AADE was founded in 2012 by two artists who believed rural South Estonia deserved the same
access to visual art as any city. Everything about who we are sits in the Estonian
e-Business Register — here it is, plainly.
Our story
Founded at a kitchen table in Sülgoja.
In the summer of 2012, Christian-Peter Arkipus and Deivi Org signed the articles of
association for a small non-profit with a stubborn idea: that visual art is not a luxury
reserved for cities, but a daily practice any village can sustain.
The first workshops ran in borrowed rooms — a school corridor, a parish hall, a heated barn.
Word travelled the way it does in Põlva County: slowly, then all at once. Today AADE runs
weekly workshops, creative wellbeing groups and seasonal exhibitions, with the same founding
rule unchanged — nobody is turned away for lack of money or experience.
What we stand for
Four commitments, unchanged since 2012.
01
Access before excellence
Beginners first. Our sessions are designed for people who say “I can’t draw” — and priced so that money is never the reason someone stays home.
02
Rural places, real venues
We exhibit in barns, libraries and village halls on purpose. Art that only lives in the capital does not serve the people we exist for.
03
Open books, always
Every annual report since our founding year is filed and public. Board members serve without dividends and every euro goes back into programs.
04
Slowness is a feature
Clay dries at its own pace and so do we. Small groups, long arcs, work that lasts — we’d rather change eleven villages deeply than chase scale.
Official record
Registry card, in plain sight.
Source: Estonian e-Business Register (ariregister.rik.ee), maintained by the Republic of
Estonia. Verify any line below against the live register entry.
Two founding members govern the association. By the articles of association, Deivi Org may
represent AADE alone, or the board may act jointly — a structure filed publicly since 2012.
Christian-Peter Arkipus
Co-founder · Management board member since 31.08.2012
Leads the ceramics and printmaking program. Conceived AADE’s founding principle that rural communities deserve professional-level art instruction at their doorstep.
Deivi Org
Co-founder · Management board member since 31.08.2012
Directs exhibitions and partnerships with parishes, schools and libraries across Põlva County. Holds the association’s sole right of representation.
The record
A short, documented history.
Milestones cross-checked against our annual reports, each one filed with the register.
2012
Registration
Articles approved 29 August; AADE entered in the register on 31 August 2012 under code 80346296. First workshops run in a borrowed parish room.
2015
First touring exhibition
Work by workshop participants travels between three village libraries — the start of our rural exhibition program.
2019
Creative wellbeing begins
Small-group art sessions for people facing stress and isolation launch in cooperation with local care workers.
2022
Ten years, eleven villages
The workshop map reaches eleven settlements across Räpina and neighbouring parishes; participant count passes 500.
2026
Today
Fourteenth consecutive annual report filed on 29 June 2026. Programs continue year-round from our Sülgoja base.
Questions about our governance or reports?
Write to the board directly — info@aadearts.org. We answer every message.
