The summer school season is coming to an end, and we’re bringing the Summer School Reader to Tallinn! 

Join us on 9 September at 6PM at Logi Saun for an evening of readings, conversation and sauna.

Trojan Horse is an autonomous educational platform based in Helsinki, working across architecture, design and art. It organises summer schools, workshops, reading circles and live action role-plays, creating spaces for learning and exchange outside more conventional educational settings. The Trojan Horse Summer Schools bring together participants from different backgrounds for an intensive week on an island, where they read and discuss together, share their own interests and research, organise workshops, and take part in the everyday routines of living together, from cooking and cleaning to swimming and going to the sauna.

The A Week on An Island With Trojan Horse – The Summer School Reader grew out of these experiences. Rather than documenting the themes, workshops and events of the summer schools, the publication gathers personal memories, reflections and interpretations of what happens around and in between them. It is a collection of different perspectives on those intense weeks of living, working, talking, learning and being together, and on what remains after everyone returns home.

During the launch, we’ll introduce the publication and hear some of the texts from the book. After the introduction and reading session, the warm sauna will be waiting for us. 

9 September · 6PM
Logi saun, Tallinn

Come say goodbye to the summer with us! 

Edited by: Ott Kagovere, Hanan Mahbouba, Arlene Tucker, Jaroslav Toussaint, Andre Vicentini, and Tommi Vasko

Texts by: Hanan Mahbouba, Marianna Maruyama and Arlene Tucker, Jaroslav Toussaint, Andre Vicentini, and Tommi Vasko

Graphic design: Ott Kagovere and Kert Viiart-Õllek.

House of Negotiated Selves
Estonian Academy of Arts (EE)
Ars Electronica campus exhibition
Linz University of the Arts, Hauptplatz 8 (West Building)

House of Negotiated Selves explores the boundary between human autonomy and machine representation. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly prevalent in mediating and shaping our interactions, creation, and decision-making, there is a constant negotiation taking place.

In response to the 2026 theme “NEGOTIATING HUMANITY – THE FUTURE BEGINS”, House of Negotiated Selves frames this negotiation as an embodied experience. Through the metaphor of the distorted mirrors of an amusement park, our own reflections appear similar, but ultimately deceive us. The installation asks when our reflection becomes a substitute and when a machine begins to speak for us.

Visitors enter a world where their presence is perceived and interpreted. At first, the system seems to be a mirror of their true selves and presence. Gradually, the reflection begins to wander, predicting, distorting, and misrepresenting the visitor. What begins as recognition becomes ambiguity and displacement. Rather than correcting one form of distortion, the work allows it to emerge, revealing to the visitor a disturbing experience of representation that no longer belongs to them.

House of Negotiating Selves explores AI-mediated representation and the erosion of human agency. Situated at the intersection of interaction design, critical AI research, and sensory art, the project translates an abstract discussion into a tangible experience that is not about what AI is, but rather how it will come to represent us, whether we agree with it or not.

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DANUBEN TRIANGLE

This year’s Ars Electronica team (Product Design + ixd students):

Paula Jürgens
Martin Orav
Tõnis Bender (IXD)
Kulla Kangur
Anett Elis Männil
Carina Schipai
Hendra Raud (IXD)
Sara De Simone (IXD)
Paul Pank
Markus Hunt
Gustav Villem Kalberg

Supervisors: Carol Tikerperi and Bob Bicknell-Knight

Support and assistance: Björn Koop, Kätlin Leokin, Kaspar Pulk

On September 5 at 18:00, the exhibition “Who Gets a Seat at the Table” by August Kilmi and Ly-Ann Kõllo will open at Krulli SAAL.

The artists explore the dream of an ideal family, the expectations formed in childhood, and the disappointment that arises when a person feels there is no place for them within that dream. The exhibition examines family and home, and how a queer person fits—or does not fit—into these spaces.

The exhibition will be open until September 20, every day from 14:00 to 19:00.

Graphic design: Ly-Ann Kõllo

The duo exhibition “Something That Should Be Felt” by artists Hilla Kurki & Taavi Rekkaro opened at the FOKU Gallery.

In the exhibition, the artists engage in a shared exploration about memory, personal history, touch, and how we relate to images. Both artists are searching for new ways within their practices, moving perhaps towards a greater spatiality and material presence. Together, the works create a dialogue between distance and intimacy, presence and remembrance.

In the series Clay Diaries, Hilla Kurki approaches memory through her family’s history, seeking alternative modes of relating with tradition and heritage. In Kurki’s images human form is shown together with plants and creatures, things that are reborn every season seemingly unchanged. By inviting a range of fellow artists to visit her great-grandparents’ house she creates a living archive through shared moments where friendship can become the main outcome of the work, not just its subject.

Taavi Rekkaro presents photos and objects that rethink photography as something to be touched, where closeness becomes part of the experience. The images capture fleeting moments, inner uncertainties, and attempts to understand oneself and one’s relationships with others. Exploring the connections between memory, body and self-perception, the artist asks: how can we be sure that we were truly there, that these moments really happened? On the gallery wall unfolds a melting moment composed of works created since 2023. Rather than telling a single, fixed story, the works invite viewers to slow down and build their own narratives.

The exhibition will remain open until 26 September 2026.

Hilla Kurki (FI, b. 1985) has exhibited in various international venues and art fairs since 2016. Her first book Almost All the Flowers in My Mother’s Garden was published in 2022 (Khaos Publishing), and has two sold out editions. Exhibition adaptations of the book have been shown recently in for example the Institut finlandais in Paris, Foto Arsenal Wien and in the Centre de la Photographie Genève. Kurki was one of the headliners of the Copenhagen Photo Festival in 2023. Her work was selected for Elles X Paris Photo in 2018, showcasing the history and future of female photographers. She was awarded the Still Life Prize in the 34th edition of Festival d´Hyeres in 2019. She is a part of the FUTURES Photography Platform.
Kurki has graduated with a Master’s in Art from the Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture in 2018. She lives and works in Helsinki, Finland.
https://www.hillakurki.com/

Taavi Rekkaro (EE, b. 1988) is a mixed media artist whose work reflects an intuitive dialogue between visual art and photography. Combining images with physical materials, he seeks to capture the energy of fleeting moments, blurring the lines between memory and self-discovery. Rekkaro has shown his work internationally both at exhibitions and artfairs, and his work has been published in international publications.
https://taavirekkaro.com/

FOKU Gallery is a gallery-showroom focused on contemporary lens-based art. FOKU Gallery is run by the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (FOKU).

Supporters:
Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Kymeenlaakso regional fund, Artproof

Opening drinks provided by:
Nudist Drinks, Põhjala Brewery

Technical support:
Karmo Migur, Paul Kobert

Calligraphy:
Adèle Zabé

Thank you:
Albane, Alexis, Anne, Artproof team, Celine, Daniel, EKA Gallery, Elio, Ferdinand, Hikari, Hubert, Jack, Joosep, Kaisa Maasik, Margot, Mari-Leen Kiipli, Olari, Olivia, Oscar, Raphaël, Rasmus, Risako, Sheung, Thomas, Tor, Valter, Viivi, Woosung

FOKU Gallery
Väike-Karja 10, Tallinn
Thu–Sat 12–18
Free entrance

27.08 – 26.09.2026

Opening 27.08. 18:00

“An Island Is Not an Island. Shades of Dark Heritage” is the first exhibition of Urmo Vaikla’s practice-based doctoral research. It explores military architectural heritage in the context of Hiiumaa and its impact on the island’s landscape, local community, and collective memory.
Although island may appear separate and isolated, it has always been influenced by global political processes. Defensive lines and military installations were built on the Hiiumaa both before and during the First and Second World Wars. A rich military heritage also dates from the 50-year period of Soviet occupation, when the island was the westernmost border zone of the Soviet Empire. Traces of this history remain visible: boundary strips once ploughed and raked through the coastal forests, defensive trenches branching out like a capillary network, and barbed wire still scattered here and there. Countless bunkers, cannon positions of coastal batteries, border guard towers, and training grounds remain abandoned in the landscape, evoking a dark history embedded in the island’s natural environment.

