
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Kaarin Kivirähk</strong> is the editor-in-chief of A Shade Colder.</p>


Kaarin Kivirähk


<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Two years ago, my life changed completely. “Congratulations, you are now a mother,” the midwife told me – and I had no clue what to do with this new job title.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The old me – the one trained in cultural theory – began to examine the norms into which mothers are cast. The art historian in me thought of all the mothers before me: how they had laboured in exactly the same way in a different setting – in a modest Estonian farmhouse, in a rigid Soviet maternity ward. The mother in me, meanwhile, was trying to piece my bleeding body together again, so I could maintain the life I had created.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the opening interview of this issue, artist Merike Estna who represents Estonia this year at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, says in conversation with Laurie Cluitmans that motherhood has been really good for her creatively. Her interest in historical female painters and the ways caregiving work has shaped their practice will be reflected in her exhibition at the Estonian Pavilion.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But Merike also shows how motherhood brought her closer to existentialist questions. Historically, and still today, motherhood is entangled with death and mourning. This darkness and ambiguity are reflected in the essay by Eda Tuulberg, who is curating a large show on motherhood in Baltic and Eastern European art at Kumu Art Museum in Tallinn. Furthermore, the short story by Mia Wennerstrandt and the visual essay by August Joost further explore the darker and more existentialist side of becoming.&nbsp;</p>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-scaled.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-300x202.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-1024x691.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-1167x788.jpg 1167w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-1501x1013.jpg 1501w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-1667x1125.jpg 1667w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-2000x1350.jpg 2000w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-2667x1800.jpg 2667w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-2917x1969.jpg 2917w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/joh-ja-martu-illu-koos-scaled.jpg 2560w" data-sizes="auto" width="2560" height="1728" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Johanna Ruukholm, <strong>The Dream That Invented the Body</strong>, 2026; Martina Gofman, <strong>The Dream That Invented the Body</strong>, 2026<br></figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Care takes many forms and one of them is curatorial care. Joonas Pulkkinen reflects on this in his research, weaving together theoretical inquiry with his own experience of becoming a father, and tracing how it reshaped his understanding of care. The article <em>This is how we gave birth to Baltic feminism</em> refers to Mare Tralla’s work of a similar name. In the article, Mare Tralla, Jana Kukaine and Agnė Narušytė show how feminist art was born in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the 1990s, and how it has shaped the art scene since then. Often dismissed as a <em>foreign</em> narrative, these practices in fact grew out of the artists’ lived experiences.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This year, Sámi art is presented in exhibitions in both Tallinn and Helsinki. Marion Charlotte Bouvier focuses on the works of Britta Marakatt-Labba and the growing international recognition of Sámi art. Here <em>becoming </em>refers to the labour of making oneself visible in the global art scene. Alongside this, an article about the making of Baltic art museums and spaces together with our Events Guide take you on a trip through the region – perhaps with the map created by Alexei Gordin in hand.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is the fifth print issue of A Shade Colder. When we launched the magazine in 2022, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine had begun only months earlier. Since then, we have sought to offer a platform for Ukrainian artists and to donate half of our sales to the Ukrainian Art Emergency Fund. The print issues come with stickers by Ukrainian artists – this time by Katya Buchatska, whose series reflects on the process of building a relationship with a newborn.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Becoming </em>is an issue dedicated to transformation, new beginnings and narratives. At a time when we urgently need to rethink the systems that define our world, we turn to artists and other creative minds, to voices from previously marginalised regions, and to those who know how to care.</p>


joh ja martu illu koos

Becoming

Editorial. Becoming


<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Alexei Gordin</strong> is mainly known as a painter; however, he also works with photography, video and performance. Gordin’s work is influenced by caricatures and combines text and pictures, referring to comics and meme culture.</p>


