sTARTUp Day 2023

We are happy to take part in sTARTUp Day once more!
In the seminar area of the festival’s venue, we have created an Inspiration and Rest Area together with our represented artist Laura Põld. We also invite the festival participants to our tours in the Inspiration and Rest Area and a meet-up at the gallery at Aparaaditehas (Kastani 42). Read more below. 

THE AREA

Inspiration and Rest Area by Kogo Gallery and Laura Põld
16 March 9:00–18:00
17 March 9:00–18:00
Seminar area at University of Tartu Sports Centre (Ujula 4, Tartu) 

The importance of rest is increasingly emphasised in business. Workspaces involving artworks can offer rest and stimulate a switch for the mind. Kogo Gallery and artist Laura Põld have created an Inspiration and Rest Area titled Vegetal Being for visitors of sTARTUp Day presenting artist’s latest works – handmade pictorial carpets, textile installations and ceramics. In the context of the exciting and thought-provoking festival, it supports mental rest and balance, inspiration, self-reflection and informal conversations.

While information technology is rapidly changing our world, questions about a suitable environment for everyone, managing the Earth’s resources, good relationships, inclusion, mental health, the development and preservation of skills, and a sense of history have become more critical than ever. It is not as important what art is but what it does. You are welcome to make your own interpretations and relax for a moment, becoming open to new connections and ideas. 

Laura Põld works in the fields of interdisciplinary crafts and sculpture-based practice. The artist’s work continuously explores the environmental history, fundamental human and more-than-human skills and needs, including community, safety and shelter. A great emphasis in Põld’s work falls on her choice of materials and their historical and political context, which she employs implementing traditional crafts and building techniques in ceramics and tufting, which interest her as the preservation of stories, memory and skills.

Kogo is a contemporary art gallery in Tartu that represents emerging artists from the Baltics and is dedicated to expanding their worldwide visibility. We believe that art can improve the well-being of people and enhances creative approach to all issues of life.

EVENTS

Women Friendship Meet-up at Kogo Gallery
15 March 12.20–13.00
Kogo Gallery, Kastani 42

Before arriving at the event How to increase the proportion of women in the IT field in Estonia? in our neighborhood (Elutuba Lava Taga, Kastani 42, 15 March at 13–17), step into our gallery that currently hosts an exhibition about the friendship between women, Greetings, and Whatever Customarily Restores a Bond About to Break. You will hear about the artists and artworks, our thoughts on the importance of friendship in business, get to meet the gallery team, all women, by the way, and learn what are the benefits of having art in a workspace. 

Register here

Curator’s tours in the Inspiration and Rest Area by Kogo Gallery and Laura Põld
16 March 11:00–11.45
17 March 14.00–14:45
Seminar area at the University of Tartu Sports Centre (Ujula 4, Tartu)

Kogo Gallery’s curator Šelda Puķīte will give a tour in the Inspiration and Rest Area created by Kogo Gallery and Laura Põld. Šelda will introduce artist Laura Põld’s latest works presented in the area and will answer questions related to the artist, artworks, buying and collecting art and everything else art-related. The tour is in English. Take a break and be inspired!

Register here

Team
Artist: Laura Põld
Curator: Šelda Puķīte
Installation and transport: Siim Asmer
Artist’s assistants: Sofia Lanman, Kristiin Kuuslap and Brigitte Mihkelson
Project management: Liina Raus and Kaisa Eiche
Communication: Karin Kahre and Stella Mõttus
Graphic design: Aleksandra Samulenkova
Photography: Marje Eelma and Liana Rutto

Supporters: Estonian Ministry of Culture, Cultural Endowment of Estonia
Thanks to: textile and photography students of the Pallas University of Applied Sciences, Tartu Art House, Tartu Art Museum, The Institute of Sport Sciences and Physiotherapy at the University of Tartu, sTARTUp Day.

Laura Põld (b. 1984) studied ceramics at the Estonian Academy of Arts (BA), painting at the University of Tartu (MA) and sculptural conceptions and ceramics at the University of Art and Design Linz (MA). Laura Põld has been awarded a number of prizes and scholarships, such as the annual prize of The Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2014), Köler Prize Grand Prix (2016), the grand prize of The Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2018), the ISCP New York studio grant (2019) and the Claus Michaletz Preis (2021). The artist is based in Tallinn and Vienna.

Kogo Gallery, founded in 2018, is a contemporary art gallery based in Tartu, Estonia. The gallery focuses on introducing a younger generation of artists from the Baltics to the region and internationally. Through its programme and activities, Kogo is committed to supporting free creative expression, interdisciplinarity, imagination and innovative ideas. “Kogo” comes from the Võru language and means “all of”, “together”, or “collection”, for the team it means collecting, experiencing and coming together as a community.

Art in Workspace is a collaborative and creative research project involving Kogo Gallery, The Center for Applied Anthropology of Estonia and the University of Tartu Institute of Cultural Research and aims to investigate the effect of art in a company’s culture and on the well-being of its employees. The project is funded by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.