Kohila Symposium

Annual ceramics residency
dedicated to wood firing

15 July -
8 August
2027

About

Kohila Symposium is an international wood-fired ceramics residency held annually in Kohila, Estonia. Every year, up to 11 artists are invited for a three-week period to create new work, collaborate through wood firing, and share their experiences.

Set within the historic grounds of Tohisoo Manor, the residency provides time and space for concentrated studio practice, dialogue, and experimentation. The site currently hosts a Bourry box kiln and a nationally recognised anagama kiln built by Andres Allik.

The residency encourages international exchange in ceramics while fostering appreciation and understanding of wood firing among both professional ceramic artists and the wider public.

Special Edition 2026

At a time of transition, the symposium’s 26th edition took a different direction. For the first time in its history, participants from previous editions returned to Kohila to create a collective sculpture: The Anagama Baby.

Over the course of 22 days, the Kehagama Collective challenged notions of individual authorship as its members collaborated to establish a shared understanding and develop a new material language. The sculpture was fired for 88 hours in the anagama kiln and presented at Tohisoo Manor Park on 26 July 2026.

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Symposium History

2001: The first symposium took place following the construction of the first anagama-type kiln. The symposium was founded by Andres Allik, Aigi Orav and Külli Kõiv, who organised and curated it until 2015.

2015: The symposium was handed over to Juss Heinsalu and Evelyn Saul-Rämonen, who led its organisation until 2020.

2021: Lumi Kristin Vihterpal and Jekaterina Kaplan took over as organisers, introducing an interdisciplinary dimension to the symposium’s structure. They continued their work until 2025.

2026: A special edition was self-organised by former symposium participants, who formed the Kehagama Collective to create a single collaborative sculpture.

2027: The symposium enters a new chapter as Efy Zeniou and Kaupo Holmberg take on its organisational and artistic direction.