ED-Festival: Design Conference – Beyond Design

Design Conference: Beyond Design
Saturday, June 18, 09:30-17:00 (the schedule coming soon!)
Location: Creative Hub

The European Design Festival Conference 2022 “Beyond Design” addresses the core questions of the future of design and through design, position and responsibilities of the designer through practical workshops, discussions and cross-sectoral future visions.

Through various discussions and case studies the conference seeks answers to the questions such as: How to design a future that is better for all of us? How to control the situations we do not yet know? Will the problems arising today create new meanings and opportunities for design tomorrow? What does digital innovation actually mean, and how does it change us as humans? How to create sustainability in a sustainable way? How to see sustainability not as a constraint but as a great challenge that gives us new opportunities for innovation. On which side of the barricades should a designer stay? Is reconsideration of the ethics of creation a basis for new significance?

The questions will be opened via 3 tracks

1. BEYOND GOVERNANCE. Innovation leads us to the future, and the future makes us innovate. How to govern situations that are in the future and that we have never experienced before? How to consider unforeseen events and uncertainty? How to understand the future of the relationship between people and their governments?

2. DESIGN BEYOND RESISTANCE. Our world is using many comfortable and unsustainable models – social, ecological, economical. How to challenge the status quo – and go beyond mere disruption but design the next solution.

3. DESIGN BEYOND TRANQUILITY. Creating a world for living in meaningful peace of mind – this is the oldest task of design. How to design a future that is better for all of us? Will the problems arising today create new meanings and opportunities for design tomorrow? How to see sustainability not as a constraint but as a great challenge that gives us opportunities for innovation?

The programme and speakers will be announced gradually in the end of April 2022.

The conference will take place on June 18, 09:30-17:00 at Kultuurikatel (Cultural Hub) as a physical event, enabling also some hybrid activities. The conference will be recorded and available for later review.

More info about the conference and THE SPEAKERS

European Design Festival 2022 Tallinn programme and tickets now available!

This year the European Design Festival (ED-Festival) will be held in Tallinn, 17-19 June 2022.

Creative people from all over Europe are expected to take part in the Festival Programme that will also be open to the general public. The Programme includes the Design Conference “Beyond Design”, Workshops, Exhibitions, Design Walks, Design Talks, Studio Crawls and of course, the European Design Awards Ceremony!

The Festival Programme 2022 is being curated by the Estonian Design Centre. The Programme and ticketing are available on the European Design Awards website.

“There were this time over 1 400 submissions to the ED-Awards 2022 Competition. The participants were from 34 different countries – from Lichtenstein to Germany and from Iceland to Turkey, so from big to small, east to west and north to south” says Mr Demetrios Fakinos, the European Design Festival director and added: “The winners will start receiving notifications in the second half of April, but the official announcement of winners will take place during the European Design Festival 2022 Award Show, on 18 June at 7 pm at the Creative Hub/Kultuurikatel – one of the most unique creative and event spaces in Northern Europe.”

The European Design Conference 2022 “Beyond Design”, also takes place on 18 June at the Creative Hub/Kultuurikatel. The Conference addresses the core questions of the future of design and the future through design, as well as themes related to the position and responsibilities of the designer. The work will take place through practical workshops, discussions and multidisciplinary future visions. The speakers at the Design Conference include designer, sociologist and sustainability provocateur Leyla Acaroglu; futurist Angela Oguntala (founding partner at Greyspace, a foresight and design studio); professor, design and technology ethicist Ariel Guersenzvaig; creative strategist and problem solver Marksteen Adamson and many more. The Conference will also cover several interesting cases from leading European design agencies.

More info about European Design Festival 2022 in Tallinn

The programme

Having buried her daughter and husband, 69-year-old Polina Rayko found solace in painting. The walls of her home became her easel. I spent a day in Rayko’s footsteps, covering my kitchen with floor-to-ceiling drawings. I didn’t have a definite plan and found myself, like Rayko, illustrating personal memories.

In this portrait, I embody the absurd hyper-sexualised ‘ideal’ woman portrayed in the media. The inspiration for creating this image came from Gillian Flynn’s novel ‘Gone Girl’ (2012). The protagonist describes her experience as a woman trying to be the perfect ‘cool girl’ stereotype her whole life. ‘Cool girl jams hot dogs into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang.’

The opening of Estookin’s solo show SIMULACRUM will take place at Telliskivi Creative City’s Outdoor Gallery on Saturday 7 May at 17:00.

The exhibition features portraits of ten popular Estonian musicians: Ivo Linna, Ott Lepland, Laura Pōldvere, Kerli, Leslie Da Bass, Maarja Nuut, Genka, Anna Kaneelina, Rita Ray, Tanel Padar and ten abstractions inspired by their music, all on large one and a half metre canvases. The exhibits are the results of a quest to explore the effects of music on the works of a visual artist.

The opening show of the exhibition will be performed by Laura Põldvere and Uku Kübar.

