NART is presenting a new ambitious project in Narva, initiated with the support of the British Council. Our goal is to increase the availability and presence of contemporary art in Narva and Narva-Jõesuu. After announcing an open call for participation in a commissioned art project based on various education practices, the jury selected three artists – Helena Atkin, Daria Titova and Liisbeth Horn.Each artist receive a grant of 1000€ and a budget of 700€ for completing the artwork. “Artists are present” project akes place during the spring of 2025.
The selection was done by an expert jury of four members. Olesja Katšanovskaja-Münd is the curator of cultural and educational programs in Tallinn Art Hall, Liina Siib is the head and professor of graphic art department in EKA, Pille Maffucci is a teacher at Estonian Language House in Narva, and Johanna Rannula is the head of the art residency. The jury was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the applications and the sincere interest of Estonian artists to meet with Narva youth.
Helena Atkin is an British-Estonian composer-performer whose creative practice revolves around music. Helen plans to empower the young community of Narva by exploring notation beyond its musical associations, using it as a tool to encourage critical thinking, creative expression, and a deeper understanding of information.
Daria Titova moved to Estonia three years ago from Ukraine and has learned the language. She plans to support children in Ida-Virumaa in becoming also more comfortable with the Estonian language. Daria will lead a textile-based art project, where creative activities such as cutting, sewing, and embroidery provide opportunities for language learning and self-expression.
Liisbeth Horn is a freelance (performane) artists who plans to lead creative workshops artistic exploration, critical thinking, and dialogue. Her main focus is on actionism (performance art) and she will draw from passion for integration, contemporary art education, and hands-on teaching methods when working with youth in Narva.
The “Artists are present” project is an opportunity for the selected artists to have a unique experience with community work in Narva and Narva-Jõesuu. Using different methods and creative techniques, artists will conduct several workshops with the local school’s students about art and media literacy. Nowadays, in a hyperized-information society, it is important to have media literacy skills, as well as an ability to understand how an object, quote, or image can be taken out of context in a completely different way. In other words, the ability for the critical perception of information in general.
The artists’ visits will be integrated in regular school lessons and they can organize these meetings as workshops, discussions, games, and craft activities. All activities will be done in Estonian which is important regarding the ongoing educational reforms. After the school visits, artists create an artwork or installation reflecting the gained experience. Artworks will be presented and exhibited within the Narva Art Residency program at the end of the project in May.
NART will support the project by organizing meetings between the artists to exchange experiences as well as provide educational consultations with specialists to help with the planning of activities for the students.
The artists will be present in three schools:
– Narva Vanalinna Põhikool
– Kreenholmi Kool
– Narva-Jõesuu Kool
This project draws inspiration from several predecessors. In Latvia, a similar project was successfully completed where 7 interested and motivated Latvian artists stayed in 6 different schools (https://artistispresent.lv/) A project called “Kunstnikud kooli” involved an impressive amount of artists and South-Estonian schools(https://www.moks.ee/events/artists-to-schools) . (https://www.moks.ee/events/artists-to-schools) Another project called “Kunstnikud koolidesse!”, was organized for the centennial of the state.