since 2020. The process of observing and documenting situations, solutions and decisions in a city that is constantly under construction is reflected in photographs, videos and found objects. These works were originally created for exhibitions in Amsterdam, Athens and Brussels.

The title of the exhibition is borrowed from Anne Carson’s essay Chez l’Oxymoron (1988). The exhibition is accompanied by a text contribution by artist Lieven Lahaye and a film contribution by artist and filmmaker Ingel Vaikla. Graphic design by Elisabeth Klement.

Anu Vahtra (1982, Tallinn) is an artist working primarily with photography, video and installation. Initiated by the architectural characteristics as well as historical and contextual background of a certain site, Vahtra’s works often focus on the exhibition format and specifics of an exhibition space but also tackle issues of urban space. Vahtra has participated in numerous group exhibitions and has had solo exhibitions in Estonia and abroad. In 2017, she was an artist in residence at ISCP in New York and in 2020 at the WIELS Contemporary Art Centre in Brussels. Since February 2022, Vahtra works as the head of MA Contemporary Art program at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Thank you: Maris Karjatse, Lieven Lahaye, Tanja Muravskaja, Ingel Vaikla, Johannes Säre & Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM), Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Exhibitions in Hobusepea gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko Ltd.

Roman-Sten Tõnissoo and Ellen Vene dive into the medieval darkness in Draakon gallery

Roman-Sten Tõnissoo & Ellen Vene will open their co-exhibition If This Is Light, Then Give Us Darkness in Draakon gallery at 17:00 on Thursday, May 4th, 2023.

Exhibition will be open until May 27th, 2023.

If This Is Light, Then Give Us Darkness, the co-exhibition of Roman-Sten Tõnissoo and Ellen Vene, serves as an ongoing collaboration between the two artists. Their distinctive styles exchange locations, reflect each other and create new forms of dialogue.

Through site-sensitive artwork, Tõnissoo and Vene attempt to disentangle and redefine visuals from fantasies that stem from one’s desire to escape into alternative environments from the restless quintessence of the world. Relying on technological development, the practice of referring and sampling has established itself even more firmly in visual culture – and therefore, the perception of contemporaneity is increasingly complemented by a collage of fragments from different eras. During pivotal times, one often yearns for magical archaism, a concept based on the imaginary, fragmented past. With their current exhibition in Draakon gallery, located in the heart of the old town of Tallinn, the artists observe the Middle Ages as a platform where all kinds of ideas and ideals can be projected. Examples of recycled medieval aesthetics, symbols and milieu are found in every field of culture – music, fashion, fiction, games and films. The darkness of the Middle Ages seems to be an alternation to the flickering light of screens reflecting modern despair.

Roman-Sten Tõnissoo (b. 1989) has graduated from the department of photography (BA) and contemporary art (MA) at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and has also studied at FAMU, Film and TV School in Prague. The focal point of his artistic practice lies in the quest for spirituality and purpose in contemporary society, and in the fragile connections between aggression and the sense of security. The artist’s cross-media work methods refer to and search for spatial moments of dialogue, including the potential to visualize new possible future perspectives. Among his recent exhibition projects are “Your Afterlife Is Cancelled” together with Ellen Vene in ARS Project Space (2022), “Out of Sight Is Out of Mind” together with Ellen Vene in ROAM Project Space in Berlin (2022) and “Dreams in Unfreedom” together with Sven Parker in the Monumental Gallery of Tartu Art House (2022).

Ellen Vene (b. 1990) has obtained BA in the department of sculpture and installation and MA in contemporary art at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and additionally studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and Central Saint Martins College in London. The core of her installative artistic practice includes strategies based on cultural and art history while illustrating the ways how historical systems and roles are reflected in the present. Among her recent exhibition projects are “Exercises for Dreamkeeping” in TYPA gallery (2022), “Your Afterlife Is Cancelled” together with Roman-Sten Tõnissoo in ARS Project Space (2022), “Out of Sight Is Out of Mind” together with Roman-Sten Tõnissoo in Roam Project Space in Berlin (2022).

Exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia

Exhibitions in Draakon gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko Ltd.

Introducing the “Etiquette of digital collaboration: Designers Speak Up” – A showcase of emerging design students’ creative synergy in different design practices.

Periods of uncertainty and the ongoing transition towards a more sustainable future have normalised remote work and the concept of “alone together”, greatly affecting how designers, artists, architects, and other creatives collaborate. This exhibition is a testament to the power of such collaboration, bringing together the learnings from courses held in Tallinn (EKA), Saint-Étienne (ESADSE), and Schwäbisch Gmünd (HfG) for a project called “Digital Tools for Creative Collaboration”.

During the project, the students of the three schools explored the impact of the trend towards digital collaboration. We took their learnings and used ChatGPT 4.0 and other AI tools to turn them into a vivid twister experience. The twister features eight themes, each of which delves into a different aspect of teamwork, communication, and the design process:

1. Stay Human

2. Design with Intent

3. Use Cyber Manners

4. Embracing Differences

5. Improving Workflows

6. Teaming Up

7. Practice Effective Communication

8. Exercise Discipline

Each theme encompasses a range of concepts and ideas, with the students offering their unique insights and experiences. As a whole, the exhibition highlights the importance of empathy, openness, and effective communication in fostering a productive and creative team environment. It showcases the students’ commitment to personal growth, pushing the boundaries of traditional design methodologies, and embracing the challenges of working across disciplines and cultures.

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The expo will be open in the EKA ground floor lobby every day on 2–7 May.

On display:

200 tenets of effective digital collaboration, analysed with the help of ChatGPT 4.0 from the produced course materials and reflections by participating students and mentors.

22 interviews with students and mentors participating in the project.

Participating students:

Maëlys Bard, Max Becht, Sarah Boutière, Paulina Juárez Badillo Chávez, Sigmund Abou Chrouch, Artemiy Guslistov, Hugo Guyomard, Ludovic Hohl, Mathias Hû, Kristi Laanemäe, Tara Monheim, Alféa Morelli, Daisy Muntean, Natsumi Nonaka, Alina Remlinger, Marius Schairer, Viki Schmidt, Kaisa Uik, Yaren Duriez Urías, Mark Uustalu.

Participating mentors:

Cléa Di Fabio (Esadse), Jérémie Nuel (Esadse), Damien Baïs (Esadse), François Brument (Esadse), David-Olivier Lartigaud (Esadse), Lucile Schrenzel (Esadse), Marc Guntow (HfG Schwäbisch-Gmünd), Ludwig Kannicht (HfG Schwäbisch-Gmünd), Tanel Kärp (EKA), Jekaterina Suharenko (EKA, Jonn Galea (EKA).

Exhibition design:

Ottavio Cambieri, Jekaterina Suharenko, Anastasiia Grigoriadi, Tanel Kärp, Nesli Hazal Akbulut, Oliver Kanniste

Exhibition “Etiquette of digital collaboration: Designers speak up” is organised by IxD.ma.

On May 3rd from 6 pm to 7 pm on the first floor you can participate in the Game Experience created by the students of the Design for Play course.

During this event, you can play games made during the course and get a break from the stressful assessment period.

Everyone from EKA is welcome!