Urmo Vaikla’s research focuses on spatial conditions in the aftermath of trauma, examining the persistence and adaptation of architectural heritage in the context of social and political change. The aim is to map and investigate spatial values and to seek answers to the questions of whether, and how, dark heritage can be interpreted and (re)used.

Methodologically, the exhibition project draws on two curated international creative residencies addressing military heritage—Time Lap and Pinhole—which took place at Kordon Art Residency on Hiiumaa between 2024 and 2026. The residency programmes explored political trauma through embodied (somatic) experience, personal objects, and individual experience. The exhibition is a visual and poetic synthesis of the material gathered and experienced during the residencies, together with the creative projects.

Artists participated in the residency program: Selina Bonelli, Thomas Reul , Alexander Petrounine, Anna Underowicz, Anu Pennanen, Kaisa Karvinen, Jona Kleinlein, Nelly Haag
Residency Program Curators: Urmo Vaikla, Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla
The exhibition is supported by: Eesti Kultuurkapital, Eesti Sisearhitektide Liit, ühendus Ruum ja Vorm

28 August – 27 September 2026
Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn

On 27 August at 6:30 PM, the artist Andre Joosep Arming’s debut solo exhibition Chain Reaction will open at the Hobusepea Gallery with a festive, Renaissance-themed masquerade ball, directed by Linda Mai Kari.

The exhibition is an exploration of human fragility, solitude, adaptation and perseverance, focusing on the tension field between the ending of life and new beginnings. The exhibition will remain open until 27 September.

Chain Reaction is about celebrating the joy of existence and the privilege of being alive. Arming’s works serve as a poignant reminder to inhabit the present fully, with complete intensity, despite not knowing what the future holds. The artist adds: “I would like to remind everyone and acknowledge that life is hard, but it is worth it.”

The exhibition showcases works from 2018–2025, alongside three new series created specifically for the show: Don Quixote I, Detachment Does Not Exist and Epistemic Heart. A core element of Arming’s practice is the poetic autobiographical portrait, through which he presents an uplifting, life-affirming philosophy despite a complex medical background. His works move across the border between personal and universal, intertwining memories, identity, time, love and mortality.

Arming draws inspiration from both pop culture and the visual everyday environment. In his works, maximalism manifests itself not only as an aesthetic choice, but also as a viable lifestyle and resistance to simplification. During the exhibition, the artist’s alter ego “Non Mors” also comes to life, opening up the theme of death through playfulness, absurdity and drama.

Andre Joosep Arming (b. 1995) holds a BA in Photography (2018) and an MA in Contemporary Art (2024) from the Estonian Academy of Arts. His practice primarily utilises Polaroid photography and video. Recurring themes in his work include autobiography, the cyclical nature of birth and death, and the concept of timelines. Arming is a member of the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (FOKU) and the Estonian Artists’ Association, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions across Europe (including Germany and Lithuania). He is also a member of the NGO Siirdatud süda (Transplanted Heart).

Dream team: Kleer Keret Tali, Helle Ly Tomberg, Karl-Christoph Rebane, Linda Mai Kari, Sirel Soans, Mio Kurm, Johanna Ruukholm, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo, Hans-Otto Ojaste, Johannes Säre, Hugo Leinola and Artproof.

Exhibitions in the Hobusepea Gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko AS. The gallery is managed by the Estonian Artists’ Association.

On August 27. at 17:00 a group exhibition of contemporary women jewellers titled You’re Nobody ‘Till Somebody Loves You, will open at the HOP gallery.

The truth is, we want only for love. We want to be cherished, needed, protected. We desperately want to be intimate and vulnerable with an other. When love has been given or taken, denied or refused, found or lost; the ache of the heart becomes profound and pieces of jewellery become unapologetic love letters of desire, remorse, joy and loss. 

Nine contemporary women jewellers have been invited to make new, single pieces of jewellery based on their interpretation of the exhibition title per their own experiences – with or without, in and out of love. This is where the exhibition begins.

Curated by Erinn M. Cox

Participating artists: Erinn M. Cox, Piret Hirv, Katarina Kotselainen, Kristiina Laurits, Eve Margus, Erle Nemvalts, Pilvi Tammoja, Ketli Tiitsar, Hanna-Maria Vanaküla

Join us for a tour with the exhibition curator, Erinn M. Cox, on Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 17.00 [in English]

Join us for a tour of the exhibition on Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 17.00 [in Estonian]

The exhibition is open until September 27, 2026.

Special thanks: Estonian Ministry of Culture, Eesti Kultuurkapital, Estonian Artists’ Association, and Liviko Ltd.

Sacredness usually sounds like something definite – a belief, symbol, or place set apart from the rest of the world. This exhibition, however, begins from a more fragile place: the feeling that something suddenly becomes meaningful, charged, untouchable, even when it is ordinary or impossible to describe in words.

The sense of intensity experienced in the exhibition presents sacredness not as a fixed definition, but rather as a field that circulates around objects. The protruding elements of the works evoke both protective armour and an energy field. Each form appears to hold or guard something—a memory, a body, a habit, a fantasy—yet their actual function remains open.

The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on, and remind themselves of, what feels sacred to them. Not in a grand or formal sense, but in the small ways certain objects, routines, and stories remain attached to us. Can something sacred exist only in reality, or does it exist solely in our imagination?

* Many of the ceramic works were created during an almost year-long ceramics internship in Berlin – a period that has shaped their forms and surfaces. In the exhibition, they are brought together in a new, altar-like constellation that makes room for both real and imagined sacred things.

Cristopher Siniväli (b. 1999) is a ceramic artist who received a Master’s degree in Design and Crafts from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2025. His artistic practice centres on creating non-functional ceramic compositions, drawing deeply on nature and personal emotions for inspiration. In recent years, he has also explored the relationship between the human body and ceramics, considering how form and presence affect both the viewer’s experience and the experience of wearing an object. His work creates connections between ceramics, fashion, and sculpture.

Thank you: ARS Ceramics Center, Estonian Artists’ Association, Vivarec, Bildhauerwerkstatt, Karksi, Fazer

One of the starting points for the exhibition is Karel Čapek’s The Gardener’s Year. Čapek’s sharp and humorous observations on a (city) gardener’s desires, joys, disappointments and endless need to care for something immediately struck a chord.

Having spent an increasing amount of time at a summer cottage in recent years, I have also begun to develop my own, still rather vague understanding of rural life and the rhythms of nature. These rhythms can be calming and abundant, but at the same time ruthless and starkly indifferent.

Autumn evenings and nights in the countryside are dark, unless the moon is shining. If wearing a reflector in the city is recommended, in the countryside making yourself visible can be a necessity.

A beautiful summer is pleasant and abundant, but already in August the creatures that have kept their distance from the house begin pushing their way back in through cracks and openings. All it takes is a single day away for birds to devour all the berries ripening on the bushes, or for the last apples fallen beneath the trees to disappear overnight.