Alexei Gordin

Illustrations

KIM copy 3

Art museums and spaces in the Baltics are made of dreams


<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Illukas-10-copy.jpg" data-sizes="auto" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Martina Gofman &amp; Johanna Ruukholm, <strong>Practices in Dialogue</strong>, 2025</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>&#8220;Anna-Stina Treumund, what would you do today?&#8221;</em> asks <strong>Rebeka Põldsam</strong> in an article that opens the 10th issue of A Shade Colder, <em>Practices in Dialogue</em>.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Anna-Stina Treumund</strong> was a bold artist, recognised as the first lesbian artist in Estonia. She was also a good friend of the author and a posthumous solo exhibition at Kumu, the largest art museum in Estonia, explores her contribution. Like friendly ghosts, the friends or people you admire and who are no longer here can often still inspire us to be better versions of ourselves. The dialogue continues.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In this issue, A Shade Colder focuses on these and other kinds of dialogues between artists, performers and curators whose practices are shaping the art scene in Estonia and elsewhere.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the interview by <strong>Kathrin Heinrich</strong>, performance artist <strong>Netti Nüganen</strong> opens up about how she builds worlds on stage: often starting from learning a new technique, such as playing the banjo or black metal singing and then embarks on creating the performance based on these skills.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Absurd moments and humour are something that might form a thread that connects Nüganen and the worlds created by artist <strong>Kaarel Kurismaa</strong>. Interviewed by artist and close collaborator <strong>Kiwa</strong>, Kurismaa openly reflects on his long practice that began by organising happenings while in art school in the 1950s. In early 2026, Kurismaa will open a solo show at Kunsthalle Zürich.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Vanina Saracino</strong> writes about the works of artist <strong>Kristina Õllek</strong>, one of the most internationally active artists in Estonia at the moment. Saracino has been in dialogue with Õllek for many years. <em>&#8220;How can image-making reveal what remains unseen, the invisible infrastructures and living processes that sustain the planet?&#8221;</em> she asks.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Last but not least, I interview <strong>Paul O’Neill</strong>, a curator based in Helsinki, whose project, started many years ago, aims to bring curators of the region together and create a non-hierarchical platform to discuss the roles and activities that shape our everyday – a call for dialogue with the potential to find completely new forms of practice.</p>


