Anna-Liisa Sääsk

Artist's country of origin: Estonia

Anna-Liisa Sääsk is a young artist and designer, working with print-making, performance and different fields of visual media. Early recognitions include the Ilon Wikland Young Artist Award and recognition for organizing the "Kunstikompott" festival of contemporary art for young people. Additionally, the art group TEMA emerged from the small group of the art school and Kunstikompott, and has since participated in several festivals with performances and installations: Diverse Universe performance festival in Pärnu, Tartu Valgus, Viljandi Tuled, and the Made in Estonia marathon 2024.

After finishing high school, her first major exhibition "Wiiralt and Two Estonian Girls" was held at the Rüki Gallery, where new interpretations of Wiiralt’s works, created by her and Inessa Saarits in collaboration, were exhibited alongside the original works. The group exhibition "Unicorn" (curated by Kerly Ritval) also took place at the Rüki Gallery, featuring her 2x5m painting, which now adorns the atrium of the Viljandi Gymnasium. She has participated in the Osta Noort Kunsti auction, the annual Tartu Art Exhibition (2023), and the TYPA linoleum cutting competition in both 2022 and 2024, receiving the audience award both years. Additionally, she participated with three works in the Miniprint Cantabria competition exhibition in Spain (2023).

During her studies at Pallas, posters she designed were selected to represent both the Viljandi Folk Music Festival and the Nordischer Klang Festival in Germany. Her first solo exhibition "KERA" (curated by Kerly Ritval) was completed as a final thesis, inspired by a two-month Erasmus internship in Georgia at the Tbilisi Contemporary Graphic Center (2023). During this internship, her love for graphics deepened, and the success of her first solo exhibition motivated her to continue working with the medium, exploring its various sustainable alternatives and expressive possibilities in the landscape of contemporary art. In her further artistic practice, she aims to explore themes of identity, nationality, humanity, and connection, which she also touched upon in her thesis.

Her desire to develop further as an individual and artist is strong. After her studies, she plans to seek learning, creation, and collaboration opportunities independently for a while. Additionally, she has a strong desire to return to Georgia to further develop the knowledge gained during her thesis and utilize the comprehensive research material prepared for future projects