It is uncomfortably sobering to realise how fragile life is, and how much care is required to maintain this small part of our surroundings that we try to “domesticate” or cultivate. Even if one somehow manages to avoid disease, fungi and frost, a vole suddenly moving into the garden can be enough to throw the entire order of things into question.

In the countryside, humans are not necessarily the masters. Everyone is competing for food, light and space. If humans imagine they have an advantage in this struggle, it is only for as long as they remain vigilant and keep things “in order”. In the end, everything is food for someone or something.

Of course, one can take an arrogant position – scatter poison left and right, put up deterrents, or concrete over every available patch of ground. But at least I don’t want the countryside to become too orderly and controlled. That would take away one of the reasons for being there in the first place.

The ant, the wasp and the snail all have their place. So does the frog.

With thanks to: Estonian Artists’ Association, ARS Art Factory, EKA Foto, EVA Lab, Katrin Koit, Lipuvabrik OÜ, Taavi Varm, my wife, and my mother.

Open Mon-Fri 12-18, Sat 12-16

Finissage: 28 September, 18:00

* This plea has stayed with me from a period I once spent in Kütiorg, which significantly reshaped my understanding of living alongside nature and of nature conservation as an alternative worldview – one in which slogans and radicalism do not take centre stage, but rather common sense and an understanding of what is and is not possible.

Plastic bags are nowaday’s symbols of disposability, an object we associate with overconsumption and wastefulness. The plastic bag’s association with Western consumerism is precisely what made it an object of value during the Soviet period in Estonia. Behind the iron curtain, anything linked to the West was desirable because it signified modernity and freedom. The plastic bag thus became a currency, an accessory, a collectible and now, it’s a documentation of a bygone era.

The bags in this exhibition are originally from private collections and most of them are now in the collection of the Estonian Museum of Applied Arts and Design. They are examples of Estonian product design and applied graphic art, yet their designs also illustrate the daily culture of Soviet life in Estonia. The value that was attached to these bags was a reflection of its time which is remembered for its scarcity and repression. Our shift in perspective towards plastic bags reflects the shift in the world around us, both in everyday realities as well as political ideology. Plastic is known for its plasticity, its ability to shapeshift and morph. The reputation of plastic bags is plastic – it has changed from revolutionary wonder-material and object of desire to useless, disposable trash, associated with deteriorating over-production. In a way, every archive is plastic, because the way we see the objects is ever changing.

The texts of the exhibition are based on the supporting materials of the exhibition “Kile kotti! / Plastic into Bag!” which was shown at the Estonian National Museum and Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design in 2004 and 2005, especially the interviews conducted by Kristi Kaljumägi and the exhibition text written by Pille-Triin Männik.

Thank you to Helen Adamson, Kristi Kaljumägi, Marvi Meriniit, Anu Järs, Chloé Gourvennec, Eva Mahhov, Marit Hololei and Katri Kuus. Research for this project has been supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment.

Graphic design by Chloé Gourvennec.

Nordic and Baltic comics exhibition “Mythbústers”
In the lobby of the Estonian Academy of Arts 03.09.–04.10.2026
Open Mon–Sun 8–23, admission free

Opening: Thu 3.09.26 at 5 pm in the lobby of the Estonian Academy of Arts
Artist talk with Emmi Valve, Joonas Sildre and David Schilter: Thu 3.09.26 at 5.30 pm
Emmi Valve’s workshop: Fri 4.09. at 2–4 pm

When thinking about the Nordic and Baltic countries, the first associations that come to mind might be trolls and Vikings, the midnight sun and the polar night, saunas and winter swimming, hygge and fika, Nokia and IKEA. Perhaps you have also heard of these countries’ excellent school systems and strong social welfare models? But what is behind these myths? 16 comic artists from all over the Nordic and Baltic countries created works that reflect their own unique perspectives on life in the region.

The Baltic comic magazine “š!”, issue 57 “Mythbústers” which includes all these works and is distributed worldwide, was published in connection to the exhibition.

As part of the exhibition, a comic drawing workshop for students will be held on Friday, September 4, at 2–4 pm, led by Emmi Valve. Participation is free, but places are limited. The workshop will be held in English and all students are welcome to participate. Register here.

Participating artists: Akvile Magicdusté (LT), Cecilia Vårhed (SE), Clara Jetsmark (DK), Disa Wallander (SE), Elín Elísabet (IS), Emmi Valve (FI), Ida Neverdahl (NO), Joonas Sildre (EE), Jurijs Tatarkins (LV), Laura Ķeniņš (CA), Liisa Kruusmägi (EE), Mari Ahokoivu (FI), Ona Kvašytė (LT), Søren Glosimodt Mosdal (DK), Tim Ng Tvedt (NO), Tommi Musturi (FI)

Curator: David Schilter (LV)

The exhibition is organised by Kuš! in cooperation with the Nordic Council of Ministers’ offices in Latvia and Estonia.
The exhibition was supported by the Cultural Endowment of Latvia, the Nordic Council of Ministers’ offices in Latvia and Estonia, the Danish Cultural Institute and the Embassy of Sweden in Riga.

Loora Kaubi’s and Erik Hõim’s joint exhibition “Cobbled together, stumbling” is open till October 4th in the Monumental Gallery of the Tartu Art House.

The exhibition is inspired by memories of various places and stories. These stories speak to age-old needs: how to be with people when they can no longer be with us, and how to say the words that have come too late.

We believe in that which we hope for. We believe that our memory will always shine with the same brightness. We believe that we will forever hold a place in this rapidly changing, aching world. Faith is a small and stubborn thing. It is a load which we bear. This faith can become a chapel-shaped house, not built in memory of a single person, but as a tribute to all those who have ever been longed for.

It is hard to say why mortal humans build houses for those who are no longer here, shelters in which one can continue to believe in the possibility of good, quiet worlds, filled with small gestures for humanity, cobbled together bit by bit from whatever happens to be at hand, without trying to adorn that which we still do not know, or force any meaning onto anything. But still, small stones, lines, pieces from familiar places say: someone was here. They did exist. And maybe in the end that is the meaning of faith: we hope that something stays.

Loora Kaubi (b. 1998) is an artist working in Tallinn. Her work explores themes of sleep, personal and collective memory and fatigue. Kaubi holds an MA in fine arts from the LUCA School Of Arts, a BA degree from the painting department of the Estonian Academy of Arts, has completed a portion of her studies in the Vienna Academy of Arts and did an internship in Mexico City.

Erik Hõim (b. 2001) has a bachelor’s degree in photography from the Estonian Academy of Arts and has furthered his studies in photography in Prague, at FAMU. He has received the Estonian Youth Contemporary Art Association’s weekly award, the audience award of the Summer Exhibition and has participated in exhibitions in Tallinn, Võru, Urbino and Prague. He is part of the fictional artist Uru Valter and a member of the Estonian Youth Contemporary Art Association.

Graphic design: Diandra Rebase

Thanks: Hanna Samoson, the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia, António Tainha, Mette Mari Kaljas and Deviis OÜ

The exhibition is being supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Opening on Thursday, 21 May at 6 pm in the Great Hall of the Kumu Art Museum
(Weizenbergi 34 / Valge 1, Tallinn).
 
Chromatic Drift creates a cohesive perceptual and spatial experience centred on colour, a defining element in the oeuvre of the Estonian painter Kristi Kongi. Works created specifically for this exhibition over the past couple of years, together with the surrounding installation-based environment, evoke both chromatic richness and a poetic mode of being in unmapped territory.
 
At the opening, the launch of the book accompanying the exhibition will also take place.
 