Illukas-10 copy

Practices in Dialogue

Editorial. Practices in Dialogue


<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Peafoto_-Paul-O_Neill-speaking-at-Positioning.-Yelyzaveta-Babaieva-copy.jpg" data-sizes="auto" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Paul O&#8217;Neill speaking at Positioning. Photo by Yelyzaveta Babaieva</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">During the first week of October this year, a four-day symposium on curating took place in Helsinki. Initiated by Paul O’Neill and PUBLICS, it was called <em>Positioning. A Symposium on Curatorial Thinking in the Nordic-Baltic Region and Beyond. </em>This year, the event was co-hosted with Amos Rex and Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma; in the upcoming years it will be happening elsewhere in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Bringing together an impressive list of curators both from the region and elsewhere, the symposium aimed to grasp the idea of what a curator’s role is today and how this can vary across countries, institutions and initiatives. We asked Paul O’Neill, the organiser and a researcher on curatorial thinking about his motivation behind bringing together a network of international curators.</p>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-details-block details">What would you like to achieve with this vast, multi-year project? What is the core aim?</div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The aim is to establish a new nomadic centre for curatorial thinking – without a single main centre, or fixed location. Instead, it would be a centre that accounts for a cooperative decentring or recentring – one that is networked, unfixed, flexible and of regional significance while connecting to the breadth of knowledge here and beyond. This new Centre for Curatorial Thinking would focus on the significance of past and present thinking, knowledge and critiques within the practices of the curatorial.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This symposium aims to start with <em>positioning</em>a globally networked enquiry into current and future curatorial thinking in the Nordic-Baltic region during a time of urgencies, and of radical uncertainty for culture and human rights. We come together to consider how we can think and work together, how to position ourselves with others, and how to bridge the local-regional-global curatorial nexus within and beyond the region. We aim to provide a critical space for much-needed dialogue between diverse local and regional actors, agencies, and international contemporary art scenes, and all our extraordinary curatorial thinkers across generational and geographical boundaries.&nbsp;</p>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-details-block details">The event gathers curatorial thinkers from across the Nordic-Baltic region. Why focus on this region – how many topics and challenges do we share and in what ways are these countries different?</div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I think the Nordic-Baltic region needs more curatorial thinking, productive dialogues and cooperation across institutions and between differently located practices. There are already many geopolitical concerns and commonalities across the region.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There is also considerable disbalance between institutional scales where there are a lot of large-scale museums, institutions and academic structures (albeit constantly under threat) without offering sufficient support for independent, co-dependent and smaller scale curatorial, emergent and organisational practices.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There is a huge gap between those two scales without middle ground and medium-scale support structures to provide links between more grassroots and the top level and more stable infrastructures for curators, artists and cultural workers alike. Work needs to be done but without competing for the same agency, access or resources.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At the same time, we have seen the emergence of curatorially-led, but relatively new modestly scaled biennials, triennials and regionally specific larger-scale exhibitions with global perspectives. These are happening simultaneously with even newer curatorial studies and nascent exhibition histories and programmes focusing on the region and its surrounding relations. With the Centre for Curatorial Thinking we wish to decentre the activities of publics from Helsinki into the regions, whilst expanding our activities and collaborations with institutions, curators and artists alike, offering opportunities and support for one another.</p>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-two-images-block"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2.jpg" data-sizes="auto" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption1>Paul O&#8217;Neill in conversation with Lisa Rosendahl and Nkule Maboso at Positioning, in Publics. Photo by Aman Askarizad</figcaption1><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Positioning-at-Amos-Rex-30-September-2025.-Photo-by-Kerttu-Penttila-copy-2.jpg" data-sizes="auto" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Positioning at Amos Rex, 30 September 2025. Photo by Kerttu Penttilä</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-details-block details">You’ve been researching curatorial thinking for many years, what makes this topic still relevant to you? Why do you think it matters?</div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After more than 30 years of increasingly intense curatorial production and debate – considering the foundation of the first curatorial courses in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a starting point – one aspect within curatorial discourse is the continued contestation of the existence and legitimacy of a specifically <em>curatorial</em> field of praxis. It seems that we are experiencing an ongoing discursive cycle of consolidation around curatorial practice at an increasingly global level.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">During a similar timeframe, all across the globe, we have increasingly witnessed an ever-aggressive and accelerating reaction to globalism in the form of rejection, xenophobia (even in form of multiple genocides), and anti-internationalism in the form of the march and success of the populist Right, and its preference for autocratic men with names like Erdoğan, Modi, Netanyahu, Orbán, Putin, and Trump. What these leaders and their followers share, among other things, is a disdain for the liberal and humanist values of contemporary art and its permissiveness. It is the ideology of global curatorial and contemporary art practices, its proposed value, and its economic support structure – globalisation, and thus its creation of surplus value – that are under direct attack. It should also be noted that their policies are a response to the economic effects of neoliberal deregulation and global trade in favour of protectionism and neo-nationalism.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So by focusing on the differences and commonalities of forms and modes of curatorial thinking we can bring into focus where we are positioned and how we might come to know more, and to share and to offer opposition or modest modes of resistance. I like to think of <em>positioning</em> as situated knowledge, or simply as the practice of locating where someone or something is located or sited; how we are arranging ourselves or something in a particular way, how someone or something is placed or arranged; putting or arranging (someone or something) in a particular location or specific way. Taking up a position, <em>taking a stance</em>, and of <em>positioning oneself</em> <em>with others </em>as a means of informing art, curatorial, educational and institutional practices as much as they shape the world around us.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Additionally, we need to consider how we position and with whom are we positioning ourselves, and to build and expand more productive collaborative and sustainable networks, partnerships and relationships across the region and beyond for the present and the future.</p>


