Events

ARS Project Space 24.10.–15.11.2025 Mon–Fri 12:00–18:00, Sat 12:00–16:00 Exhibition opening: Friday, 24 October at 18:00 Sten Saarits’ solo exhibition ‘Absentia’ presents a trilogy of video works: The Wait (2020), The Stream (2022), and The Browse (2023), all connected by a sense of tension. A person no longer recognizes their world – they observe it, not with the curiosity of the first inhabitant of a new planet, but as a shadow of former glory who has given up on existence. In Saarits’ works, we find ourselves in the spaces of contemporary life. The cold, alienating places where one can feel lonely even in the company of others. A fleeting friendly glance has been replaced by an awkward search of avoiding direct eye contact. Instead of a spontaneous and likely refreshing conversation, the hand instinctively reaches for the phone.

On Wednesday, 29th of October at 6 PM, artist Kristel Saan will walk visitors through her exhibition “Scent of Humans”. She will talk about the process of making the artworks, the materials and techniques she used, and will gladly answer the visitors' questions. The exhibition will remain open until 15th of November. The exhibition “Scent of Humans” speaks of how our nose is always the primary introducer to our feelings. It gives us the initial information about whether we stay or move on whether we like something or are we reluctant to it, and ultimately determines our memories.

You are invited to the opening of jeweelery exhibition “Radical Softness” on All Souls' Day 2 November at 12:00. The Estonian contemporary jewellery exhibition "Radical Softness" debuted in 2024 in Lisbon, at the greja da Madalena church. It now arrives at Niguliste Museum, as the first exhibition to be held on the highest floor of the tower. Sixteen jewellery artists contemplate being through material, inviting us to pause and seek answers-and the resilience to remain ourselves-from within rather than from the external world. “Radical Softness” is scheduled to run in parallel with the exhibition “The Dark Sky of Imagination: Jewellery Art of Kadri Mälk” at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, open from 7 November 2025 to 5 April 2026. All artists participating in "Radical Softness" have found their voice with the help of Professor Kadri Mälk (1958-2023), the long-time head of the jewellery and blacksmithing department at the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Starting from October 23, Tanel Rander’s solo exhibition "Between a Mountain and a Valley" will be open at Draakoni Gallery in Tallinn. The exhibition will remain open until November 16, 2025.

On Thursday, October 23 at 18.00 the exhibition „Wouldn’t You Happen to Know Mark Here in Valga? A Story from Bordertown“ by Danel Ülper & Hedi Kuhi will open at Hobusepea gallery. The exhibition will remain open until November 16, 2025.  “I don’t think I’ll be voting in this election. Nevertheless, the town is abounding in pretty faces,” said an older lady, standing with a group waiting for the bus. Though others didn’t express their views as firmly, their attitude toward those pleasing-to-the-eye faces seemed similar. And there were plenty of those faces. They lurked on either side of the bus station, by Maxima and other shops, and even on the windows and walls of completely abandoned houses on Vabaduse Street.

On Wednesday, 22 October at 4:00 p.m., the exhibition “Kristjan Teder and Flowers in Estonian Art” will open at the Valga Museum. The exhibition is being held in collaboration with the Tartu Artists’ Union and is being curated by Peeter Talvistu. A SPECIAL BUS will be going from Tartu to the opening! In October 1966, an exhibition of Kristjan Teder’s works took place at the Valga Museum. It was probably one of the first solo exhibitions at the museum, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Kristjan Teder (1901–1960) is primarily associated with lush floral displays by art lovers, so the exhibition is a more than appropriate gift to celebrate the jubilee. In this year’s exhibition, Teder’s works are accompanied by those of earlier and later authors from Estonian art history, offering an overview of the depiction and use of flowers in Estonian art from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day.

On Friday, 17 October at 5:00 p.m., the group exhibition What I’d Come to See Had Already Gone will open at Vabaduse Gallery and in the framework of Tallinn Photomonth 2025 contemporary art biennial’s satellite programme. The artists participating at the exhibition are Aap Tepper, Birgit Püve and Serge Ecker, and the exhibition is curated by Fanny Wenquin.

A curator’s tour in English with Mėta Valiušaitytė will take place on Saturday, October 11 at 12pm at the exhibition On Fragile Grounds. Sirje Runge and Light at Kai Art Center. Bringing together works created across her extensive career, this exhibition presents Runge as a seeker whose artistic practice unfolds as an inquiry into color as light and teaching as a form of creation. A separate room is dedicated to Runge’s student-focused teaching method, which is a crucial part of both her aesthetics and artistic practice. It features a reconstruction of her experimental work, with colored papers as well as selection of reflections from her former students, offering a glimpse into the poetic and meditative atmosphere of Runge’s classes. The exhibition is part of the main program of the Tallinn Photomonth 2025 contemporary art biennial. The international contemporary art biennial Tallinn Photomonth runs from 5 September to 31 October. More information: fotokuu.ee/en.

On Thursday, 16th of October at 6 pm, Kristel Saan’s solo exhibition “Scent of Humans” will open at Vaal Gallery. The exhibition will remain open until 15th of November. The exhibition “Scent of Humans” speaks of how our nose is always the primary introducer to our feelings. It gives us the initial information about whether we stay or move on whether we like something or are we reluctant to it, and ultimately determines our memories.

On Friday, 10 October at 5 p.m., Eva Mustonen and Lilli-Krõõt Repnau will open their joint exhibition “Little Narratives” at the monumental gallery of the Tartu Art House. What happens when words are lost? Do they stumble around the exhibition space and stare back from the pictures? How can we hold on to words? They search for meaning and walk from one object to another. A sewing machine, diary, blue shoe rack, goat's head, polar bear, blue drawings and ferns participate in the stillness. Everything is in a state of flux and it is sometimes difficult to find connections.