The opening will take place in Kumu’s courtyard, weather permitting.
 
Opening programme on Saturday, 23 May:

Exhibition tours with curator Ann Mirjam Vaikla and artist Kristi Kongi: 12 noon (in English) and 2 pm (in Estonian)
Artist talk with Kristi Kongi at 3:30 pm

The exhibition will remain open until 11 October 2026.

Curator: Ann Mirjam Vaikla
Exhibition design: Mari Hunt, Grete Daut (MARIHUNT architects)
Graphic design: Brit Pavelson
Exhibition installation manager: Tõnis Medri
Coordinator: Anastassia Langinen

11.07.2026–25.10.2026

From 11 July, Tartu Art Museum’s project space will present Kaisa Maasik’s solo exhibition The Lightness of Being as part of the Young Tartu exhibition series.

Kaisa Maasik’s solo exhibition The Lightness of Being focuses on ordinary yet beautiful moments that are easy to overlook. These may be a fleeting smile between two strangers, the first day after a long winter when you can finally swap your boots for sneakers, or the sound of rain tapping on a windowsill that briefly wakes you in the night before lulling you back to sleep. Maasik’s works are rooted in observation and attentiveness, bringing together collected moments and everyday observations shared by different people. Against the backdrop of rapid information flows and constant competition for our attention in digital environments, the exhibition invites visitors to slow down and notice what usually remains in the background – situations that could happen to any of us and that remind us that life is largely made up of such small, genuine moments.

The Young Tartu exhibition series was launched in 2017 with the aim of promoting and supporting the work of emerging artists connected to Tartu. Previous participants in the programme have included Sten Eltermaa, Keiu Maasik, Mirjam Hinn, Siiri Jüris, Nele Marie Tiidelepp, Tõnis Jürgens and Viktoria Berezina.

Kaisa Maasik’s exhibition will take place in the project space on the third floor of the Tartu Art Museum from 11 July to 25 October 2026.

Kaisa Maasik (b. 1994) is an artist and curator based in Tallinn. She graduated from the Contemporary Art Programme at the Estonian Academy of Arts (MA, 2021) and from the Photography Department (BA, 2017). In 2019, she furthered her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki in the Praxis curatorial master’s programme. Collaboration plays an important role in Maasik’s practice; she works both collectively and independently on projects that often take the form of spatial artworks. She focuses on the feelings and experiences of people she encounters, seeking to convey their stories through objects and memories. Collecting is central to Maasik’s methodology, drawing primarily on everyday life. She was a member of the Umbrella Group (2016–2017) and has been involved in the organising teams of the project space Vent Space (2018–2019) and the Tallinn Photomonth Biennial (2017 and 2019). In 2020, Maasik was awarded the Wiiralt Scholarship. In spring 2021, she participated in the FAIR residency at FABRIKKEN in Copenhagen. Maasik has been a member of the Estonian Union of Photography Artists since 2021 and of the Estonian Artists’ Association since 2022.

Artist: Kaisa Maasik
Curator: Stella Mõttus
Graphic designer: Kersti Heile
Supporters: Estonian Cultural Endowment, Ledzep OÜ
Exhibition team: Indrek Grigor, Joanna Hoffmann, Rene Kriisa, Katariina Leets, Katrin Lõoke, Anti Saar, Peeter Talvistu
Video clip credits: Arvi Anderson, Jana Arendi, Katariina Aule, Andrus Avarand, Yvette Bathgate, Marleen Eino, Alexei Gordin, Yiheng Gu, Viktor Gurov, Liisa-Lota Jõeleht, Erik Jürmann, Pirke Kaljula, Piret Klea-Velleste, Karel Koplimets, Nele Kurvits, Epp Kuslap, Kadri Lind, Maria Luiga, Mariel Luuk, Heiki Maasik, Katariin Mudist, Stella Mõttus, Reigo Nahksepp, Urmet Piiling, Evelyn Raudsepp, Mari-Liis Rebane, Yiyang Sun, Maryliis Teinfeldt-Grins, Annika Toots, Tõnu Tunnel, Simona Tätte, Lotte Ugandi, Ruudu Ulas, Pille-Riin Valk, Eliisabet Valmas, Sten Vendik, Helen Västrik

“silent resonance” is an exhibition in which ceramics and sound meet not through direct “musicality,” but through behaviour: how ceramic form, mass, surface, and emptiness affect the space we perceive. A work may function like an acoustic organism – one piece absorbing sound through matte, porous surfaces and soft edges; another reflecting it through glossy glaze, tense arches, and hard surfaces; a third dispersing it through rhythmic reliefs and fragmented geometry.

Air is an essential quality of the works: the invisible volume held inside the ceramic is like a lung or chamber, giving the object internal tension and presence. Openings, necks, edges, lids, and mouths create the impression that an object could resonate – even if it does not actually make a sound. The focus therefore shifts from sound as content – melody, recording, performance – to sound as a quality: resonance, silence, reverberation, and dampening.

Silence becomes the exhibition’s supporting material. “Silence” as a formal decision – an omitted detail, a break in a pattern – and “listening” as a way of looking. The viewer does not need to listen with their ears; it is enough for the work to make them perceive the space differently: more slowly, more closely, and more attentively.

“silent resonance” is not a conventional ceramics exhibition where visitors are expected to keep their distance from seemingly fragile works. On the contrary, visitors can physically engage with many of the pieces: approach them, view them from different angles, and discover details that only become visible up close. Several works can even be gently touched, moved, and used to produce sound. This interactivity is not a “game,” but a way of listening to the space and the work through the body: how the direction of openings, the depth of inner voids, the roughness of surfaces, or glazed areas become perceptible only through closer engagement.

A quiet resonance emerges when looking becomes a form of attention akin to listening.

Organizer: Estonian Ceramists’ Association

Curator: Cristopher Siniväli

Supporters: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Bellus Furniture OÜ, Nudist Participating artists: Mari Ait, Ingrid Allik, Kaja Altvee, Merike Hallik, Kadi Hektor, Elize Hiiop, Eve Hint, Jarõna Ilo, Sergei Isupov, Kadri Jäätma, Tiina Kaljuste, Karin Kalman, Üllo Karro, Kersti Karu, Lauri Kilusk, Milvi Korela, Jaana Kormashov, Külli Kõiv, Kristel Kärdi, Triinu Maide-Safin, Margit Mald, Maia Noorväli, Ann Nurga, Aigi Orav, Clelia Piirsoo, Urmas Puhkan, Rave Puhm, Kadri Pärnamets, Anne Pärtna, Rita Randma, Ene Raud-Mägi, Sander Raudsepp, Aino Saan, Maarika Saarelaht, Kärt Seppel, Marget Tafel-Vahtra, Katri Taklaja, Ene Tapfer, Annika Teder, Margit Terasmees, Helena Tuudelepp, Triin Türnpuu, Mart Vaarpuu, Helle Videvik

A joint exhibition by the EKA Textile Department and Kreenholm textile artists on the process of printed-fabric making

Opening at Narva Art Residency on September 5th 16:00, From Sketch to Printed Fabric brings together archival materials by Kreenholm textile artists and contemporary printed fabrics by students of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

The exhibition looks at the process behind printed textiles: how a repeat is constructed, how a sketch develops into a printable fabric, and how colour separation and registration shape the final result.

The exhibition presents works and archival materials by Kreenholm textile artists from 1960–2000, including sketches, repeats, colour studies, print proofs and fabrics. Alongside them are large-scale digital prints by EKA Textile Department students, designed in relation to Kreenholm’s historical repeat dimensions of 640 and 914 mm and bringing contemporary themes and perspectives into the exhibition.

