Art Program

Art program in Estonia
 

Estonia is a small nice country lying on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It has a very rich history, which also includes a rich art heritage. In the 19^th century it was possible for the Estonians to study art only abroad – St. Petersburg mostly and also Germany, France, Italy. At the beginning of the 20^th century the first art school named Pallas was founded and many famous Estonian artists could work there. Have you heard about Ants Laikmaa, Kristjan Raud or Eduard Viiralt? Well, these are just a few names in the long list of Estonian artists. In order to discover more about the fantastic heritage and the Estonian art today, to combine it with the improvement of your own skills of drawing, painting, etc. we offer you this special art program.

The art program is aimed for those students who are interested in fine arts mainly. To spend a year abroad as an exchange student is already a big challenge but to combine and fill this year with fine arts would be even a bigger challenge for the one who opts for the program.

In Estonia several schools are offering art studies beside the general high school curriculum. Usually the students who attend the art program will go to Tallinn Art School or some other art school in Tallinn or other towns in Estonia.
For example, the Art School of Tallinn is a comprehensive school specializing in arts. Students have general high school lessons but as the schedule is quite flexible, they can also choose the art lessons they would like to concentrate on. The studies include art history, drawing/painting, graphic arts, ceramics, calligraphy, glass art, leather art, book binding, ironwork, china decoration, textile design, graphical design, wood restoration and mechanical drawing.
It is also quite common that the schools organize some art camps in autumn or during the spring time for their students. Such camps usually require an extra participation fee.

In the Estonian school system it is important to pay attention to all subjects, not just art or other areas the students are keen on. So the students, who want to come to Estonia, have to realize that they have to study hard and take schoolwork seriously. But the level of education (incl. art) is high and if the student wants to work hard, the teachers are only happy to help them and give their best to develop the student's skills. For example, in the 11th class the subjects studied include music, biology, history, mathematics, physics, chemistry, the Estonian language and literature, English and Russian or German, and physical education.

To apply for the art program we need to have examples of the student's previous works. At least six photos of the previous works have to be sent to us together with the student file.
If you are keen on art and you want to improve your skills in this area by combining it with your exchange year aboard, then this just the opportunity for you to attend our art program!

To get an overview of an art school, you could visit: http://www.kopli.tln.edu.ee/

Additional information about the Art Program:

Diina Tuulik
Inbound coordinator, YFU Estonia
E-mail: diina@yfu.ee