Word of Mouth: Tallinn, Estonia’s Contemporary Art Institutions
Five world-class destinations pushing the limits of art curation
Perhaps best known to tourists for its cobblestoned Old Town, Estonia’s capital city of Tallinn stretches well beyond those beloved medieval walls. Situated on the Baltic Sea, the city—which was honored as one of Europe’s co-capitals of culture for 2011—provides more than historic architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. Home to global tech companies like Skype and Transferwise, Tallinn’s offerings meet the needs of its developing start-up culture and growing international influx of visitors. This includes a range of world-class art institutions and thriving artistic neighborhoods that feature both local and international artists.
During our visit to Tallinn for the opening of the expansive, experimental Kai Art Center, we took part in the city’s annual Tallinn Photomonth and explored various other art institutions. Photomonth’s extraordinary roster of programming brings many venues together, incorporates pop-ups and even includes a short-film festival. Tallinn’s Museum of Photography and Kumu Art Museum are worthy destinations, as are the Positiiv Galerii (affiliated with the magazine of the same name) and T&K Gallery (Tallinn’s only commercial contemporary art gallery). But the five venues highlighted below rank among the most enticing we’ve seen worldwide.
Kai Art Center
An art anchor within the waterfront Noblessner neighborhood, Kai Art Center occupies the spacious top floor of a reclaimed submarine plant in a complex dating back to 1912. Reimagined by KAOS Architects, a firm founded by two women—Margit Argus and Margit Aule—Kai includes an auditorium and education center in addition to the sprawling main exhibition space. The building’s other floors will feature a restaurant, bar and co-working space, all to open in the coming months. But it’s the center’s slate of programming, which will update quarterly, that truly shines.
Kai’s artistic director Karin Laanso worked with curator Hanna Laura Kaljo on the debut exhibition, Let the field of your attention…. soften and spread out. It runs now through 1 December 2019 and sets the venue’s standards high. Along with the projection works and sculptures, talks and film screenings complete the inaugural installation (as well as the announcement of residencies and educational programs). Laanso tells us, “What sets the Estonia art scene apart is that everyone is super-supportive here. It’s a close-knit community. People are here to help each other out. Most of the key organizations are very small with teams of only a handful of people.” And yet, Kai’s mission to blend local and international artists elevates awareness of Estonia’s scene to a whole new level.
Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia
Home to the riveting (but now complete) Tallinn Photomonth contemporary art biennial, this year entitled When You Say We Belong To The Light We Belong To The Thunder, the multi-level Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (known as EKKM) spearheads groundbreaking seasonal exhibits. This independent venue offers free admissions to visitors and often puts Estonian artists front and center. As with Tallinn’s other institutions, it also hosts events (and parties) that seek to get people excited and talking about art.
Hero image of Raphaele Shirley’s “100 Pink Smoke Candles (twice)” by Tõnu Tunnel, courtesy Kai Art Center
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