PUTKA PROJEcT

The PUTKA PROJECT brings attention to kiosks and stands, disappearing from the cityscape, together with a part of past urban culture. Lonely few still standing asleep for decades. We have invited a group of urab enthusiasts and artists from different disciplines to take part in our project. Each artist has chosen a kiosk in Tartu in which to create a site specific work of art.

 

Artists and groups taking part of the PUTKA project: creator of urban intervention Brad Downey (USA),

grouping of architects and urbanists Ruumiringlus (Eve Komp, Liina-Liis Pihu, Liina Soosaar, Eva-Liisa Lepik, Kati Shipilenko, Martin Laidla), musician Liis Ring & visual artist Jan Christofer Rutström (EE/SE),

architectural photographer Tõnu Tunnel, light artist Karolin Tamm, scenographer Kristel Maamägi & animator Heta Jäälinoja (EE/FI).

 

During the festivals, the artists will transform six kiosks into works of art open for everybody. Peak into the Nukumaja, into a guard house in Raadi, into a dacha in Hiinalinn, into a former cafe near the railroad, into a yellow garden shed and discover an old R-kiosk, converted into a raft, floating on the Emajõgi.

 

 

BRAD DOWNEY (1980, USA) uses urban space as his studio as well as an arena for his actions. It’s in public space he finds his inspiration and his source of materials. Ordinary, everyday objects which become rearranged, modified or deconstructed into “spontaneous sculptures”. These interventions create playful disruptions, or sometimes disorientations in the streets, which influence by-passers to reconsider their surroundings. Downey’s actions ranges from interventions, illegal actions, to pure vandalism, always carried out with a humoristic playfulness and socio-political awareness. The legacy from the Situationists as well as the Fluxus movement and the Dadaists are clearly perceivable in Downey’s practice.  Brad Downey is currently based in Berlin and has exhibited extensively internationally and commissioned several public works. 

JAN CHRISTOFFER RUTSTRÖM (1985) and LIIS RING (1990)  are together and make art together. Different but similar and similarly different. In a variety of media in a media varieté, mirroring images and sounds of the world they live in. Liis Ring is a musician, a (sound) artist, a cat owner and an observer currently (mostly) based in Tallinn. Jan Christoffer Rutström is currently doing his MA in Contemporary Art, and things he purports to be art, at the Estonian Academy of Art.  

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KRISTEL MAAMÄGI (1986) is a freelance artist of Estonian origin, who works mainly with theatre and comics but uses also other forms of art. She has studied artistic design at Tartu Art School and scenography at Estonian Academy of Arts and Prague Academy of Performing Arts. She has worked as a freelance designer and illustrator. Maamägi has done designs for theatre productions in Estonia, the Chech Republic and Finland. She has taken part in exhibitions of author comics, painting, puppet and multimedia in Estonia and other places in Europe. She currently studies gardening in Räpina School of Horticulture.
 

HETA JÄÄLINOJA (1989, Finland) is an animation artist. Heta has made animation for museums and theatre and worked as an animator in films. Her graduation film “Penelope” (2016) from Estonian Academy of Arts was screened in 90 international film festivals and given a dozen awards. Her main hobbies are drawing, outdoor swimming and clumsy dancing. At the moment Heta teaches animating in Estonia and in Finland, picks berries for winter and prepares the production of her first professional film.

KAROLIN TAMM (1995) is fanatical about light. She has graduated TÜ Viljandi Culture Academy as a lighting designer and has been working on performances such as “Caligula” (Must Kast), “Voomavoos” (Tallinna Tantsuteater), “Oomen” (Kanuti Gildi SAAL), “Beetareaalsus” (Linnafestival UIT). She has been collaborating with UIT since 2016.

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Non-Profit Organization RUUMIRINGLUS (Recycling Spaces) is interested in the topics of interim- and reuse of space. The goal of Ruumiringlus is to research the possibilities of temporary and interim use of vacant buildings and sites in the city. We see interim use as a tool to enliven vacant spaces, empower communities and bring advantage to property owners. Our goal is to improve the socio-economic well-being of people and communities by bringing together active people, ideas and local needs and providing them with dynamic spaces. Ruumiringlus is a group of people from different fields: architects, urbanists, environmental specialists, sociologists, etc. 

 

TÕNU TUNNEL (1987) is a freelance architectural photographer. He is interested in the layerings of different architectural eras in urban space and documenting the city. Tõnu likes technology, but technology doesn't necessarily like Tõnu.