Events

At the 24th annual exhibition of the Estonian Artists’ Association opening on 31 May at 6 pm, 252 artists have shown interest in participating. The jury selected works from 55 artists and collectives to be exhibited at Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion.

9.05, 18:00, Draakon Gallery You are kindly invited to the launch of Maria Kapajeva's book “a year-log scream”. Kapajeva started writing the book on February 24, 2022 – the day the full-scale war in Ukraine began. The book is written in a personal style and deals with themes of identity, collective and individual responsibility and guilt, language and belonging, feminism, and the stories of some of the Ukrainian refugees that the author encountered during the year. Kapajeva is joined by special guests, Sveta Grigorjeva, Katrin Hallas and Maarja Kangro who will read poetry and discuss the book. The book has been published in three languages (Estonian, English and Russian) and can be purchased at the presentation with a special price of €10. The readings will be held in Estonian, English and Russian. The discussion will be in in English. Graphic design: Kersti Heile Publisher: OPA! www.opapublishing.com

May 14 at 10.30 Pre-registration is open until May 10. The presentations are in Estonian and English. All presentations can be listened to with headphones, with simultaneous interpretation in both languages. Moderator: Joanna Hoffmann, Chief Executive Officer of the Tartu Art Museum and curator of the exhibition "Surrealism 100. Praha, Tartu and Other Stories...".  Schedule and registration: https://www.erm.ee/et/surrealism100-konverents Additional information:  Estonian National Museum  Muuseumi tee 2 60532 Tartu, Estonia Phone: +3727363000 erm@erm.ee

Art Director: Al Paldrok Author of the idea: Märt-Matis Lill The expansive endeavor of the event Umwelt of Walpurgis Night blends with the performance art of Al Paldrok and the Non Grata collective. This dynamic after-hours affair is both mobile and diverse, spanning the museum's exhibition spaces rich with artefacts and history, including the vast expanse of the bridge area. Non Grata is an action art group established in 1998 that operates internationally around the world. The group includes nearly 500 members, who, in addition to Estonia, come from all over Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/752411606959824

On Friday, April 26, 2024 at 5:00 pm, you are invited to Vabaduse Gallery for the opening of the exhibition Kummardu ja kata! / Duck and Cover! by Mare Tralla and Pam Skelton. The exhibition will remain open to visitors until May 22, 2024. The exhibition borrows its title from the Cold War era personal protection method against the effects of a nuclear explosion Duck and cover practised in the West. Ducking and covering was seen as a useful action offering some degree of protection to persons located outside the radius of the nuclear fireball. Duck and Cover drills and educational films were widely used at schools. The kids in the USSR were taught very similarly.

This exhibition is inspired by the library left behind in the School n. 1 of Sillamäe, an institution that was closed in 1999. Subsequently, the building hosted the ECOMEN Institute of Economics & Management for seven years before being abandoned. In Latin, ex libris referred to anything that comes out of the books. In Medieval times, the term started to be used in relation to a book owner's identification label. Now, the library has been intruded by a series of artists, re-appropriating its materials in a parasitical way. The books are still present, alas they do not always make sense in the present. Nonetheless, their ideas and aesthetics keep on fermenting otherwise. Burden or delayed gift, the library is available for novel relations of exchange.

On Thursday, 2nd of May at 6 pm the group exhibition titled "Forever in Bloom" will open at Vaal Gallery. The exhibition will remain open until 1st of June. Artists: Tõnis Jürgens, Loora Kaubi, Rebecca Norman, Viivi Saikkonen, Marleen Suvi, Roman-Sten Tõnissoo Curator: Kaisa Maasik  Graphic design: Jaan Pavliuk

April 15 – May 12, 2024 Metropol 6 m2 and Metropol Cabinet (Vana-Kalamaja 46, Tallinn) Next exhibition of gallery Metropol offers a supportive ceiling and floor to an artist who has been and is in the center of events every day and at the same time slips out of focus and out of the picture. What is being and do we rembember it? What stays in the mind anyway? And does making art have anything to do with all of this? Here, the artist, the viewer and the gallery are on one equal position and we can start looking together. Toomas explains: "...the exhibits in the exhibition are most similar to paintings, but it is not certain; I've been trying to figure out some things mainly based on recollection, but the result causes misunderstanding and uncertainty; I believe that mathematics is the basis of how the world works, some formulas, some equations, some multipliers, but I can't follow the logic of calculation systems, I just am, my body waits with me, in the meantime it's pretty nice and quiet as I try to figure out what's going on.

Brenda Purtsak and Lisette Lepik will open their exhibition Admission Not For Everyone on Wednesday, April 17, at 18.00 in Hobusepea gallery. The curator is Kerly Ritval. The exhibition will remain open until May 13, 2024. “/---/ But wait, at last I succeeded in catching several words on end. They were: “MAGIC THEATER ENTRANCE NOT FOR EVERYBODY”” Herman Hesse Steppenwolf

We invite you to the opening of Maria Kapajeva's solo exhibition, “Listen To My Scream, Hear Their Dreams” at Draakon Gallery on Wednesday, April 17th at 18:00. The exhibition will be open until May 11, 2024. Maria Kapajeva's exhibition, "Listen To My Scream, Hear Their Dreams," is profoundly influenced by Draakon Gallery's location directly across from the Russian Embassy in Tallinn's Old Town. Positioned in this manner, Kapajeva aims to foster a more nuanced dialogue regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has led to a continual exposure to harrowing imagery. Consequently, a process of desensitization has transpired, rendering us less able to empathize with the enduring violence faced by real individuals still fighting for their lives in Ukraine. The intricate details, nuances, and personal narratives have been reduced to easily shareable content that briefly crosses our screens before fading into obscurity.