The opening show will be followed by a conversation between Estookin and Rita Ray about the processes of creating music and art. The conversation is moderated by Henrik Ehte.

The exhibit is open around the clock from 7 May until 7 June 2022.

Curated by: Estookin

Designed by: Estookin

Special thanks to: Ene-Liis Semper, Katrin Reimann, Janno Reimann, Anita Kremm, Kristel Zimmer, Alice Aleksandridi, Andres Ojasu, Reene Teder, Henrik Ehte, Magdaleena Maasik, and the Creative City’s Outdoor Gallery.

The paintings were created as part of an experiment, where Estookin would exclusively listen to the music of the pictured artist during the entire painting process. Drawing inspiration from the music, she created staged portraits that enter into an intimate dialogue with the abstract landscapes that present the artist’s vision of each musician and their music. 

“I love keeping an eye on what other artists are putting out into the world and sharing aesthetic elements that drive me to express my artistic views in a more distinct and personal manner. The exhibits are not made-to-order vinyl designs that draw on a conversation between the artist and musician, and aim to represent the musician’s image as closely as possible. I chose these musicians intentionally and allowed my senses to guide the process of artistic interpretation. These reproductions of the paintings created during my experiment form an independent reality that has lost connection with its origins – in other words, a simulacrum*,” explains Estookin. 

Estookin (b. 1997, Tallinn), who began exploring digital painting in 2012, is an illustrator, and visual and digital artist active in Estonia and abroad. Over the past few years, Estookin has taken part in various creative projects that, in addition to allowing her to create, learn and polish her technical skills, have brought her close to the music industry. Music and sound have always been of integral importance to Estookin’s artistic output. As an outstanding album cover designer, she has created visual identities for musicians such as Bella Poarch, nublu, Wateva and Lexsoul Dancemachine. In addition to music, Estookin draws inspiration from fashion, theatre, architecture, technology and electropunk. Aside from digital art, Estookin finds expression in photography, and video and theatre arts.

SIMULACRUM is part of Estookin’s bachelor’s project for her degree in scenography at the Estonian Academy of Arts. The project is supervised by Ene-Liis Semper. 

* According to Jean Baudrillard, a simulacrum replaces the real. In Simulacra and Simulation he writes, “Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal. […] It is no longer a question of imitation, nor of reduplication, nor even of parody.” The simulation no longer reflects reality but creates a new and independent reality – a visual representation of sound.

 ______         ______

Additional information:
Estookin
Phone +372 528 8110
info@estookin.studio
www.estookin.studio

Hanno Soans and Silvia Sosaar open their co-exhibition Reformation in Draakon gallery at 6PM on Wednesday, May 4th, 2022. Exhibition will be open until May 28, 2022.

But where is the final destination of the roots of an event? Where are the last cells of an event-organism? These are nowhere. These exist only if agreed upon. This is especially obvious when observing the retroactivity of the specific event comparatively, let’s say in the context of Criminal Code and the possible feeling of guilt.

Jaan Kross, „Kajalood“, 1980

Present exhibition is a result of a several years long process – yet, it has the fixed beginning and the end point. It was a beautiful sunny autumn day 2018 when we planned to go the Papal Mass, carrying the slogan borrowed from Henry of Latvia “Laula, laula pappi!”*. Exhibition involves gestures that stay experimental and veiled gestures that add extra charge to the exhibited objects. Silvia Sosaar’s powerful installation memento mori brackets Hanno Soans’s more fragile artwork while addressing the public space in front of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn. The geographical locations presented at the exhibition refer to the island of Saaremaa, Kaliningrad, Münster and Tallinn as well as the timescale of the exhibition material extends back to 13th century of the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia throughout the year of 1997 up to the present day.

Every Reformation is initially an action. Reformation is born as a spontaneous reaction to the environment that is structured by traditions. Reformation flirts with personal space charged with public rites, whether these be finally represented in an exhibition hall, an icon or iconoclasm. At least for a few stimulated moments, Reformation serves as a symbolic counter-attack to the historical past or present or at least as a disquieting unrealized potential of this gesture. Reformation is a hygiene procedure and they say you have to wash yourself regularly.

Hanno Soans (b. 1974) is an art critic with the background in art history, a curator and artist who is currently studying in the doctoral school of art history and visual culture at the Estonian Academy of Arts. As an artist, Hanno Soans has participated in exhibitions 1997 while focusing on performance art, text-based artwork and video. He lives and works in Tallinn. Soans has obtained MA degree from the department of art history in 2003. In 1999–2008 Hanno Soans worked as a curator at the Art Museum of Estonia. Soans has been a member of artist grouping Stiilne Viisnurk (together with Andres Härm, Kiwa, Andres Lõo, Martin Pedanik and Jasper Zoova). Soans is a founding member of skaala publishing.