Peafoto_ Paul O_Neill speaking at Positioning. Yelyzaveta Babaieva copy

Paul O’Neill: A rethinking of curatorial relations is necessary


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kai Kaljo</h2>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/kai-kaljo.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/kai-kaljo-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/kai-kaljo-300x205.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/kai-kaljo-1024x700.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/kai-kaljo-1152x788.jpg 1152w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/kai-kaljo.jpg 1155w" data-sizes="auto" width="1155" height="790" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption><br><em>Kai Kaljo giving a talk at CCA Estonia in 1999</em></figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-details-block details">Kai Kaljo studied monumental painting in 1983–1990. Kaljo’s themes are inspired by her personal and everyday life extending into existential and social statements. Using black humour and irony, she often questions power relations in the art world.<br><br>She has held solo exhibitions in Estonia as well as elsewhere in Europe. Kaljo has also participated in group exhibitions and film and video festivals all over the world. Her works belong to the collections of Moderna Museet, the Art Museum of Estonia and Sprengel Museum, among others. She has been awarded the Kristjan Raud Prize (2006), the Annual Award of Estonian Cultural Endowment (2000,) and the Award of the Annual Exhibition of the Soros Centre for Contemporary Arts, Estonia (1994, 1998).<br></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">During my studies at the art academy, I felt we had little awareness of the art that was being made elsewhere in the world, and how Estonia could relate to it. Today, it’s hard to imagine life without the internet, but in the 1980s there weren’t even many art books available that featured colour images, you could only look at those in libraries. In the State Art Institute of Estonia (ERKI), lectures on Western art history concluded with the 1950s. Yet, despite this lack of information, I at least felt an unconscious wish to do something that had not been done before.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I’ve always felt it limiting to express myself in just one genre, and so the freedom of the 1990s suited me marvellously. This was the most liberal era, even compared to now: no idea seemed too strange or improper.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The establishment of the Soros Center for Contemporary Arts, Estonia (now CCA) provided the opportunity to get funding to produce works for the annual exhibition, which back then was something new. Many things we take for granted today were then cosmically expensive, and great ideas would have otherwise remained unrealised.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I was conceptually influenced by the life around me, which was rapidly transforming and full of hope. Everything was new, the borders were opening, and I created several video works at residencies in Germany, the US, London and elsewhere. No one suggested that I should engage with Eastern European topics, and to my knowledge I really haven’t either. Even my work <em>Loser</em> (“Luuser”, video, 1997) was thematically just as understandable in the West.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I would still gladly work with monumental painting today, if I were commissioned.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jaan Toomik</h2>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/toomik-jt.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/toomik-jt-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/toomik-jt-300x171.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/toomik-jt-1024x583.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/toomik-jt.jpg 1171w" data-sizes="auto" width="1171" height="667" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption><br><em>Jaan Toomik (on the right) with art writer Ants</em> <em>Juske and artist Kiwa in Düsseldorf in 2000</em></figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-details-block details">Jaan Toomik is a painter, video installation and performance artist, whose work stems from a metaphysical, biocentric and shamanist outlook on the world. His work, mostly nature-poetic and autobiographical, focuses on eternal themes like life and death, religion and spirituality, that tie the human body to the cyclical processes in nature. He has taken part in numerous large-scale international exhibitions and biennales like São Paulo Biennial (1994), Manifesta Biennial (1996), Site Santa Fe Biennial (1997), Venice Biennale (1997, 2003) and Berlin Biennale (2006). He graduated from the Estonian Academy of Art in 1991. </div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">My studies took place during a tumultuous time and this had a great impact on me. Even before I began my diploma work, I was boldly experimenting with the possibilities of painting. By the late 1980s, it was possible to experiment like this. The old faculty didn’t dare intervene, and were uncertain about showing any opposition themselves. And so it happened that already before my graduation work I had lost all interest in painting. Everything else, performative practices, land art and other things just seemed more interesting. I transitioned smoothly into the international trends.