An installative printing table with technical samples introduces the screen-printing process from idea to printed fabric. Visitors can also experiment with creating their own patterns and immediately see how they work in repetition.

Opening: 5 September 2026
Exhibition: 6 September 2026–10 January 2027
Location: Narva Art Residency (NART)

Curator: Alyona Movko-Mägi
Exhibition design: Eva Reiska

Works and archival materials by Kreenholm textile artists, 1960–2000

Estonian Academy of Arts, Department of Textile Design
Artists: Rosena Marju Melvin, Annabel Mustasaar, Ethel Noortoots, Karin Sarv, Hannah Parman, Katriin Tammoja, Getlin Tammoja, Eliisa Leppik, Marta Velda Loos, Freia Mugra, Lisandra Murumets, Helena-Mai Posti

Tutors: Krista Leesi and Piret Valk

Supporters and partners: Estonian Academy of Arts, EKA Textile Design, Cultural Endowment of Estonia / Eesti Kultuurkapital, Narva Art Residency (NART)

The summer school season is coming to an end, and we’re bringing the Summer School Reader to Tallinn! 

Join us on 9 September at 6PM at Logi Saun for an evening of readings, conversation and sauna.

Trojan Horse is an autonomous educational platform based in Helsinki, working across architecture, design and art. It organises summer schools, workshops, reading circles and live action role-plays, creating spaces for learning and exchange outside more conventional educational settings. The Trojan Horse Summer Schools bring together participants from different backgrounds for an intensive week on an island, where they read and discuss together, share their own interests and research, organise workshops, and take part in the everyday routines of living together, from cooking and cleaning to swimming and going to the sauna.

The A Week on An Island With Trojan Horse – The Summer School Reader grew out of these experiences. Rather than documenting the themes, workshops and events of the summer schools, the publication gathers personal memories, reflections and interpretations of what happens around and in between them. It is a collection of different perspectives on those intense weeks of living, working, talking, learning and being together, and on what remains after everyone returns home.

During the launch, we’ll introduce the publication and hear some of the texts from the book. After the introduction and reading session, the warm sauna will be waiting for us. 

9 September · 6PM
Logi saun, Tallinn

Come say goodbye to the summer with us! 

Edited by: Ott Kagovere, Hanan Mahbouba, Arlene Tucker, Jaroslav Toussaint, Andre Vicentini, and Tommi Vasko

Texts by: Hanan Mahbouba, Marianna Maruyama and Arlene Tucker, Jaroslav Toussaint, Andre Vicentini, and Tommi Vasko

Graphic design: Ott Kagovere and Kert Viiart-Õllek.

EKA Arh Conference 2026 “To Be Continued….From Scattered Facts to Shared Concerns“

10 September 2026

EKA Arh Conference 2026 takes place as Day 1 of the two-day Tallinn Architecture Biennial TAB Symposium.

Tickets for the EKA Architecture Conference and the entire TAB Symposium can be purchased on Fienta.

Event on Facebook · LinkedIn

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The 2026 EKA Arh Conference focuses on one of the central questions facing architecture and urban development today: how do we move forward when starting from scratch is no longer a viable option? While knowledge about climate transition, resource limits, and the built environment is abundant, translating that knowledge into collective action remains a challenge. Rather than asking only what comes next, the conference asks what can and should continue.

Across urban, building, and material scales, international speakers and researchers explore adaptation, reuse, and transformation in the built environment. The programme brings together perspectives from architecture, planning, construction, and research to discuss how existing places, buildings, and resources can support meaningful change, and how scattered knowledge can become shared concerns capable of shaping long-term action.

Participants can earn 10 Estonian Architects Union continuing professional development (CPD) credits for attending the conference.

Programme

09:30–09:45

Opening Words

09:45–10:30

Transformation Keynote

Aleksi Neuvonen (Demos Helsinki, Finland)
From Fragmentation to New Norm(ative)

Climate action in cities is pulled in different directions by varied priorities, worldviews, data sources, and levels of ambition. Shared, time-bound climate and carbon neutrality goals have helped, giving everyone a common target. But a goal alone isn’t enough. Every city’s material culture (buildings, infrastructures, technologies) shapes not just how it behaves today, but what future it can imagine. Because different cities inherit different material cultures, often shaped by past technology and finance decisions, they move towards the future at different speeds. The challenge is building a shared direction that still recognizes these differences.

10:30–10:45 — Coffee Break

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Parallel Session I

10:45–12:15

Spatial and Architectural Transformation

Location: Main Hall
Chair: Kaja Pae

This session explores processes of spatial transformation across urban and architectural scales, examining how cities, landscapes, and built environments adapt to changing social, ecological, and cultural conditions. Contributions address themes such as urban restructuring, adaptive reuse, spatial continuity, and the relationship between territorial systems, public space, and architectural intervention.

Ivana Angelova
Farms and Buried Rivers as Connective Infrastructure in Nerima, Tokyo
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University

Elina Liiva
Architectural Practice and Institutional Systems in Transition
Estonian Academy of Arts

Jaak-Adam Looveer
How Tallinn (Briefly) Became a Cycling City
Estonian Academy of Arts

Helmi Marie Langsepp
Energy as Site: Place-Responsive Renewable Energy Infrastructure in Baltic Sea Edge Conditions
Tallinn University of Technology

Gizem Bakioğlu Apaydın
Futures Foreclosed: Scenario Thinking and Urban Design in Post-Disaster Antakya
Istanbul Technical University

Soenke Zehle and Dan Dubowitz
Sounding Archipelagic Imaginaries: Holding Relations of Sense and Care across Stranded Sites
K8 Institut für strategische Ästhetik / HBKsaar

In parallel

Prefabrication, Retrofit, and Adaptive Reuse

Location: Monumental Studio
Chair: Siim Tuksam

This session examines prefabricated and industrialized approaches to the transformation of existing buildings and urban fabric. Contributions explore themes such as adaptive reuse, modular retrofit systems, circular renovation strategies, and the extension of building lifecycles, addressing how contemporary construction methods can support more sustainable and resource-conscious forms of spatial transformation.

Chieh-Hsuan Jasmy Chen
Multi-Resolution Fabrication: A Notation-to-Fabrication Framework for Volumetric Point Printing
University of Innsbruck

Andriy Golovchenko
Designing for Continuity: Environmental and Production-Informed Development of the 3Cycle Modular Timber System for Crisis Response and Long-Term Reconstruction
Estonian Academy of Arts

Kaiko Kivi
Topological Modelling for Design–Fabrication Continuity: A Case Study in CLT Panel Systems
Estonian Academy of Arts

Alvin Järving
Building Longevity as a Heterogeneous Design Question: Mapping Preservation and Transformation Across Scales
Estonian Academy of Arts

Katrin Stöhr
The Seasonal Plan: Spatial Gradients and Seasonal Patterns of Inhabitation
University of Innsbruck

Anni Martin
The Bar We Set: Making Architectural Critique Actionable in Mass-Housing Renovation
Estonian Ministry of Climate

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12:15–13:15

Lunch

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13:15–14:00

Adaptation Keynote

Hiroto Kobayashi (Keio University, Tokyo, Japan)
Do-It-Together-Anyway: Design-Build Action toward Participatory Architecture
The Veneer House Project, developed by Hiroto Kobayashi and the Kobayashi Laboratory at Keio University, is an affordable, participatory architecture system using CNC-fabricated plywood panels. Inspired by traditional Japanese joinery, its interlocking components can be assembled and disassembled without specialized tools, nails, or heavy hardware. Originally conceived after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the project enables communities, students, architects, and volunteers to build flexible and resilient shelters and community spaces together. Adaptable to local climates and cultures, Veneer House projects have been realized in Japan and internationally, exploring new possibilities for self-build, disaster recovery, and community empowerment.

