Summary 2015

The Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC) had a successful year and we’d love to share with you what we’ve been up to.  With our support, our partner organizations Temnikova & Kasela Gallery, Vaal Gallery and Lugemik Bookshop participated in 10 international fairs in Vienna, New York, Paris, Dubai, Basel, Berlin, Budapest and Miami.  Among the most successful was Kris Lemsalu’s performance sculpture, “Whole Alone 2” with Temnikova & Kasela Gallery, which was selected as one of five specially-mentioned installations at Frieze New York.  The work also garnered the biggest media coverage of the year, most notably in the New York Times.  A second nod to Estonian art in the NY Times this year came in the form of a feature article about our unique food and art experience in Milan, with Kris Lemsalu also participating.

 
In 2015 we continued providing international gallery internships for selected gallerist master course participants to learn from the best. For several months, four young art professionals – Tiiu Parbus, Madli Ehasalu, Eda Tuulberg and Temuri Hvingija – joined the teams of Office Baroque (Brussels), Juliette Jongma (Amsterdam), Raster (Warsaw) and United Photo Industries (New York), respectively.

 
Earlier this year we partnered up with the Curatorial Program for Research (CPR) in order to host the first curatorial research trip to Estonia.  In October, 10 curators from 9 countries spent 7 days in Estonia during the first immersive program of its kind.  In addition, curators from Buenos Aires, Mexico City, São Paolo, New York and Istanbul visited Estonia for individual research as part of our “International Focus” series.  Among other new partnerships set to continue next year are the Tallinn Music Week and International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York.

2015 also marks the first year for Outset Estonia.  Seven distinguished philanthropists and businessmen have jointly come together with the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Centre (ECADC) to found the first privately-funded initiative of its kind in Estonia.  As a member of the global Outset network, Outset Estonia supports new contemporary art commissions as well as significant local and international art projects. The first three supported projects were by artists Jaanus Samma, Kris Lemsalu and Marge Monko.