ECTS: 1
Number of available places for KUNO students: 2
Application deadline: June 5, 2017
How to apply: register here

The Contemporary Art Field in Estonia short course provides an overview of how the contemporary art scene in Estonia functions – the most important organizations, the movers and shakers, the currently important and active artists from different disciplines, and the types of events being held. The causal factors behind the art scene are also explored, starting from the restoration of independence, Estonian art in the context of the regional and broader international art scene, and much more. 

Topics to be discussed:

• Trends in contemporary art (social criticism, new painting, installation – architectural approach – public space, photography, graphic design, applied arts etc). Examples of artists and their work. 
• The functioning of the art scene – who is active (what types of professions are feasible in Estonia), how are they funded (Ministry of Culture, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, creative industries, the law that requires a 1% art budget for public buildings, private capital, the art market, artists and work), general diagnostics – bottlenecks and success stories. The development of the art scene since the 1990s, illustrated by keywords.
• Central institutions and platforms (public- and private capital-based). What is characteristic for, e.g. galleries, town galleries in county seats, creative industries centres etc.? Other examples: artists’ residencies, culture factories, Tallinn Art Hall, Tartu Art Museum, Temnikova and Kasela Gallery, Centre of Contemporary Art Estonia, Artists Union.
• Formats and locations of various events. Concentration of art scene mainly in Tallinn and Tartu – what’s going on elsewhere?

The course will be led by Maarin Ektermann, an art critic and a teaching staff member at the Academy of Arts. She currently heads the activity of the Kumu Art Museum’s Educational Centre. The Kumu Educational Centre develops programmes for all age groups, engages in cooperation with partners of interest from Estonia and elsewhere and develops new directions. In addition to examining how various audiences might feel more at home in an art museum, she also writes art criticism as frequently as she can. She is one of the initiators and leaders of the Artishok (Artichoke) art blog project and headed the MÄRZ project space in Tallinn Old Town. In addition, she has been connected with the organizers of number of festivals, discussions, conferences, focusing on advancing art criticism, funding art and self-initiated practices. As part of her doctoral research, she has studied DIY art practices and points of contact with emancipatory learning in Berlin and New York.