14:00–14:15 — Coffee Break

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Parallel Session II

14:15–15:45

Material Systems and Circular Construction

Location: EKA Main Hall
Chair: Sille Pihlak

This session focuses on material systems, construction processes, and circular approaches to the built environment. Contributions examine themes such as material reuse, prefabrication, tectonics, fabrication methods, and resource-aware design strategies, addressing how construction systems can support more adaptive and sustainable spatial practices.

Xiao Wang
Abductive Reasoning for Bio-digital Computational Design: Generating Relations Across Fragmented Nonhuman Domains
University of Innsbruck

Samantha Ratanarat
Building with Byproducts: Circular Construction and Land Use in the Plantation Landscapes of Southern Thailand
MIT

Kateřina Klímová
Pop-up Learning Landscape: Towards a Modern Educational Environment Through Furnishing Rather Than Construction
Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague

Eva Toom
Building an Unfinished Transition: Negotiating Bioconstruction, Local Practices and Habitability in a Rural Off-Grid House in Southern Chile
Ecotectura

Muchen Yan
Rubbles: Material Features as Design Data
University of Innsbruck

In parallel

Participatory Planning and Urban Transformation

Location: EKA Monumental studio
Chair: Panu Lehtovuori

This session explores participatory approaches to urban transformation through digital mapping, GIS-based spatial analysis, and collaborative planning tools. Contributions address themes such as tactical urban interventions, community engagement, and urban greening strategies, examining how localized actions and participatory processes can inform broader spatial and policy frameworks and vice versa.

Juulia Aliide Salulaid
Between Rules and Practice: Emergent Practices in Urban Planning Systems
Tallinn University of Technology

Kimmo Lylykangas
Climate Jeopardy: Representational Mismatch in Urban Greenhouse Gas Inventories
Tallinn University of Technology

Milda Kuraitytė and Gediminas Viliūnas
From Visual Graph Analysis to Eye-Tracking Stimuli: A Methodological Framework for Three Urban Genotypes
Vilnius Academy of Arts

Antti Heinonen
Immersive Co-Design as Posthumanist Pedagogy: A Studio Study of Collaborative XR Sketching
LAB University of Applied Sciences

Chiara Chioni
From UTOPIA to Practice: Technology-Mediated Participation for Climate-Responsive Public Spaces
Aalto University

Hawke Gihm
Between Compliance and Character: Architectural Diversity Under Carbon Limits
Tallinn University of Technology

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15:45–16:00

Coffee Break

16:00–16:45

Panel Discussion

16:45–17:00

Closing Words

EKA Arh Conference 2026 forms the first half of the two-day Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB) Symposium. We thank our partners and supporters: the Estonian Centre for Architecture, TAB, the City of Tallinn, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Estonian Research Council, and the Estonian Doctoral School. The project “University Cooperation in Promoting Doctoral Studies” (2021-2027.4.04.24-0003) is co-funded by the European Union.

On September 10, the Estonian Academy of Arts (EAA) will host a spectacular finale of the iron casting course at the Raja Street outdoor studio, where metal will be cast and creative and technological experiments completed during the course will be presented. Over 40 students and professionals from Estonia and abroad will participate in the international course.

Iron casting is primarily common in heavy industry, but despite its complexity, artists and designers are also involved in it. In the pursuit of efficiency and clear definitions, such areas between the highly standardized and the creative-experimental tend to disappear, but in order to maintain cultural integrity, it is important to keep these spaces – to maintain existing competencies and at the same time strengthen diversity.

The course, which will take place from August 31 to September 11, will explore iron casting technologies at different levels – starting with learning about iron casting as a basic metalworking technology and its various processes, and moving on to metal alloys, technological possibilities and creative experiments on different scales.

The course is attended by students from EKA and other higher education institutions, as well as professionals from Estonia and abroad. Among the participants are students from Germany, Sweden, Norway and Japan, as well as students from EKA’s jewellery and blacksmithing, craft studies and contemporary art departments, and Erasmus students. Professionals have come to the course from, among others, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Germany and the United States.

The course is supervised by Nils Hint (EKA) and David Snoo Wilson (UK). The technological research is being conducted by lecturers from Ostrova University of Technology and Riga Academy of Arts, artist Peter Bauhuis from Germany and members of the international iron casting organization ICCCIA.

On Thursday, September 10 at 6:00 PM, the public final of the course will take place at the EKA’s Raja Street outdoor studio.

The iron casting course has been held at EKA since 2016. Over the past ten years, Estonian iron casting practice has become increasingly visible in Estonia, Europe and internationally. As a next important step, the EKA Department of Jewelry and Blacksmithing, in cooperation with ICCCIA, will organize an international iron casting symposium in Tallinn in 2028.

House of Negotiated Selves
Estonian Academy of Arts (EE)
Ars Electronica campus exhibition
Linz University of the Arts, Hauptplatz 8 (West Building)

House of Negotiated Selves explores the boundary between human autonomy and machine representation. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly prevalent in mediating and shaping our interactions, creation, and decision-making, there is a constant negotiation taking place.

In response to the 2026 theme “NEGOTIATING HUMANITY – THE FUTURE BEGINS”, House of Negotiated Selves frames this negotiation as an embodied experience. Through the metaphor of the distorted mirrors of an amusement park, our own reflections appear similar, but ultimately deceive us. The installation asks when our reflection becomes a substitute and when a machine begins to speak for us.

Visitors enter a world where their presence is perceived and interpreted. At first, the system seems to be a mirror of their true selves and presence. Gradually, the reflection begins to wander, predicting, distorting, and misrepresenting the visitor. What begins as recognition becomes ambiguity and displacement. Rather than correcting one form of distortion, the work allows it to emerge, revealing to the visitor a disturbing experience of representation that no longer belongs to them.

House of Negotiating Selves explores AI-mediated representation and the erosion of human agency. Situated at the intersection of interaction design, critical AI research, and sensory art, the project translates an abstract discussion into a tangible experience that is not about what AI is, but rather how it will come to represent us, whether we agree with it or not.

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DANUBEN TRIANGLE

This year’s Ars Electronica team (Product Design + ixd students):

Paula Jürgens
Martin Orav
Tõnis Bender (IXD)
Kulla Kangur
Anett Elis Männil
Carina Schipai
Hendra Raud (IXD)
Sara De Simone (IXD)
Paul Pank
Markus Hunt
Gustav Villem Kalberg

Supervisors: Carol Tikerperi and Bob Bicknell-Knight

Support and assistance: Björn Koop, Kätlin Leokin, Kaspar Pulk

The EKA Institute of Art History and Visual Culture is part of the Visual Arts in Europe: An Open History (EVA) project that brings together more than 150 art and heritage historians representing the 46 member countries of the Council of Europe. The project is led by an Editorial Board, composed of six European specialists, and supported by the International Association of Research Institutes in the History of Art (RIHA). Its scientific and operational coordination is provided by the Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA) in Paris.

Launched in 2019, this scientific and editorial project results in the publication of a digital platform, documenting the history of the visual arts on the European continent, from prehistory to the present day. This platform will be structured around a collection of 475 objects and images, selected in consultation with all of its institutional partners. It is developed within the framework of an international dialogue, remaining attentive to the plurality and richness of scholarly traditions, accessible to all audiences, and providing an account of current research in the discipline of art history.

