Curating as artist

In 1995, as a young woman artist, I collaborated with Eha Komissarov and Reet Varblane as a co-curator of Est.Fem, arguably one of the pioneering events of feminist art in Estonia. Since then, from time to time, I have collaborated internationally with other artists and curators in organising feminist and new media projects. By looking at some of those experiences, my presentation attempts to map the curatorial methods and practices I have used as a feminist artist.

Mare Tralla is an Estonian artist based in Tallinn, Estonia. In the mid-1990s, she became one of the leading figures of feminist art in Estonia and in 1995 she co-curated (with Eha Komissarov and Reet Varblane) the first openly feminist Estonian art exhibition Est.Fem. During 1996-2010 she was based in London, and continued to work and exhibit also in Estonia and elsewhere. Her earlier artworks have taken an autobiographical approach to social and gender issues during the post-Soviet transition. Her recent works deal with privacy, surveillance and protection from a gendered point of view. In her practice, Tralla employs a variety of media including painting, photography, performance, video and interactive media.