EAMT Cultural Management Master's Programme

05/09/2026

Fourth lecture day of the new academic year.
Lunch break: oysters in front of EAMT. 🦪

Cultural Management studies are already getting wonderfully unexpected! 😎

09/07/2026

🌍 CM in Rio! 🇧🇷

This time, our Cultural Management programme travelled all the way to Rio de Janeiro for The 18th International Conference on Arts and Cultural Management (AIMAC) — one of the key international meeting points for people researching, teaching and practising arts and cultural management.

The conference took place at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and brought together more than 200 cultural management scholars, educators and practitioners from around the world.

Our Head of Cultural Management Studies Kai Kiiv and Academic Leader Prof. Annukka Jyrämä presented their paper “Art and Health Initiatives: How the Art Field Navigates Cross-Sectoral Collaboration,” exploring how arts organisations engage in cooperation across the fields of culture, health and wellbeing.

We were also very happy to meet our alumna Marge Sassi, currently Senior Lecturer in Organisation and Management at TalTech, who also participated in the conference.

For our students, it is also a reminder that the questions we discuss in class — from collaboration and leadership to arts, health and wellbeing — are part of much wider international conversations.

And yes, in Rio, perhaps also a little sun and samba. 🥁🪇 ✨

22/05/2026

☕️ This morning, we gathered for the last Morning Coffee of this academic year and ended the season with a conversation on cultural diplomacy in practice.

Our guest was José Carlos Esteso Lema, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embajada de España en Estonia / Hispaania suursaatkond Eestis, who shared insights from his diplomatic career and reflected on the role culture plays in foreign policy, international relations and everyday embassy work. 🇪🇦

Together, we discussed how cultural diplomacy works in real life: why its impact is often difficult to measure, why results may take time to appear, how cultural messages are received differently by different audiences, and how embassies decide which cultural activities are worth pursuing.

Warm thanks to José Carlos Esteso Lema for joining us and to everyone who has taken part in our Morning Coffee meetings this year! ❤️

20/05/2026

🌿 Last Saturday, Kalamaja was full of open gates, music, food, workshops, and some very real cultural management in action!

Kalamaja Open Courtyards brought life, music, workshops, exhibitions, food, drinks and joyful encounters to more than 70 locations across Kalamaja. Gates that are usually closed opened for one day, inviting people to discover the neighbourhood from a completely new angle.

This year, the project was led as part of course work by our student Ružena Vakulenko, and what a learning opportunity it turned out to be!

Public event regulations, house rules of Kalamaja Days, late registrations, surprises with sales permits, text editing, coordination, communication, and all the little things that somehow become very big things right before an event… In other words: cultural management in its most practical form. ✨

And as a lovely CM coincidence, our risk management lecturer Marko Lõhmus was also present with his own home café. We can only imagine the satisfaction of seeing theory immediately put into practice — possibly with freshly squeezed orange juice in hand 🍹

Well done, Ružena and team! This is exactly how learning becomes real! 💛

15/05/2026

🎶 How can music support the mental wellbeing of people who care for others every day?

As part of the Erasmus+ project "Inclusive Wellbeing Through Arts and Culture in the Baltics" (WITAC) six participants of the Estonian WITAC micro-qualification programme are carrying out a practical pilot project that brings together culture, health and social care.

The EAMT Cultural Management MA programme is proud to be part of WITAC, exploring how arts and culture can contribute to wellbeing across the Baltic region.

Under the title “This is what self-care sounds like”, the pilot uses sound and music-based creative activities to help prevent and reduce signs of stress and burnout among social care workers. Led by musicians Kadi Uibo (on the photos) and Kärt Tambet, eight workshops are being held for employees of AS Hoolekandeteenused, who work daily with people with psychosocial disabilities. No previous musical experience is needed — only curiosity, a safe space, and a moment to step away from everyday pressures.