This seminar will examine the principles that inspired the launch of this project, the methodology used both for the selection of objects and the attribution of associated texts, as well as the challenges encountered during the development of the digital platform. The presentation of the project and platform prototype will be followed by an open discussion with colleagues from the EKA Institute of Art History and Visual Culture, host of this seminar and Estonian project partner. With INHA director Anne-Solène Rolland and project coordinator Margot Sanitas present, the seminar will be an opportunity for all the Estonian representatives to share their reflections on the selection of objects and how the project contributes to reshaping our common history of European visual culture.

Koht: A-403 

Aeg: N 17.9. kell 12:00-13:00

Emma Sarpaniemi is a visual artist based between Helsinki and Reykjavík. Sarpaniemi received a BA in photography from the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK) in 2019. In her practice, Sarpaniemi explores womanhood and definitions of femininity through performative self-portraits. For her, self-portraiture is a playground, a realm for exploring representation and resisting conventions of the gaze. The portrayed characters offer the possibility to continuously reconstruct oneself. The shutter release cable, often clearly visible in her photographs, serves as a symbol of the subject being in control of their own image. The characters she creates are fictional, but they are not alter egos. For her it’s inevitable that she regoznised herself in the images, where identity, reality and imagination intertwine. 

For Sarpaniemi, photography is a medium of joy and playfulness, empowering to dream of new possibilities of femininity, gender roles and the gaze. Collaboration and collectivity also hold important roles in her work. Traces of friends’ presence appear in individual portraits through elements such as a painted house, wooden frames, or a friend focusing behind the camera. Her works have been extensively exhibited in galleries, museums, and festivals throughout Europe and are included in notable public art collections as well as numerous private collections.

Emma Sarpaniemi will participate in the Foto Tallinn art fair on September 18-20, where she will be represented by the Helsinki Contemporary Gallery.

website

Anne-Solène Rolland is General Director of the Institut national d’histoire de l’art in Paris (French national institute for art history). She previously served as Head of Museum Department at the French Ministry for Culture, and as Scientific Director at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac. In both positions she dealed with restitutions and provenance research of museum artefacts. Based on these experiences, and on research currently lead at INHA, she will give a insight on how French institutions and professionals have addressed these issues.

On 25 September, 2026 Sofja Hallik, doctoral student of Art and Design curriculum, will defend her doctoral thesis „Crafting Touch: Physical and Digital Approaches in Jewellery“ („Ehtekunst füüsilise ja digitaalse puudutuse vahel “).
The public defense will take place at 14.00 at EKA (Põhja pst 7), room A101.

Supervisors: Prof. Kadri Mälk (Estonian Academy of Arts), Dr.  Jaak Tomberg (University of Tartu), Prof. Nithikul Nimkulrat (OCAD University)
External reviewers: Dr. Katharina Vones (Royal College of Art), Dr. Roberta Bernabei (Loughborough University)
Opponent: Dr. Roberta Bernabei (Loughborough University)

Thesis is available in EKA digital repository.

Abstract:

What happens to craftsmanship when the hand is no longer the only maker?

Digital technologies have transformed how jewellery is imagined, designed, and produced. 3D modelling, 3D printing, simulation-driven design, and, more recently, AI have expanded the possibilities of creative practice. At the same time, they raise questions about touch, tacit knowledge, materiality, authorship, and creative agency. These questions are particularly relevant to jewellery, a field historically grounded in handwork, embodied skill, and direct engagement with materials.

In her doctoral research, artist and jewellery maker Sofja Hallik examines how digital technologies interact with contemporary jewellery practice and reshape the role of the maker. Developed over approximately ten years, the research spans a period of significant technological change and the growing integration of digital technologies into creative practice.

The practice-based research is centred on three case studies: handwork, hybrid-work, and machine production. Through the creation and analysis of three jewellery collections and their accompanying exhibitions, Hallik examines different relationships between the hand, tools, and materials. The three approaches are not treated as fixed categories, but as positions along a continuum shaped by varying degrees of manual work and technological intervention.

The findings demonstrate that digital and manual processes should not be understood as opposite forces, but as mutually informing components of contemporary jewellery practice. Digital technologies do not simply replace traditional craftsmanship. They change the conditions of making and enable new forms of experimentation, complexity, and precision. Hybrid making emerges as a methodology based on continuous interaction between human tactility and machine logic.

The research also shows that digital technologies transform rather than simply remove touch and tacit knowledge from jewellery practice. Direct tactile engagement may decrease as technological involvement increases, but embodied knowledge continues to inform digital decisions through parameters, commands, selections, and adjustments. The research therefore expands the understanding of touch through the concepts of digital touch and speculative tactility.

The dissertation’s central finding concerns the changing role of the tool. Hallik identifies three roles: tool as a tool, tool as a partner, and tool as a creator. These roles represent different degrees of agency and authorship. As technological involvement increases, tools can move from executing the maker’s intentions towards actively influencing or generating form. The maker remains involved by establishing parameters, evaluating possibilities, selecting outcomes, and translating digital forms into physical objects. Authorship can therefore become shared rather than singular.

The research demonstrates that traditional craftsmanship and digital production are not opposing approaches, but exist in a complex and evolving relationship. Digital technologies can extend jewellery practice without making embodied skill, material engagement, or the artist irrelevant. As AI and generative systems become increasingly present in creative practice, these findings also raise broader questions about how authorship and creative agency may continue to change.

**Please take note: this event is in Estonian only, no translation provided on location**

How should a concentration camp and its victims be commemorated in the urban landscape of Estonia today? During the German occupation, between 3,500 and 4,000 people were executed at the Tartu concentration camp. The victims included people who had collaborated with the Soviet authorities, Jewish and Roma families from Tartu, and Jewish men, women and children brought to Tartu from Latvia.

Today, few traces of the camp are visible in the public landscape. The main sites of remembrance are the Soviet-era memorial at Lemmatsi outside Tartu (1964, designed by Elmar Rebane and Väino Tamm) and two smaller memorial stones at the Jewish cemetery in Lohkva. Yet the concentration camp was not confined to a single site: its network of facilities extended across the city.

In light of recent historical research, the ways in which the Tartu concentration camp has been remembered in independent Estonia call for renewed attention, both in cultural memory and in public space.

This seminar brings together historians, scholars of memory and urban space, and artists to examine the history of the Tartu concentration camp and its place in the memory landscape of Tartu and Estonia. Its broader aim is to explore how the various sites associated with the camp might be connected into a coherent framework—both conceptually and spatially—within the contemporary city.

As a first step, the seminar seeks to create a space for dialogue between experts from different fields and the citizens of Tartu, providing a foundation for future decisions and initiatives aimed at making the history of the concentration camp more visible.

How should we approach Soviet-era memorial sites today? How can difficult histories be represented in public space in ways that reflect recent historical research and changing social and cultural contexts?

Alongside presentations and discussions, the seminar programme includes a guided bus tour of sites connected with the Tartu concentration camp and a visit to the Lemmatsi Memorial.