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I graduated from the art academy in the spring of 1991, when they hadn’t yet declared the independent Republic of Estonia – by autumn this had already happened. The Soros Center for Conteporary Arts, Estonia was established in 1992, and it happened to be during this time that they first began selecting Eastern European artists to take part in the São Paulo Biennial (1994). This gave me the opportunity to step into the international arena, which was a success, providing me with a series of exhibitions around the world. The Soros Center provided support in organising all of this. At first, communication with the outside world went through fax; we sent in visual materials via post.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Since we didn’t have to go through all of the various developments of art in our re-independent Estonia, we could jump straight into the new era, and with a fresh perspective because there was no information about what had been studied in the West. Everything we did was based on enthusiasm, and often without knowing what had already been done. This gave us creative freedom. Oddly enough, us young artists got the hang of the wider field quite fast. I attended the legendary documenta 9 exhibition in 1992 and immediately understood it, even though I hadn’t seen many of the exhibited works nor even heard about the themes. Integrating into the broader art scene happened very quickly.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Anu Juurak</h2>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-details-block details">Anu Juurak graduated from the printmaking department of the State Art Institute of Estonia (ERKI) in 1985. She mainly works with video and spatial installations, interactive environments, and collaborates with technical experts and programmers. Among other themes, her art practice deals with depicting the undefined and the unknown, and the conceptualisation of death in our cultural context.<br><br>She has received the Cultural Endowment of Estonia’s annual award (1998, 2008), the main prize for the annual exhibitions of the Soros Center for Contemporary Arts, Estonia (1996, 1997), and several accolades from graphic and poster art biennials.<br></div>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding-225x300.jpg 225w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding-591x788.jpg 591w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding-760x1013.jpg 760w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding-844x1125.jpg 844w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding-1013x1350.jpg 1013w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding-1350x1800.jpg 1350w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding-1477x1969.jpg 1477w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/1997-Anu-Juurak-interaktiivne-ruumiinstallatsioon-Lift-Interstanding.jpg 1536w" data-sizes="auto" width="1536" height="2048" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption><br><em>Anu Juurak with her interactive spacial installation The Elevator in 1997</em></figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For me, the transition to new media that happened in the 1990s was both ground-breaking and smooth, since at the time I was an emerging artist, and happy to experiment with new means of expression. I think the most impactful paradigm shifts happen in moments of crisis.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Estonia had well-established traditions in printmaking, especially intaglio printing. Already during the Soviet era, an experimental printmaking studio operated under the Estonian Artists’ Union. Skilled masters worked there, prints were made on relatively high-quality paper and essential colours – black and brown – were readily available. In contrast, working with new media meant acquiring everything by yourself and learning from scratch. Where could you borrow a video camera and projectors? Who knew how to make a quality soundtrack for a video piece? Who would lend a suitable graphics card? Who could program? In most cases, the necessary equipment had to be borrowed, and at times it felt like you were more of a project manager than an artist.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In 1996, I held my second solo exhibition, which featured only video installations. I presented a group of works together as a spatial installation: <em>Train</em> (“Rong”), which indeed rode through the various seasons; <em>Picture</em> (“Pilt”), a flickering video image in an old picture frame; and <em>Water</em> (“Vesi”), with video monitors arranged like containers of water. The entire space was immersed in a reflective installation, <em>Clouds </em>(“Pilved”). People told me that this was certainly not an exhibition appropriate for a woman. The art scene at the time had become increasingly polarised. The established artists who had enjoyed much attention and support during the Soviet period were now outraged. I experienced this first-hand when my otherwise sympathetic and friendly colleagues explained to me single-mindedly that photography and video art could not be taken seriously as genres, and that bringing interactivity to art exhibitions was inappropriate. They considered this a pathology that would soon pass.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">And still – for me there was no other choice but to start working in new media, which was exciting, uncertain, in its early stages, much like the country we were living in. This new situation had to be supported in every way imaginable.</p>