Silvia Sosaar (1979) works in Tallinn. In 2017, Sosaar graduated from the photography department of the Estonian Academy of Arts (EAA). In 2021, he obtained a master’s degree in contemporary art at EAA and was nominated for the EAA Young Artist Award with her graduation piece “The Sandbox We Were Given”. With her first solo exhibition “Shiny Shoes Salon” (2018) at the EAA Gallery, Sosaar turned the art gallery into a shoe cleaning salon. The exhibition consisted of a series of performances taking place before and during the exhibition, photographs, a video and a space installation. In 2019, Sosaar held an exhibition “Academy Sports Club” together with Hanno Soans at Hobusepea Gallery. The artist is a member of the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (FOKU) and has exhibited with the collective Umbrella Group. Sosaar is a founding member of ;paranoia and skaala publishing. The artist has participated in exhibitions in Estonia, Latvia, the United Kingdom, France and Pakistan.

The artists express their gratitude to: Andres Gailan, Madis Kaasik, Jaak Soans, the Sosaar family, Uku Toomet, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo.

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.

This work is about the internal and external changes I have experienced since moving to Tallinn. Leaving home has given me the time and space to figure out who I am and where I fit in in this new environment. I took this image during a walk through the Old Town enjoying the sunlight after many months of overcast clouds. The text is taken from my own personal writing accounts, I feel it compliments the idea of self-discovery that the cut out silhouette in the image conveys.

My work depicts long-distance relationship and the precariousness of mental existence in two places simultaneously. It is possible to overcome the distance if locate oneself in a virtual reality for a moment.  I have used different collage techniques in making the image. Two images have been cut out of their context and placed closer to each other. Deconstructed parts are creating a new reality that is  fragmented and detached.

Where is the body?

Group exhibition in Narva Art Residency, Joala 18, Narva

07.05.–08.06

Artists: Eero Alev, Ina Ebenberger, Daniel Silva Flandez, Yigit Gönlügür, Loora Kaubi, Jakob Kolb, Olev Kuma, Lisette Lepik, Sigrid Mau, Amar Priganica, Brenda Purtsak, Ramsko, Alfred Rottensteiner, Denisa Stefanigova, Magdalena Schwaiger, Mattias Veller. Curated by Lilian Hiob and Julius Pristauz 

The group exhibition Where is the body? arises from a collaboration between the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and the Estonian Academy of Arts, bringing together a variety of emerging artists, currently studying in the painting departments of the two academies.

Where is the body? gathers assumptions, statements and questions regarding different forms of (self-)embodiment. Questions as to how the body is currently situated in terms of its representation in the students’ practices are central to the curatorial concept of the exhibition. The exhibition presents different depictions and notions of the body in an ever quickly spinning world, opening up space for discussions surrounding it.

Depictions of fantastical bodies fuse into questions about hierarchies between different species. Loosening up borders, tissues, and deadlocked positions, we find a variety of expressions ranging from more playful approaches to very serious and intense dissections towards the topic.

Sketches for possible skeletons of the medium of painting and thoughts about material manifestations of bodily gestures within it go alongside introspections and reflections on the anatomy of the self. The artists comment on bodies in use, their capabilities and boundaries, extreme situations and the body as a tool for manipulation and power play.

The works negotiate body politics and within those relationships of gender, identity and representation.

Themes such as deconstruction and decay, performance, dependency and co-dependency can be found as opposed to abstract and hybrid images with transformational potential.

From traditional depiction to the changing stance of the body over time the works can help to position and define how and where the body finds a home in young contemporary artists’ practice.

The display and architecture of the exhibition expand on these ideas further, with its rhizomatic structure making for a spatial experience with different stations.
Examining matters connected to belonging, visibility, and desire, Where is the body? helps us to map various narratives that are socially, historically and culturally interwoven and take bodies, in a broader sense, as their starting point.

Support: Austrian Embassy in Tallinn, Estonian Embassy in Vienna, Erasmus+, Punch Drink, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Vilnius Academy of Arts, Estonian Academy of Arts 

REGISTER TO THE BUS to Narva on May 6th

More about the exhibition in Vienna

On May 5th at 6 pm, our Faculty of Architecture will be happy to present architect and historian researching the history of architecture and urban technologies, Professor Antoine Picon with an open lecture titled “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Design” at the EKA Main Hall.

Will artificial intelligence really impact design practice? If such is the case, what role would be left to humans in a more and more machine-driven context? The lecture will explore some of the possible scenarios linked to the rise of artificial intelligence. Central to these scenarios will be the question of the distribution of agency between humans and machines.

Antoine Picon is the G. Ware Travelstead Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology and Director of Research at the Harvard GSD and Director of Research at the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris. Trained as an engineer, architect, and historian, Picon works on the history of architectural and urban technologies from the eighteenth century to the present. He has published extensively on this subject.

Open Lectures are open to all architecture and design students, professionals and general audience intrigued by spatial and design matters. The lecture is in English and free of charge.

The lecture is one of the subject pre-lectures of the Conference “Innovation and Digital Reality” which takes place 6th of September 2022 in EKA: https://www.artun.ee/…/conference-innovation-and…/

The lecture and conference are supported by Estonian Association of Architects, European Regional Development Fund and EKA.