PROGRAMME

11:15
Welcome and opening remarks
Risto Lehiste (Tartu City Museum)
Kristo Nurmis (Tallinn University)

SESSION I

The Tartu Concentration Camp: Historical Perspectives

11:30–11:50
Riho Västrik (Tallinn University)
The Concentration Camp System in Estonia during the German Occupation

11:50–12:10
Kristo Nurmis (Tallinn University)
The Concentration Camp and Communal Violence in Tartu during the German Occupation

12:10–12:30
Meelis Maripuu (Estonian Institute of Historical Memory)
Soviet Rule and the Tartu Concentration Camp

12:30–12:45
Discussion
Moderated by David Ilmar Lepasaar Beecher (University of Tartu)

12:45–13:30
Lunch

SESSION II

Commemorating Concentration Camps: Comparative Perspectives

13:30–13:50
Kädi Talvoja (Estonian Academy of Arts)
The Lemmatsi Memorial: An Art-Historical Perspective

13:50–14:10
Eneken Laanes (Tallinn University)
Conceptual Approaches in Cultural Memory to Commemorating the German Occupation

14:10–14:30
Hellar Lill (Estonian War Museum – General Laidoner Museum)
Exhumation and Reburial of the Victims of the Second World War

14:30–14:45
Discussion
Moderated by Gregor Taul (Estonian Academy of Arts)

14:45–15:00
Coffee break

SESSION III

How Should the Tartu Concentration Camp Be Commemorated in Public Space?

15:00–16:00
Panel discussion
Moderated by Mariann Raisma (University of Tartu Museum)

Participants:
Ants Siim (Tartu City Museum)
Karin Bachmann (Kino Landscape Architects)
Kertu Vuks (Tartu City Government)
Gennadi Gramberg (Estonian Jewish Museum)
Taavi Piibemann (Pallas University of Applied Sciences)

16:15–18:00
Guided bus tour

A bus tour of sites associated with the Tartu concentration camp, followed by a visit to the Lemmatsi Memorial. The tour will be led by Indrek Mustimets.

The tour begins and ends at Tartu City Museum.

Participation in the seminar is free of charge, but advance registration is required. Please register HERE by 20 September. **Please take note: this event is in Estonian only, no translation provided on location**

The event is organised by Tartu City Museum, Tartu City Government, and “How to Reframe Monuments,” a joint project of the Estonian Academy of Arts and Tallinn University.

You are invited to listen to how The Circular Design and Materials Research Group (DiMa) got its start, what we are working on today, what projects are currently underway and what the future holds.

Let’s see what impact DiMa’s research and development work has created over the years, both in Estonia and internationally. We will also take a closer look at the journey of the UPMADE platform, which grew out of DiMa’s activities, and its first major steps in the international market.

Margaret Aus, senior researcher at DiMa, and Triin Siimer, project manager, and Jeanine Ballone, founder of World Collective and UPMADE’s business model advisor, will talk about the work and experiences of the research group.

The event will be held in English.

Schedule:

15:00 Welcome
15:05 DiMa – who are we, what have we done so far and where are we going?
15.30 Introduction to the UPMADE platform and plans
16.00 Discussion and questions
16.30 Closing

On 2 October from 13.00–15.00, the Disainiöö programme at Põhjala Factory will host “Sustainable Textile Counselor: A New Learning Opportunity in the Textile Sector”, introducing a new international educational initiative focused on supporting sustainable transformation in the textile sector.

The textile industry faces an urgent need for new knowledge, skills and approaches to make production and consumption more sustainable. The Sustainable Textile Counselor (STC) project offers a practical learning pathway for professionals who want to support companies and organisations in developing more sustainable textile practices.

The event will introduce the STC project and its independent learning opportunities, while also exploring what it means to work as a sustainable textile counselor. The event will also celebrate the completion of Estonia’s first STC pilot programme, with diplomas presented to the newly trained counselors.

The programme will conclude with a hands-on workshop led by the new sustainable textile counselors. Participants will have the opportunity to explore practical approaches, knowledge and methods developed during the pilot programme.

The event is free and open to everyone interested in sustainable textiles.

Põhjala Factory
2 October
13.00–15.00

More information: https://www.sustainabletextilecounselor.com/

The event is organised by DiMa, EKA’s Circular Design and Materials Research Group.

“STUDIO: EKA Architecture and Urban Planning Graduation Projects 2004–2026”
EKA Gallery 12.09.–11.10.2026
Open Tue–Sat 12–6 pm Sun 12–4 pm
Opening: Friday, September 11 at 6 pm

Architecture is one of the disciplines through which societies imagine alternatives to present conditions. In Estonia too, architecture students have for decades asked in their graduation projects what other lives could be possible for us. Characteristically for the discipline, answers have been sought through imaginative representations – drawings, models and texts.

The graduation project, a creative genre in which realisation is not expected, has allowed students to wander and stake out a place of their own in this strange territory between hard reality and pure imagination, starting from existing conditions, yet able to play out possibilities more freely, sometimes well beyond the bounds of realism.

From 2004 to 2026, EKA’s Department of Architecture and Urban Planning has supervised this work in the studio format. “STUDIO” situates this format within the broader history of architectural education and practice-based research, while looking back at the rich archive of graduation projects that have accumulated over these years. What have successive cohorts considered worthy of attention, investigation and change? What architectural responses have they imagined? And what role has the studio played in shaping such inquiry?

Curators: Eik Hermann, Andres Ojari, Toomas Tammis (Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, EKA)
Exhibition design: Andres Ojari, Toomas Tammis
Design of light boxes: Raul Kalvo (InPhysica Technology)
Graphic design: Stuudio Stuudio
Technical support: Ats Kruusing, Eugenio Marini, Éric-Olivier Thériault-Raymond

Thanks: all the supervisors and students of the EKA department of Architecture and Urban Planning 2004–2026, Sander Haugas, Oliver Kanniste, Mikk-Mait Kivi, Jevgeni Krassi, Priit Kõiv, Tiina Tammet, Avo Tragel

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn City and Sadolin Estonia.
Opening drinks from mirai™ and Põhjala Brewery.

On Friday, 11 September, at 6pm, Editorial (Latako 3, Vilnius) will open the exhibition Familiar Stranger, curated by Milda Januševičiūtė. The exhibition is part of the Vilnius Gallery Weekend programme.

Familiar Stranger brings together works by Zuza Banasińska, Loora Kaubi, Sarah Neumann and Milda Januševičiūtė, to look at memory as an unstable process through which personal and collective identities are continually reconstructed. The exhibition lingers between family histories, inherited images, bodily memory and digital archives, asking what happens when the past reaches out through fragments: a story repeated by relatives, an image whose details no longer agree, a gesture inherited without explanation, or a file stored somewhere in the clouds. Memory here is less an archive of what happened, and more an ongoing negotiation between what is remembered, forgotten, altered and passed on.

The exhibition is interested in the shift between embodied and externalised memory. What was once held in stories, objects and bodies increasingly also exists on corporate servers, accessible through passwords, subscriptions and infrastructures that we rarely see. Forgetting may be a basic condition of being human; data storage has made it into a service.

Rather than treating memory as reliable evidence, Familiar Stranger considers how remembering is shaped by repetition, omission, technology, and the moment from which it looks back. The familiar can return slightly changed; someone else’s memory can quietly enter our own; an inherited story can feel simultaneously intimate and strangely foreign. The exhibition does not propose the recovery of an original, intact past. Instead, it asks how to live with what remains, what has already been rewritten, and what we choose, or allow other systems, to remember for us.

The exhibition can be seen at Editorial (Latako 3, Vilnius) until 24 October.

Familiar Stranger
Artists: Zuza Banasińska, Milda Januševičiūtė, Loora Kaubi, Sarah Neumann
Curator: Milda Januševičiūtė
Architect: Ona Juciūtė
Designer: Monika Janulevičiūtė
Language Editor: Joseph Everatt

The exhibition is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture
The exhibition will be accompanied by a programme of events: follow us for updates at www.editorial.lt.