Handmade Wellbeing

The staff members and students of the Estonian Native Crafts Department at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy participated in an international project that aimed at expanding the competences of arts and crafts professionals with the aim of seeking more effective co-operation with the welfare system for elderly people. This Erasmus Plus project ‘Handmade Wellbeing – Collaborative Learning in Craft and Welfare Interfaces’ was funded by the European Union and ran from September 2015 to August 2017. Welfare institutions for the elderly will soon be faced by an ever-increasing and more informed generation of customers who will place a greater value on creative and active leisure activities, and who will not be content with domestic and medical care alone. This sphere is a promising new field of work for craftsmen and artists, but also one which requires special training.  The project was carried out by the University of Helsinki in Finland (the leading partner), the Estonian Native Crafts Department at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, UniT Kunstlabor (an art group from Austria), and the UK-based non-profit organisation, Superact. All the participants trained arts and crafts professionals in order to prepare them for working with elderly people at welfare institutions. The co operation partners were also invited to participate in week-long training sessions organised by each country. These visits helped in coming to understand different local approaches morefully. The discussions that took place during the international training weeks also determined the conceptualisation and structure of the handbook. In fact, the aim of the project was to exchange valuable experiences in order to learn from them. The end result is a manual and study aid that belongs to the field of education science and is useful for both the craftsmen who work with elderly people and also for welfare institutions. Each country also hosted a seminar and an exhibition which were open to the general public. During the practical phase of the project, each country organised creative and hands-on workshops for the elderly. The objectives and topics of these workshops covered a broad spectrum: among the most popular ones were various handicraft and DIY workshops, but contemporary art and performing arts projects also took place. Each co-operation partner enhanced the project with their unique approach and shared their best practices, something which resulted in efficient and intriguing teaching methods. In Estonia, the workshops took place between September and December 2016 at two different types of elderly care facilities: the day centres in Viljandi and Tartu, and the nursing homes in Viiratsi and Nõo. The workshops were organised by the lecturers Kersti Rattus and Eilve Manglus and the students Indrek Ikkonen and Elen Tammet. The activities varied in their degree of difficulty: the elderly participants tried textile printing, metalwork, ribbon-plaiting, and badge-making. Handmade Wellbeing brought together an enthusiastic international team. The greatest advantage of this educational model was its comparative perspective and hands-on approach. The generalisations stemming from the experience of international co-operation resulted in a handbook that is accessible to a large audience. Reflection on methods led to the drawing up of concise instructions other arts and crafts professionals can use to prepare themselves physically and mentally when doing similar work. On the one hand, the handbook gives a step-by-step guide to preparing and conducting a workshop, and on the other it adresses ways of relating to elderly people, including how to identify one’s prejudices and even stereotypes. For further information on the project and handbook, please visit the website at: http://craftwellbeing.eu

Regilaul kontserdirepresentatsioonis: pärand ja kultuurikirjeldus

Traditional music festival in Viljandi is the most eminent output of the Viljandi traditional music revival movement. The movement is characterized by significant coherence of ideology. The material of the thesis stems from festival concert talk, in which regilaul world (archaic song tradition) is introduced, and which the author analyses within the festival paradigm and as a performance in a music event. The introductions of regilaul pieces in concert are similar in equipment and structure and they also share a common narrative meta level. This thesis analyses the “ethnography” which is constructed of concert talk by musicians. The author analyses which cultural “facts” the ethnography is made of, where the “truth” lies and how the authority around the truth is developed. Although the selected cultural aspects contribute to the modern comprehension of folklore (i.e. the selection helps to “traditionalize” the material); the ethnography as a whole lies in the sphere of post-modernity. The grand narrative concerning the loss of folklore and “salvation” is replaced by the story of revival and remembering: regilaul pieces are a part of an ongoing dynamic process. The cultural aspects of regilaul world are stemming from past, but the meaning of song pieces is situated in present. The meaning of regilaul lies in an inter-textual act, where the constructed cultural and historical Other and contemporary world meet. Between these two sign systems links will be provided by human experience and language. In this way the festival concerts are acting as a broad discussion field, where the text, performer and audience will participate in building meanings.http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2569585~S1*es

