Exhibition Views 2014

April 11, 2014-Martch 22, 2015, Adamson-Eric Museum 
A hundred years is a long time, and the 20th century was especially marked by great social upheavals and forced direction changes. Nevertheless, the nation-state managed to take its applied arts education to a high professional level by the late 1930s. Later, the higher art school went through several reforms, partially for political reasons, and the visual arts were brought together in Tallinn, even from the erstwhile arts centre Tartu. Despite various occupations, the curricula had been raised to a rather high level by the 1960s and 70s. In the Soviet Union at that time, the Estonian State Art Institute was unique for the variety of specialities it taught. In the 1980s the Academy strove for openness and the integration of international experience into its studies.
The early 1990s saw great changes in the higher education institutions of the Republic of Estonia; finally, the schools had the opportunity to acknowledge decades of dedicated work by their staffs. A statute was compiled and approved for the selection of professors emeriti. In 1993 the first people to receive the honourable title of professor emeritus were Mari Adamson, Ella Külv, Paul Luhtein, Salme Raunam and Voldemar Väli. In total, more than thirty professors have now received the honorary title.
The exhibition is part of a series of events to celebrate the anniversary of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Exhibition co-ordinator: Ülle Kruus
Designer: Vello Asi
Graphic designer: Külli Kaats

August 29-October 19, 2014, Adamson-Eric Museum 
This exhibition is dedicated to the inhabitants of Ruhnu Island and to the passing of 70 years from the day when, in August 1944, all the people except for two families were evacuated from their farms to Sweden. This forced interruption divided the history of Ruhnu into two distinct periods: the time before and after the historical inhabitants left. The Swedish-language community had existed on the island for more than 700 years, with their traditional way of life but, after fleeing, their hope of returning in a few years was crushed due to the post-war political reorganisation of Europe. By now, most of the ethnic Swedes who were born on the island before 4 August 1944 have passed away, and the duty of succeeding generations is to keep alive the memory of those past events and people, and to highlight both the charm and the painful history of the small island.

Curators: Ülle Kruus (Art Museum of Estonia) and Piret Õunapuu (Estonian National Museum)
Designer: Inga Heamägi

11.04.-17.08.2014, Admson-Eric Museum 
In the course of a general wave of interest in the Nordic countries in the 19th century, many Baltic-German artists from Estonia were charmed by Scandinavia, and primarily by Norway and its spectacular nature. From this same period, we find many works with Finnish themes. Among the most significant examples are the ten views of various sites in Finland painted by Karl Ferdinand von Kügelgen in 1818 at the behest of Alexander I of Russia. Lithographs based on these works were published as a three-part album entitled Vues pittoresques de la Finlande [Picturesque views of Finland] in St. Petersburg in 1823−1824. These works also occupy an exceptionally important place in Finnish art history.
In the first decades of the 20th century, when Estonia’s national art and cultural life were being intensively established and modernised, direct contacts with the cultural centres of Western Europe became increasingly important for young Estonian artists and intellectuals. The primary destination was Paris but, en route, stops were often made in Finland. At the start of the century, Helsinki became an important gathering place for Estonians to study and work. After the Revolution of 1905, it also became a place of exile. A more profound interest in the Nordic countries, along with an enthusiastic attitude toward its breathtaking nature, characterised an entire generation of Estonian artists, so that one can even speak of a Nordic period in Estonian art history during the first decades of the 20th century.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Estonia conducted its art relations with the Nordic countries as an independent state. Exhibitions were exchanged, and artists made study and work trips to Finland, Sweden and Norway, trips recalled by the many works that capture these mood-filled moments. The Nordic countries also played an important role in Adamson-Eric’s creative development.
The largest influx of Estonian artists to Scandinavia occurred in 1944. They primarily fled to Sweden, along with thousands of Estonians escaping the Soviet occupation at the end of World War II. The exodus included many recognised artists who had to adapt to new surroundings and cultural contexts.

Curator: Kersti Koll
Designer: Tiit Jürna
Graphic designer: Külli Kaats