Ruudu Ulas to work at the WIELS residency in 2024

Estonian artist Ruudu Ulas will be working at the WIELS residency programme in Brussels in 2024. The participation in the residency for Estonian artists is coordinated by WIELS and the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art. 

Ruudu Ulas was selected via the open call which received 8 applications. The selection committee included members from CCA and WIELS teams. The duration of the residency is six months and Ruudu Ulas will be working in Brussels in the first half of 2024.

Ruudu Ulas (1987) is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in London. Her practice includes photography, object-making and performative actions. Ulas’ work focuses on the dynamics between the individual and the environment, highlighting the tensions and glitches that emerge from the interjection of public and personal spaces. Working within the expanded field of photography, her investigations often take the shape of large-scale installations encompassing the architecture of entire rooms. She has studied photography in Glasgow School of Art (2018), Royal College of Art (2021) and HGB Leipzig under Joachim Brohm (2017). She has been awared by The Photograher’s Gallery Next Talent Prize (2023) and the Adamson Eric scholarship (2019).

The artists describes her plans in the residency: “Currently I am drawn to temporary solutions for complicated, overwhelming problems in the urban space as well as in relationships between people. These are the emotionally clear yet intellectually raw ideas I would like to work with at the WIELS. The working environment which will be separate from my everyday life will encourage me to take creative risks and find fresh possibilities to strengthen the relationship between the space and material. I plan to work intuitively, using my own photo archive and trying to be open to the impacts from the new environment. I believe that the format of this residency, conversations and discussions will be supporting playful and open work process. Additionally I will be using the time in WIELS to prepare for the group exhibition, taking place at the Prospektas Gallery (Vilnius) in next Autumn (curated by Paulius Petraitis).”

CCA has organized the participation of the Estonian artists since 2018. Since then, artists Paul Kuimet, Jaanus Samma, Anna Škodenko, Tõnis Saadoja, Tanja Muravskaja, Anu Vahtra, Eva Mustonen, Ingel Vaikla, Krista Mölder, Sandra Kosorotova, Laivi Suurväli and Hedi Jaansoo have taken part of the programme. The artists are selected via open call and are supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

Additional information:
Kaarin Kivirähk
kaarin@cca.ee
Kaasaegse Kunsti Eesti Keskus