The eighth issue of A Shade Colder, Looking for Localities, focuses on different ways of understanding the notion of locality in art practice within the context of contemporary art. Focusing on the local is often a very conscious choice meant to anchor us to our roots, communities and land in the face of adversity and uncertainty. Our histories, heritage and the places we come from undoubtedly shape who we are. But we, too, have the ability to shape what our histories, heritage and our very selves become and how we are seen by others who might not share our localities. For smaller and more marginalised cultures and peoples, art can be an especially crucial tool for reshaping and redefining these perceptions at a time when imperialism and colonialism still loom large, despite continuous efforts of the latter to reinvent themselves.
Most commonly, locality is understood through the notion of place. Maarin Ektermann and Mary Ann Talvistu share their experience of bringing together contemporary art and small museums in Estonia through a residency and exhibition programme that very consciously set out to work locally. Ann Mirjam Vaikla and Hanna Laura Kaljo approach the impact a place can have from another angle. They explore the work of Kalaaleq-Danish artist Pia Arke, whose work draws a strong connection between two localities – the body and the land, especially the long-term effects of colonialism on the bodies of those who have been colonised. Locality can also manifest in practice – it is often through the interpretation of heritage that new perspectives emerge. Juss Heinsalu writes about how in-betweenness and queerness manifest in recent Estonian contemporary craft practices that interpret local heritage. However, heritage has sometimes been left with no physical place to exist and flourish. Intizor Otaniyozova’s poem Journey to Nowhere stems from a sense of belonging to a culture that has been stripped of the right to exist in a physical location and the feeling of placelessness. To conclude the issue, we offer an Events Guide for winter 2025, highlighting local and/or international exhibitions in a variety of places in Estonia and in the near region.