Estonia -- E-media Centre in Tallinn

Number of residencies: 1
Period and duration of residency: 2 months during 2004

Hosting organisation: E-Media Centre + Artists' Union


Web site: http://e-media.artun.ee
E-mail: emedia@artun.ee
tel: +372 6267 336
Head of the centre, professor Mare Tralla
Assistant Ivika Kivi
Technician Dagmar Kase


E-Media Centre was established in 1994 with the emphasis on research and teaching of new media, but also for the promotion of digital culture and art.

E-media Centre operates within the Estonian Academy of Arts as an open centre for all students and for artists on project bases. Besides regular academic courses, the centre organises a wide range public workshops of three to five days in the field of digital arts, providing essential practical skills for students, teachers and artists.

In addition to teaching, the E-Media Centre organises international workshops, conferences and festivals such as "Interstanding", and participates in various collaborative projects and cooperation networks. In 2002, the centre initiated a residency programme for Estonian artist to help them in production of their works. During the first residency in the summer of 2002, three Estonian artists worked at the centre for a period of two months.

The Master's programme in interactive multimedia (IMMA) is the growing ground for digital artists and professionals. The students of IMMA are expected to be actively practicing artists or artists working in the professional arena. The two-year MA programme is organised in modules offering broad theoretical and practical skills in digital media. Teaching takes the form of traditional lectures, practices, as well as net lectures and seminars, using international specialists as teachers. The innovative curriculum of IMMA offers many opportunities for international collaboration, exchange and networking. Currently E-media centre collaborates with the Hypermedia Research Centre from the University of Westminster, London, and with the Electronic Music Studio of the Estonian Academy of Music. E-Media Centre is also an active member of NICE (Network Interface for Cultural Exchange), which offers a common ground for new media culture initiatives in the Baltic region. The students of IMMA are expected to take actively part in those initiatives. IMMA students are taught to initiate self-directed work in relation to critical discourses in the area of digital culture, they are also expected to reflect on how their work can lead to new concepts and creation. In addition to this, the students will be engaged in interactive multimedia production, which may vary from extensive Website or CD-Rom to interactive installations. The IMMA prepares students to become professionals in a wide area of digital media, either being artist, researchers or media professionals.

Facilities available for the artist

The artist can use the modern equipped Macintosh class, equipped with a number of computers (generations from G4s to old 7300), there are also a scanner, a CD-burner, a zip drive, a digital camera, a minidisk recorder etc. The computers are equipped with a number of software, including Macromedia Director, Flash, Fireworks, Freehand, SoundEdit, Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, Edit DV, Moto DV and Roto DV and others for multimedia and video production. The artist can also use centres Sony DVCam (which will be available for the artist by reserving specific time), video projectors, VCR's and other equipment. Depending on the project, it is also possible to arrange the use of photographic studio and limited access to Avid video editing facilities. The artist can take full benefit of the fast Internet connection at the centre. He/she can use the academy's server for his/her project.

Equipment list available on
http://e-media.artun.ee/info/tehn.html.en

Possibilities and preferences for the residency artist

The E-media Centre will organise a public presentation and screening of the artist's works. The artist is expected to meet the IMMA students and to share the E-media facilities with the local artists who will be selected by the centre for local artist summer residency. The artist is expected to meet with our MA students and work together with local artists, which should be beneficial to the visiting artist in residency, and inform the IMMA students and Estonian artists about the practise of the visiting artist. Perhaps it could even lead to some collaboration between the visiting artist and local practitioners. Certainly, to see an international artist working with technology will help and encourage local artists and students. There has not been a long history of new media arts in Estonia and the number of practitioners is not very high. It is also possible that the visiting artist gives a small public workshop. However, this should not be something required from the artist, but rather agreed on the basis of mutual interest.

E-media centre is also happy to provide all information and contacts they have concerning the local (art) scene, and offers to facilitate contact with other art and culture organisations and artist initiatives. The artist will be provided with information on local summer events in Tallinn and other parts of Estonia and helped with finding contacts and possibilities to participate in those events.

The centre can also work together with the Gallery of EAA, and if need be, the centre will help the artists with exhibiting the artworks at the gallery, according to the available means. The artist should, however, state his intention to use the gallery for exhibition shortly after the selection process.

Local new media/art scene

Estonian art scene is quite active. There are many galleries and art
organisations, which work in rather traditional media. Alternative
practices are not so easy to find, but they do exist. The new media art scene is not very advanced, few artists work with the Internet, electronic music or interactive media. Yet there is no strong currents or groupings working in this area. The E-media Centre is the most prominent new media art organisation. It has multiple roles to fill. Most of the students studying at the E-Media Centre are the most active young new media artists in Estonia. This is partly due to the fact that the centre has probably the best facilities in Estonia for the production of new media arts. The E-media Centre, together with the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Estonia, has been the most active in advocating new media arts and culture: new media festival Interstanding has a great tradition and now it transformed from mega event into more regular micro events in order to rise local interest and involvement. See Interstanding site http://www.interstanding.ee for more information.