Käsitöistä hyvinvointia käsikirja : Käsityöpajojen järjestäminen ikäihmisten palvelukeskuksissa

This handbook was developed during international Handmade Wellbeing project, coordinated by the University of Helsinki, Sirpa Kokko. The project was Funded by European Union Erasmus+ Programme. The European Commission accepts no responsibility for the contents of the publication.Making crafts can enhance the wellbeing of older people. Research shows that engaging in arts and crafts improves the mood, gives the feeling of ability and provides opportunities for socialising. Making crafts also activates and sustains abilities that are necessary in activities of daily living, such as cognitive skills, memory and hand function. Therefore, creative arts and crafts activities should be included in wellbeing services for older people, both for those who live at home and for those who live in care homes. But what aspects should be considered in the planning and facilitation of craft activities for older people? The purpose of the Handmade Wellbeing Handbook is to provide the arts and crafts facilitator with information and ideas about developing pedagogical thinking and practical arrangements of the craft workshops. The handbook explores the special features of working with older people, for example, choosing suitable materials, techniques and working methods as well as communication, the importance of feedback and cooperation with care settings. In addition, the handbook presents practical examples of craft workshops that have been conducted in care settings. The publication is intended to be a resource for educational purposes especially in the fields of arts, culture, social and health care, as well as for professionals working with older people. The Handmade Wellbeing Handbook has been created during the Handmade Wellbeing project. The aim of this Erasmus+ project was to enhance and expand the professional competences of arts and crafts practitioners to facilitate craft activities in elderly care contexts. During the project (1.9.2015 – 31.8.2017), students and professionals from partner countries Finland, UK, Austria and Estonia conducted arts and crafts workshops in care settings in their respective countries. Experiences and practices of facilitating crafts for older people were shared in international training sessions, and now they have been compiled into a practical and inspirational Handmade Wellbeing Handbook

Digitaalsed käsitöökogukonnad / Digital craft communities

While technological advances provide new freedoms and opportunities, they can also lead to insecurity or to a feeling of being left behind. This paradox motivated Swedish, Estonian and Italian crafts organisations to jointly develop a training course to increase the digital confidence of crafters. The educational programme was put together and carried out in the framework of the project EUdigiTAC – Digitally Crafting New Communities of Practice. The project was funded over two years (1st May 2016 – 30th April 2018) by the EU Creative Europe programme. The goal of the project was to encourage crafters from different generations to use digital tools. This change was especially vital to middle-aged or elderly experts of crafts heritage: IT offers a much more efficient means for the description of handicraft than slower alternatives, such as books or magazines. The project involved the development of an educational programme uniting textile crafters with skilled multimedia specialists. Unconstrained discussions in small groups allowed each master of crafts to find the best means and channel for presenting their work through media. In Estonia, the focus was on audiovisual methods. Things that are difficult to describe in words are much easier to present in videos. The use of social media allows simultaneously you to share your knowledge with a large number of people. Even language barriers can be broken: a crafts video does not necessarily require verbal instructions or comments. Special attention was paid to three types of videos: those documenting the work of a master in the course of field work, training videos, and promotional videos. In the field of traditional crafts, personal development often means doing fieldwork in the workshops of experienced artisans. Good videos require a skilful interviewing technique which directs the conversation, but a purely verbal interview will be less than informative without a simultaneous demonstration of hands-on work and tacit knowledge. The second genre emphasised by our crafters was that of preparing training materials, as these are often required when presenting workshops or training courses. Audiovisual training materials can also be used in the general promotion of your work or crafting technique, enabling the audience to distinguish genuine handicraft from mass production and teaching them to value the work of a master more highly. Promotional videos allow craft entrepreneurs to draw new participants to their events or workshops, as well as to introduce their work or company. In addition to shooting and editing videos, it is also important to focus on what should be done with the end result: where and to whom the video should be shown, and how followers might be gained on social media. All this international experience-sharing was important in creating an interactive web platform which crafters could continue to use after the end of the project. All the relevant materials can be found at the project website at http://eudigitac.eu/. Experience gained through the project was used in preparing guidance materials for other organisations seeking to carry out similar training courses or projects related to the development of crafts and digital skills. The most important result of the project, however, was the general increase in awareness and digital confidence among the crafters involved – moving them from ‘This is way over my head’ to ‘This could work; it is well worth a try’

