Estonian Academy of Arts

About Estonian Academy of Arts

The Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA; Estonian: Eesti Kunstiakadeemia), founded in 1914, is Estonia's premier public university for higher education and academic research in visual culture, fine arts, design, architecture, and art history. Operating from its award-winning, architecturally renowned campus in the vibrant Kalamaja creative quarter of Tallinn, EKA is universally recognized as the cultural laboratory of Estonia and one of the most innovative creative institutions in Northern Europe. EKA's educational philosophy emphasizes individual artistic discovery, hands-on master-apprentice craftsmanship, critical societal engagement, ecological awareness, and speculative technological futures. The academy operates four faculties: Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Design, Faculty of Fine Arts, and Faculty of Art and Culture. It hosts world-renowned English-taught international master's programs in Animation (the famous Estonian auteur animation tradition founded by Priit Pärn), Contemporary Art (MACA), Craft Studies, Design & Technology Futures, Graphic Design, Interaction Design (IxD), and Urban Studies. The college is situated at Põhja puiestee 7—a former historic textile manufacturing complex transformed into an open-plan, light-filled contemporary creative cathedral designed by KUU Arhitektid (awarded the European Prize for Urban Public Space and Estonian Architecture Award). Equipped with cutting-edge 3D rapid prototyping facilities, metal casting foundries, ceramic and glass kilns, analog and digital darkrooms, stop-motion animation studios, virtual reality design spaces, and the public EKA Gallery, the academy provides round-the-clock access to bespoke creative ateliers for its international community of artists, designers, and thinkers.