Timo Toots (born 15 September 1982, in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

) is an Estonian artist, mainly active in the field of

interactive art Interactive art is a form of art that involves the spectator in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some interactive art installations achieve this by letting the observer walk through, over or around them; others ask the artist ...

and

new media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of new media, electronic media technologies. It comprises virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robo ...

. He is also the founder of project space Maajaam in

Otepää Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer ca ...

Biography

Before becoming active as an artist Toots studied at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

and

Estonian Academy of Arts The Estonian Academy of Arts (Estonian language, Estonian: ''Eesti Kunstiakadeemia'', EKA) is the only public university in Estonia providing higher education in art, design, architecture, Media (communication), media, art history and conservation ...

. Besides a series of group exhibition participations he has done several solo exhibitions in Le Lieu Unique in Nantes, France (2014), Tartu Artist House, Memopolis at Edith-Russ-Haus, Oldenburg, Germany, Memopol-1 at Y-Gallery, Tartu, Estonia, and Memopol-1 at Hobusepea Gallery,

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

KUMU Art Museum The Kumu Art Museum () is an art museum in Tallinn, Estonia. It is one of the largest museums in Estonia and one of the largest art museums in Northern Europe. It is one of the five branches of the Art Museum of Estonia, housing its main offices. ...

in Tallinn owns his artwork Soodevahe.

Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie The ZKM , Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (until March 2016: ZKM Center for Art and Media Technology), a cultural institution, was founded in 1989 and, since 1997, is located in a former munitions factory in Karlsruhe, Germany. The ZKM (Germa ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

owns his art work Media Bubble. For Memopol Toots was awarded in 2012 with the

Prix Ars Electronica The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the best known and longest running yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music. It has been awarded since 1987 by Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria ...

in the section interactive art. In the same year he received an award from the

Cultural Endowment of Estonia Cultural Endowment of Estonia (, abbreviated ''Kulka'' or ''KULKA''; also translated as ''Estonian Cultural Capital'') is an Estonian foundation which supports activities related to Estonian culture. The foundation was established in 1925 and re- ...

. In 2013 he founded the project space Maajaam in Otepää, Estonia. This country side art space is focused on

media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies. It comprises virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D ...

, site specific art,

sound art Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary Time-based media, time-based Artistic medium, medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in Cross-genr ...

runs an

artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

program.

References

Timo Toots bio on haus-ek

at European Media Art Festival Osnaburck
German newspaper Kreiszeitung about Memopol

Dutch article about Memopol
on

Bits of Freedom Stichting Bits Of Freedom is a Dutch non-profit advocacy group focused on digital rights such as the right to privacy and communication. It was founded 2000 and had break between 2006 and August 2009, due to lack of funding. In August 2009, Bits o ...

Article
on

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

External links

timo.ee

maajaam.ee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toots, Timo 1982 births Living people 21st-century Estonian male artists 21st-century Estonian artists New media artists Installation artists Estonian Academy of Arts alumni University of Tartu alumni Artists from Tartu