The workshops have already been received with great warmth and the musicians’ visits are eagerly awaited! 💛

WITAC is carried out in collaboration with the Latvijas Kultūras akadēmija, Rīgas Stradiņa universitāte (Riga Stradins University), Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia / Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, and the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture.

07/05/2026

🇫🇮 Our Cultural Management students recently headed to Helsinki for an international study visit - a couple of days full of new perspectives, meetings and behind-the-scenes glimpses into cultural and creative organisations.

The visit began at Aalto University, where the group learned more about the university’s history, study specialisations and the creative processes behind film production, from colour grading to sound design.

At the Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia (Sibelius Academy), our students met with SiBa Arts Management students for a joint lecture and exchange of ideas. Presentations from both sides opened up conversations about the different projects students are currently working on and reminded us how valuable it is to see what peers in neighbouring countries are exploring.

The tour ended at Helsingin Kaupunginteatteri (Helsinki City Theatre), where the group was warmly welcomed by Cultural Management alumna Anni Leino. There, students had a chance to look behind the scenes of one of Finland’s largest theatres and reflect on how major cultural institutions operate in practice.

Even with only a few photos to bring back, the visit clearly offered plenty to think about, from creative collaboration to international study paths and future possibilities in arts and cultural management. ✨

24/04/2026

🇫🇮 Our Cultural Management group is in Helsinki!

The study visit is already well underway, with visits to Aalto University and the Sibelius Academy’s arts management programme behind us — and Helsinki City Theatre still to come.

More insights (and more photos) to follow! 📷✨️

15/04/2026

🎙 The Cultural Reflector Podcast: Season 4 is here! 🎙

Contemporary artists today are rarely confined to a single role. Whether by choice or circumstance, additional titles often come into play — producer, composer, instrumentalist, songwriter, and more. The creative professional has become something of a Swiss Army knife, with each tool serving its own purpose.

In this episode, we dive into the multifaceted career of Sander Mölder, exploring what has shaped his success, which creative roles he enjoys the most, and what defines a contemporary creative career.

This special episode in Estonian was recorded together with Mölder and his manager Thea Zaitsev being part of a new season coming your way this autumn. Stay tuned! 🍂

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🎙 Kultuurireflektori 4. hooaeg on alanud! 🎙

Nüüdisaja artist ei piirdu enam tihtipeale üksnes artisti rolliga. Kas omast soovist või eri olude mõjul lisandub artisti tiitlile veel teisigi nimetusi, sh produtsent, helilooja, instrumentalist, laulukirjutaja jne. Loovisikust on saanud justkui Šveitsi taskunuga, mille iga tera täidab oma eesmärki.

Selles episoodis sukeldume Sander Mölderi mitmekülgsesse karjääri. Kuuleme lähemalt, mis ja kuidas on talle edu toonud, millist loomerolli ta ise kõige rohkem naudib ning mis elemendid kujundavad tänapäeva loomekarjääri. Vestlust juhib Mölderi mänedžer Thea Zaitsev Tier Musicust ning see on osa uuest hooajast, mis jõuab teieni sel sügisel. Püsige lainel! 🍂

https://kultuurireflektor.simplecast.com/episodes/loomeinimese-karjaar-kui-veitsi-taskunuga

10/04/2026

Our Cultural Management programme made its way to Tartu for the Estonian Annual Conference of Humanities at the Eesti Rahva Muuseum / Estonian National Museum bringing together a wide range of perspectives from across Estonia’s universities and research institutions.

🗣 Among these conversations, Kai Kiiv and Kaari Kiitsak-Prikk presented the "Inclusive Wellbeing through Arts and Culture" (WITAC) project, which explores the intersection of culture and wellbeing — a topic that is finding its place more and more across different fields.

The conference was a good reminder of just how diverse (and lively) the humanities can be. And moments like this matter not only for sharing research, but also for bringing fresh ideas and questions back into the classroom. 💫

01/04/2026