INTERNATIONAL FORUM: SHAPING CULTURAL FUTURES

The Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC), in collaboration with the Association of Estonian Art Institutions (KAEL), is pleased to announce Shaping Cultural Futures, a new international forum on contemporary art and cultural leadership.

Designed for professionals working in the arts, culture, and creative policy, the forum will bring together industry experts, researchers, and institutional leaders from across Europe. The aim is to explore how contemporary art can contribute to building more sustainable, visible, and forward-looking cultural landscapes.

Event timeline/line-up

Program

Full program is now public here

Speakers

Meet our speakers here

Day 1: Tuesday, 4 November

• 09:00–9:30 Arrival & Registration & Coffee
• 09:30–10:00 Opening remarks by Estonian Minister of Culture Heidy Purga, Kadri Laas-Lepasepp (Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC)) and Kadi-Ell Tähiste (Association of Estonian Art Institutions (KAEL))
• 10:00–11:00 Keynote: Rethinking Art, Business and Society / Tinni Ernsjöö Rappe, the executive director of the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) Art Initiative and Literary Agenda
• 11:00–12:00 Panel Discussion: Cultural Leadership — How Art Builds Institutions / Panelists: Xenia Joost, Deputy Secretary General for the Arts at the Estonian Ministry of Culture (moderator); Tinni Ernsjöö Rappe; Siim Raie, Artrovert gallery founder and galerist, former Director of National Heritage Board and Office of the President of Estonia; Priit Turk, Director General for Digital & Cyber Diplomacy at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• 12:00–13:00 Lunch
• 13:00–14:00 Keynote: On creativity and income — comparing contemporary pay models for artists / Maria-Kristiina Soomre, Adviser on Visual Art at Estonian Ministry of Culture
• 14:00–15:00 Panel Discussion: From Precarity to Policy / Panelists: Maria-Kristiina Soomre (moderator); Vaida Stepanonovaité-Kobialka, researcher, curator, lecturer, organizer and co-founder of the Art Workers’ Union in Lithuania; Sten Andreas Ehrlich, Head of Operations for the memberowned pension fund and asset management company Tuleva and former undersecretary of labor at the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs; Anna Rikkinen, artist and Contemporary Craft Specialist
• 15:00–15:15 Coffee break
• 15:15–16:45 Panel Discussion: Making Cities Visible / Panelists: Helen Sildna, Founder of Tallinn Music Week, Shiftworks (moderator); Elīna Drāke, Director of Riga Art Week; Kati Kivinen, Curator of Helsinki Biennial and HAM; Joanna Witek-Lipka, Director of Warsaw Gallery Weekend
• 16:45–17:00 Closing of Day 1: Open microphone for audience thoughts and reflections
• 17:00–17:30 Exhibition tour at Kai Art Center: On Fragile Grounds. Sirje Runge and Light
• 17:30 onwards, Reception & networking

Day 2: Wednesday, 5 November

• 09:30–10:00 Arrival & coffee
• 10:00–12:00 Workshop: Understanding Your Impact / Maria (Maja) Drabczyk, Chair of the Board and Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Centrum Cyfrowe Foundation
• 12:00–13:00 Lunch and networking
• 13:00–14:30 Lecture: Contemporary Revenue Models for Cultural Institutions / Ragnar Siil, Founder and Director of Creativity Lab
• 14:30–14:45 Coffee break
• 14:45–16:15 Seminar: Audience Data in Practice / Maarin Ektermann, President of the Estonian Artists’ Association in conversation with Jaan Naaber, Founder of Sviby
• 16:15 Wrap-up and closing remarks

The forum will be held in English.