Interview with BTU Alumna Ekaterina Orba (Architektur)

Ekaterina Orba is an artist and art educator working in Cottbus. She completed an artistic education in Russia and later studied architecture at the BTU. She finished her architecture studies with a diploma in 2003, and since 2010 she has been working exclusively as a freelance artist and runs the painting workshop. She has already realized several exhibitions. The quality of her works has already been recognized, among others, by the Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art, where she was given her own exhibition with "Eka Orba. Return to Man" she was given her own exhibition. On April 01, 2022, she will open her new solo exhibition "Blossoms of Life" at Kunsthalle Lausitz (Güterzufuhrstraße 7, 03046 Cottbus), to which all BTU alumni are cordially invited.

Hello Eka, how did you come to study architecture in Cottbus and how did your studies influence your artistic work?
There was an exchange between the BTU and the University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in St. Petersburg (SpbGASU). Through my fellow students I learned that it was possible to apply for a semester abroad in Cottbus. I applied for it and a few months later I went to Cottbus for the first time with three other students for a semester. In 1999 I was enrolled to study at the BTU. I started studying architecture in Russia. There, a lot of emphasis was placed on being able to draw and paint well. You already need good drawing skills for the entrance exams. I was able to do that quite well thanks to my artistic training. But basically my art was not directly influenced by my architectural studies, it was much more the other way around.

Besides your freelance work as an artist, you are also a successful art teacher. Please tell us about your painting workshop in Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 14 in Cottbus. Who are your courses and workshops for and what fascinates you yourself about working as an educator?
The exhibition "The Return to Man" at the Dieselkraftwerk (Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art) was a huge tour through art history and a tribute to the great painters of history. All the paintings were representational and modeled after a famous work. This was applied art pedagogy; it was a kind of mixing of teaching with one's own creativity. However, in the painting classes I give at the Malkunstwerkstatt, the art historical involvement is not dealt with or discussed very often. It's primarily about artistic craftsmanship, different techniques and materials. While the children are primarily learning how to represent things, the adults have greater freedom in personal expression. It's always great to see what the participants make of it.

You have a new exhibition coming up in April 2022. Please tell us about it, what will be on display and where can it be seen?
In response to the representational motifs of "Return to Man," now comes the return to art, to contemporary non-representational art, abstract forms and colors. The large solo exhibition "Blossoms of Life" in the Lausitzer Kunsthalle shows, in addition to the new multi-layered works created especially for the exhibition, a review of the work of the past twenty years in Cottbus. The Kunsthalle Lausitz is part of the Bunten Bahnhof, i.e. the new art and entertainment mile in Cottbus directly at the exit of the station tunnel. The exhibition will open on April 1, 2022 at 6 pm, and an artist talk will be held on May 7 at 6 pm. Everyone is invited to both events!

You are networked and connected with many regional artists*. What makes the Cottbus art scene special and what are your tips for BTU students with an affinity for art who also want to immerse themselves in the art scene?
It's not at all difficult to get an overview of the Cottbus art scene. There is art here, as there is everywhere, in the smallest village and in the big cities. Everyone should try to find the place that suits them. For me personally, I will not yet say that I have already found my place.