A Shade Colder is a new magazine for conversations about and around art in Estonia and beyond. The publication launches at a time when the region has found itself at the centre of international discussions. We hope that through the lens of contemporary art and visual culture the magazine will become an inspiration and a useful source for engaging with this part of the world.

The first issue, The Eyes of My Other aims to open a multicentric view on art (history). We are seeking to expand and provide a more nuanced perspective on Estonian art, while framing it within an international context. The issue explores ways of (re)framing Estonian visual culture, born between the East and the West, both in the past and the present, looking at both individual artistic practices as well as institutional efforts.

In doing so, the artists and writers featured in this issue conjure images of (frightening) beauty, discuss decolonisation outside the national project, carefully consider local complexities, and being aware of the differences and agency of the gaze from inside and out, they look for shared narratives between art in Estonia and elsewhere.

Highlighting a multiplicity of perspectives is crucial, so that complex social, political and cultural processes would not be reduced to simplistic ideas and discussed based on out-dated concepts and models. This is especially urgent in the light of Russia’s vicious war against Ukraine, the consequences of which will be with us for years to come. A Shade Colder stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and will be donating 50% of the proceeds of the sales of its first issue to the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Estonia, which has been providing support in Ukraine since 2014, as well as the Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund, directly targeting the needs of the art community in Ukraine.