EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES AT THE EXHIBITIONS
The exhibitions “Facelessness,” part of the program dedicated to video games, and “On the Other Side of the Great Oblivion” at the Narva Arts Residency had educational programs for school groups. For example, 25 groups visited “Facelessness,” which was more than initially planned. An educational program for the exhibition “Image of the Future with the Shadow of the Past” is being developed in cooperation with the Estonian Academy of Arts and Tallinn University students of art education.
While so far, the creation of educational activities for the exhibitions has been project-based, in cooperation with the British Council, a strategy and a permanent system will be put in place for educational activities in 2023. To this end, a coordinator will be found through an open call, who will ensure that all exhibitions at the Narva Art Residency have attractive and educational exhibition tours in which school groups in the region can participate.
WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES
The Art Residency has a busy program of events, with 3-5 events per week. A significant number of these are workshops and lectures, given either by art residents, artists participating in exhibitions, or invited professionals. For example, in January 2023, the German comic artist-in-residence organized a total of eight four-hour workshops, two per week, where participants could learn techniques and draw their own stories.
One of the advantages of the hands-on workshops is that they are not language-specific and can be attended by people with different mother tongues. NART will always find a possibility for translation if needed. There is also an occasional series of Russian-language artist talks called “Kitchen Talks,” where participants chat over a cup of tea in the cozy NART kitchen.
ONLINE LECTURES BY ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE
In the autumn of 2022, the Narva Art Residency started a series of online lectures by international artists to talk more about the practice of being a professional artist, as well as what the day-to-day life of an art residency is like. This is an opportunity for the wider public to get to know the art residency and learn their tips and tricks on how to find opportunities to develop your career, how to write applications and find funding, etc.
There were six lectures in the autumn, and there will also be six in the spring of 2023. The lectures will take place on Thursdays at 18:00 in English. The lecture series is broadcast on the Estonian Academy of Arts platform EKA TV. The lectures will also be available there afterward.
The lectures are attended by EKA students, for whom this is a university course. The students will meet the artists again later in the form of a seminar.
EKA STUDENT WORKSHOPS AND ENGAGEMENT
NART hosts both workshops by the departments of the Estonian Academy of Arts and creative camps for artist groups in the dormitories. On average, one group stays in NART for 3-6 days, and the group is asked to contribute to the activities of the art residency or the city of Narva, either through a public event or in some other way, so that the workshops resonate with the local community.
In 2022, twelve groups visited the Art Residence, and this number is set to increase in 2023.