kai kaljo

Uncertain Territories

Looking back

kollaaž 9-2

Stuck in the vicious circle of words

kollaaž veebi

The Many Faces of You

Art and solidarity


<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar-295x300.jpg 295w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar-1006x1024.jpg 1006w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar-774x788.jpg 774w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar-995x1013.jpg 995w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar-1105x1125.jpg 1105w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar-1326x1350.jpg 1326w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar-1768x1800.jpg 1768w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mohar.jpg 1907w" data-sizes="auto" width="1907" height="1941" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Mohar Kalra</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In this issue we are focusing on the art scene in the Southern part of Estonia which is known for its mixed cultural heritage and long history, not to mention the beautiful and extraordinary nature of the area which inspired many Estonian artists in the early 20th century.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Tartu as the centre of the region is the university town which is well known for its classical architecture and historical art school Pallas which dominated the Estonian art scene in the first half of 20th century. Pallas University of Applied Sciences still functions today. Nowadays Tartu is also known for its young and vibrant queer scene and street art festivals.&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Smaller towns, such as Võru or Viljandi have become interesting cultural spots for contemporary art. In Viljandi there is a new art residency, run by the Rüki gallery, and a unique museum of Estonian outsider art. Besides a museum with an art gallery, there is also a new studio house for local artists in Võru.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The coastline of Lake Peipus is home for the Old Believers (starovéry) and the South eastern part is the land of the Seto people who have their own language and customs.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mohar Kalra, artist</h2>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-scaled.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-300x209.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-1024x713.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-1131x788.jpg 1131w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-1454x1013.jpg 1454w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-1615x1125.jpg 1615w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-1938x1350.jpg 1938w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-2584x1800.jpg 2584w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/john-scaled.jpg 2560w" data-sizes="auto" width="2560" height="1783" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>John Grzinich</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Every August, for one day, the residents of the Tammelinn neighbourhood in Tartu set up small cafes in their backyards and offer drinks, pastries, music and a space to float around for an afternoon – known as the Tammelinna Kodukohvikutepäev (The Tammelinn Home Café Day). Among the lush gardens that one can usually only glimpse from afar, it makes for a wonderfully intimate way to understand what &#8220;home&#8221; means in Tartu.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">John Grzinich, artist&nbsp;</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">From 29 April to 10 May, I will be coordinating a series of events in Põlvamaa under the title &#8216;Koidukoor&#8217; to celebrate the &#8216;dawn chorus&#8217; phenomenon. This will include a series of early morning guided listening walks during the week and a &#8216;sound camp&#8217; live audio streaming session on the weekend as a contribution to the 24-hour International Dawn Chorus Day global radio program. For this period, we will be hosting several artists from the Soundcamp cooperative in London. They are excited to visit, as the richness of bird song in south Estonia is always a highlight for them.</p>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana-251x300.jpg 251w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana-858x1024.jpg 858w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana-660x788.jpg 660w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana-848x1013.jpg 848w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana-942x1125.jpg 942w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana-1131x1350.jpg 1131w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana-1507x1800.jpg 1507w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/jana.jpg 1644w" data-sizes="auto" width="1644" height="1963" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Jana Huul</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jana Huul, gallerist</h2>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I admire sacred groves and one such site, Tammetsõõr, is located in Kütiorg, on the estate previously owned by the Estonian folklorist Mikk Sarv, whose parents managed to safeguard it throughout the Soviet period. On the other side of Kütiorg, the artist Peeter Laurits also has a house. Tammetsõõr is a place where many cultural events have started and an area where people involved in art and culture live. This year, the 5th Uma Pido, a festival focused on elevating the slowly disappearing local Võru language will be held in Intsikurmu, Põlva. I would also like to highlight Vana-Võromaa Kultuurikoda, where solo exhibitions by Evi Tihemets and Aimur Takk will be taking place in the summer and at the end of the summer, a curatorial project by Margit Säde and Johanna Ulfsak will open as well.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Šelda Puķīte, curator</h2>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-scaled.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-300x198.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-1024x676.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-1193x788.jpg 1193w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-1534x1013.jpg 1534w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-1704x1125.jpg 1704w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-2044x1350.jpg 2044w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-2726x1800.jpg 2726w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/selda-scaled.jpg 2560w" data-sizes="auto" width="2560" height="1691" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Šelda Puķīte</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Tartu2024 programme will no doubt promise a rich diversity of events throughout the year in the larger cities of south Estonia, and for culture-thirsty crowds there will be a lot to experience. Still, sometimes the most exciting gems are not found in the cities, but out in the countryside where amazingly enthusiastic people have built small islands. Two of them are the Voronya Gallery in Varnja village located on the Onion Route near Lake Peipus, and the Maajaam Art and Technology Farm located in Otepää parish. The fishing village of Varnja is a charming summer destination in any year, with locals selling fresh produce from their gardens as well as delicious smoked fish. At the same time, Voronya Gallery offers a versatile cultural programme complemented by its famous waffles and moonshine. For those who want to combine their love of nature, art, and science, the Maajaam outdoor exhibition Wild Bits scattered through the meadows, forests and swamps will provide an opportunity to do just that and hopefully also meet the ‘boss’ of the property, the smiling Dalmatian dog.</p>



<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3-300x239.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3-1024x816.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3-989x788.jpg 989w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3-1271x1013.jpg 1271w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3-1412x1125.jpg 1412w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3-1694x1350.jpg 1694w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3-2259x1800.jpg 2259w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3-2471x1969.jpg 2471w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/kaart3.jpg 2520w" data-sizes="auto" width="2520" height="2008" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Map of Southern Estonia</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1 TARTU</h2>



<div class="event-info" class="wp-block-www-blocks-event-info-block"><div><h3 class="title">4 exhibitions celebrating Surrealism 100th birthday</h3><div class="location01"><p>Various <a href="https://tartu2024.ee/programm/naitus-surrealism-100-praha-tartu-ja-teised-lood-1/">dates</a></p><p>Estonian National Museum, Tartu Art Museum, Pallas Gallery</p></div><div class="description01"></div></div><div><h3 class="title">Street art festival Stencibility </h3><div class="location02"><p>4 – 7 July</p><p><a href="https://tartu2024.ee/programm/stencibility-tanavakunsti-festival-2024-1/">Tartu urban space</a></p></div><div class="description02"></div></div></div>