Intervjuu Anu Rauaga / Interview with Anu Raud

Anu Raud (born in Russia, May 10, 1943) is an Estonian textile artist and author. She is a long-time lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Arts and Viljandi Culture Academy. On the occasion of Raud’s 75th birthday, Helen Kästik and Ave Matsin sat down with her to look back on her life and work as an artist. Even though much has been written about the work of Anu Raud, its main focus has been on her tapestries as carriers of the idea of national identity. The mundane practical aspects of crafting and the social position of the craftsperson have received a lot less attention. These were the topics that were discussed at Kääriku Farm in June, driven by the conviction that the professional choices of an outstanding artist allow us to draw conclusions about the position of art based on heritage craft in both Soviet and independent Estonia. While studying textile art at the State Art Institute, Raud developed a keen interest in ethnographic material thanks to the encouragement of her teachers Mari Adamson and Leila Pärtelpoeg. After graduating in 1967, she was assigned work at the national handicrafts manufacturing association Uku, which had been founded the previous year. Uku was based on an ingenious idea: to provide work to skilled craftspersons all over Estonia in order to preserve and popularise traditional handicraft. As the lead artist for Kihnu, Ruhnu and Southern Estonia, Anu Raud coordinated the work of crafts-people in these regions and went on collection trips to draw inspiration for the design of items based on traditional handicraft. In 1972, Anu Raud returned to the National Institute of Arts, this time as a lecturer, which also gave her more time for personal creative projects. Her work consists of more than a hundred tapestries that have been displayed at nearly 70 solo exhibitions. In April 2018, the Estonian National Museum opened the exhibition Landscapes of My Fatherland on the occasion of her 75th birthday. Raud emphasises that there is a clear message in all of her works: „All tapestries I make bear the scent or at the least a tiny taste of Estonia.“ The tapestries of Anu Raud are a clear expression of her values and show her intimate connection to her homeland, its nature and the culture of its past. Her style is characterised by subtle play of colours and the skilful use of elements from national crafts. The restoration of Estonian independence was followed by a turbulent period in the fates of both the republic and Anu Raud herself. Her work at the National Institute of Arts came to an end and her family was forced to move out of their apartment in Tallinn when it was returned to its former owners. After moving to her father’s home farm at Kääriku near Viljandi, Raud needed to find a new job. In 1994, she became the first head of the newly-opened department of farm design and national crafts at the Viljandi Culture College. While living at Kääriku, she has dedicated a lot of energy to the promotion of the region. Her rich collection of traditional handicraft accumulated over the years is kept at the nearby Heimtali Museum; for the 100th anniversary of the Estonian National Museum, Anu Raud gifted the Heimtali Museum of Domestic Life to the Republic of Estonia. Anu Raud has had a remarkable career and the attention she has received in connection to folk culture is extraordinary. Since 2009, Raud has been a Professor Emeritus of the National Academy of Arts and an honorary member of the Estonian Artists Association; in 2016, she was elected to the EstonianAcademy of Sciences. She has received numerous awards, including the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class (1998), the Kristjan Raud Award (1978, 1994), several awards from the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the University of Tartu award for contribution to national identity (2013), National Culture Award (2014), and the National Lifetime Achievement Award (2018)