<div class="event-info" class="wp-block-www-blocks-event-info-block"><div><h3 class="title">Tartu Art Week</h3><div class="location01"><p>Every second week of the month</p></div><div class="description01"></div></div><div><h3 class="title">Estonian Fashion Festival</h3><div class="location02"><p>6 &#8211; 9 <a href="https://tartu2024.ee/programm/estonian-fashion-festival-1/">June</a></p></div><div class="description02"></div></div></div>



<div class="event-info" class="wp-block-www-blocks-event-info-block"><div><h3 class="title">Krista Dzudzilo’s all the possibilities that existed</h3><div class="location01"><p>28.3.2024 — 4.5.2024</p><p>Kogo gallery in collaboration with Kim? Contemporary Art Centre in Riga</p></div><div class="description01"></div></div><div><h3 class="title">Tartu Pride Art Programme</h3><div class="location02"><p>12–18 August</p><p><a href="https://tartu2024.ee/programm/tartu-2024-pride-1/">City of Tartu</a></p></div><div class="description02"></div></div></div>



<div class="event-info" class="wp-block-www-blocks-event-info-block"><div><h3 class="title">Ajuokse V</h3><div class="location01"><p>31 August</p><p>Ajuokse avangaar</p></div><div class="description01"><p>birthday festival featuring alternative art market, punk bands, exhibition openings etc.</p></div></div><div><h3 class="title">International group exhibition Look into my Ice on climate crisis</h3><div class="location02"><p><a href="https://tartu2024.ee/programm/grupinaitus-look-into-my-ice-1/">5 July – 18 August</a></p><p>Tartu Art House</p></div><div class="description02"></div></div></div>



<div class="event-info" class="wp-block-www-blocks-event-info-block"><div><h3 class="title">International technological art exhibition Enter Woodland Spirits</h3><div class="location01"><p><a href="https://tartu2024.ee/programm/naitus-metsavaimud-masinas-1/">28 June – 25 August</a></p><p>Estonian Literary Museum, University of Tartu Natural History Museum</p></div><div class="description01"></div></div><div><h3 class="title">St. John’s Church</h3><div class="location02"><p>Open throughout the year</p></div><div class="description02"><p>A 14 th century church exhibiting a unique gallery of Medieval terracotta heads.</p></div></div></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2 VILJANDI</h2>



<div class="event-info" class="wp-block-www-blocks-event-info-block"><div><h3 class="title">Hidden Worlds Expanding. Eastern European Outsider Art</h3><div class="location01"><p><a href="https://tartu2024.ee/programm/naitus-kolmes-linnas-varjatud-maailmade-avardumine-1/">29 May – 29 September</a></p><p>Kondas Centre (Viljandi), Valga Museum (Valga), University of Tartu Museum (Tartu)</p></div><div class="description01"></div></div><div><h3 class="title">Survival arts by Toomik, Ole and Mäetamm</h3><div class="location02"><p>9 October 2024 – 25 January 2025</p><p>Kondas Centre</p></div><div class="description02"></div></div></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3 OTEPÄÄ</h2>



<div class="event-info" class="wp-block-www-blocks-event-info-block"><div><h3 class="title">MAAJAAM</h3><div class="location01"><p>25 May – 15 September</p><p>Otepää county, Maajaam</p></div><div class="description01"><p>Open air <a href="https://tartu2024.ee/programm/tehnoloogilise-kunsti-vabaohunaitus-metsikud-bitid-1/">exhibition</a> Wild Bits</p></div></div><div><div class="location02"></div><div class="description02"></div></div></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4 VARNJA</h2>



<div class="event-info" class="wp-block-www-blocks-event-info-block"><div><h3 class="title">Voronja XI summer exhibition: Views of the Future by Kaili Kask and Raul Oreškin</h3><div class="location01"><p>22 June – 25 August</p><p>Voronja gallery</p></div><div class="description01"></div></div><div><div class="location02"></div><div class="description02"></div></div></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5 VALGA</h2>



<div class="event-info" class="wp-block-www-blocks-event-info-block"><div><h3 class="title">Vares international interdisciplinary residency for spatial practice</h3><div class="location01"><p>VARES Architecture Residency</p></div><div class="description01"><p><em>Every month of 2024, there will be at least one <a href="https://tartu2024.ee/programm/varese-residentide-avalikud-esitlused-1/">public event </a>in the town of Valga, in the framework of which Vares residents will present their work and activities to both locals and a wider audience.</em></p></div></div><div><div class="location02"></div><div class="description02"></div></div></div>


kaart3

Discovering the Southern part of Estonia


<div class="wp-block-www-blocks-image-block alignleft"><figure class="is-zoomable"><img data-src="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-scaled.jpg" data-srcset="https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-150x150.jpg 150w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-300x263.jpg 300w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-1024x899.jpg 1024w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-898x788.jpg 898w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-1154x1013.jpg 1154w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-1281x1125.jpg 1281w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-1538x1350.jpg 1538w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-2050x1800.jpg 2050w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-2243x1969.jpg 2243w, https://admin.ashadecolder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/asc6-scaled.jpg 2560w" data-sizes="auto" width="2560" height="2247" alt="" class="lazyload"/><figcaption>Illustration: Martina Gofman &amp; Johanna Ruukholm, <em>The Shapes of Language</em>, 2023</figcaption><button class="zoom m-image" aria-label="View fullscreen"></button></figure></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For art writers or magazine publishers, language is a day-to-day business. We use it to describe and mediate artists’ works, find new ways to formulate ideas or argue over clichéd art vocabulary. In this issue, we look at the relationship between language and art from a multitude of perspectives. An interview with curator <strong>Cecilia Alemani</strong>, who recently visited Tallinn, focuses on the role text plays in her curatorial approach and her views on writing and literature in general. While Alemani highlights some of her favourite contemporary and historical artists who have engaged with language, Vilnius-based artist <strong>Ieva Rojute</strong>’s contribution brings together text and visual language, which takes everyday folklore as a starting point.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Meanwhile, performance artist and writer <strong>Gregor Kulla</strong> read <strong>McKenzie Wark</strong>’s book <em>Raving </em>(2023) and had a chance to talk to the author and discuss the role of language in shaping identities and as a tool of power. In the short Q&amp;A, curator and museum director <strong>Kadi Polli</strong> talks about the decision to use four different languages that are or have been spoken in what is now known as Estonia at the new permanent exhibition at Kumu Art Museum. <strong>Keiu Krikmann</strong>’s article stems from her experience as a translator who primarily focuses on translating art texts between Estonian and English. What is the role of English in shaping the development of a small nation’s art discourse? Is the influence of the English language only connected to the desire to orientate one’s art scene towards the centre?</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sometimes, the particular language that is used in the art world also needs to function in other contexts; for example, when it lands on a politician’s table. In this context, four art organisations from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania share how they have been fighting for art workers’ rights and what goals they deem achievable in the near future. The words they use to pass information about artists’ struggles to the general public play an important role here.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As always, the issue ends with a short guide covering art events in Estonia and beyond for autumn and winter 2023/2024. It includes numerous exhibitions that focus on bringing artists from the Baltics together to create a shared narrative, although these stories may initially have been told in different languages. Sometimes, exhibitions like these aim to introduce Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian artists outside the region, but sometimes, the mediation process is aimed internally to point to the common histories and knowledge that we sometimes didn&#8217;t even know we shared.</p>


asc6 veebi

The Shapes of Language

Editorial. The Shapes of Language

kollaaz

Organising against precarity

A Shade Colder is a platform for discussions about and around art in Estonia and beyond.

Kaarin Kivirähk Kaarin Kivirähk is the editor-in-chief of A Shade Colder.

Becoming

Editorial. Becoming

Becoming

Art museums and spaces in the Baltics are made of dreams

Practices in Dialogue

Editorial. Practices in Dialogue

Practices in Dialogue

Paul O’Neill: A rethinking of curatorial relations is necessary

Uncertain Territories

Looking back

Uncertain Territories

Stuck in the vicious circle of words

The Many Faces of You

Art and solidarity

The Many Faces of You

Discovering the Southern part of Estonia

The Shapes of Language

Editorial. The Shapes of Language

The Shapes of Language

Organising against precarity

Kaarin Kivirähk

Kaarin Kivirähk is the editor-in-chief of A Shade Colder.