Events

The residency programme KORDON LAB on Food and Energy will conclude with public events tomorrow and the day after, on the 19-20 of July. On both days it is possible to get an insight into the research and works by the artists: Aga Pokrywka, Jonas Palekas and Mia Tamme. The works will unfold in various forms: filmic performance, sound performance and a shared dinner – unravelling the hidden stories about women who fish, or in collaboration with local plant species, human voices, and insular soundscapes, asking the question: What is foreign? And a summer school, beginning today, which brings together participants from various backgrounds to delve into a collective practice of experimental and creative cooking.

On Wednesday, 24 July, five different exhibitions will be opened in Pärnu as part of the art project “Tartu-Pärnu-Tartu Art Express”: at the Pärnu Artists’ House the group exhibition “Who’s in the Garden?”, at the Pärnu City Gallery in the Town Hall the group exhibition “Accentuations”, at the Endla Theatre Gallery and Café the group exhibition “Colour and Freedom”, at the Tex-Mex Gallery the group exhibition “Simple Choices” and at the HØØD bar Ove Maidla’s solo exhibition “A Dream of a Motacilla Flava”. A free art bus from Tartu is going to the opening.

On Friday, 19 July at 5 pm, the painter and graphic artist Toomas Kuusing will open his solo exhibition Ordinary Worlds at Vabaduse Gallery. Toomas Kuusing:  “In the world we live in, there is no longer a universally accepted truth, nor any basis to distinguish between what is real and what is imagined. The balance between reality and fiction has changed. We live in an enormous image. The artist has less and less need to invent content for their work. Fiction already exists.” With the exhibition at Vabaduse Gallery, the artist presents a selection of his most recent graphic art and paintings. Under this title, the works conceptually continue central themes that have been present in his work for nearly twenty years.

On 19 July at 6 pm, the group exhibition Hold Me Tender will open at Medūza gallery in Vilnius. The show deals with relationships, care, social roles and responsibility, language and ethnicity, vulnerability and violence. The exhibition will remain open until 31 August. The participating artists are Bas Jan Ader, Agnė Jokšė, Morta Jonynaitė, Sandra Kosorotova, Keiu Maasik, Maija Mustonen, Marko Mäetamm, Sarah Nõmm, Hanna Piksarv, Mark Raidpere and Elīna Vītola. The exhibition is curated by Siim Preiman.

On Friday, 12 July at 5 p.m. the exhibition “Homo Ludens” dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Ilmar Malin will be opened at the Gallery Pallas.   This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ilmar Malin (1924–2024). He is one of the most important painters from Estonia and especially from Tartu during the second half of the 20th century. Over the course of his diverse career, he managed to move from the compulsory socialist realism of his school years through in-depth explorations of surrealism to innovative installation art of the of the 1990s.   The exhibition at the Pallas Gallery will mainly focus on Malin’s non-surrealist oeuvre, thereby complementing the exhibition “Ilmar Malin. Glow of Eternity” at the Tartu Art Museum (open until July 21). The curators also wanted to focus on works which the audience has seen rarely if at all since they are in private collections or in difficult to access locations.  

On Wednesday, July 10, at 18.00, EAA Young Artist Award 2023 laureate Samuel Lehikoinen opens his exhibition Empty Calories at Hobusepea gallery. The exhibition will remain open until August 5, 2024.  The exhibition is about the ironies and dysfunction of our screen-centric existence, highlighting the cycle of instant gratification driven by our obsessive consumption of the “empty calorie” content found in social media feeds.

Today, 5 July at 6 p.m, a new group exhibition with the title “Look into my Ice” will open in the three galleries of the Tartu Art House as part of the main programme of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024. The curator of the exhibition is Liisi Kõuhkna. The purpose of the exhibition is to enhance empathy and raise awareness about the impact of melting glaciers and the effect it has on Estonia. We are the last generation able to save the earth from irreversible destruction in process. We need a sense of global responsibility because we are interdependent. 

Opening of the group exhibition “Compost of Joy” on July 13 at 4:00 PM at the Narva Art Residency. Often, depicting happiness or joy in art can come across as crude, tasteless, overly decorative, superficial… or KITSCH. Kitsch is an imitation of art aimed at mass-market appeal. But is that really the case? Should it be? Could we instead embrace kitsch, drawing inspiration from its aesthetics without shame, embracing clichés? Or should we strive to convey our joy subtly and with nuance, tastefully and elegantly? Is it even sensible to dismiss clichés? Can the aesthetics of kitsch be used as a serious art form capable of conveying the complexity of human nature? Each participating artist has their own answers to these questions, creating a large, colourful mixture—or perhaps compost—where we’ve tossed all our relevant thoughts for decomposition. Karolina Peterson's experimental film takes us on a journey through an ironically guided meditation, prompting us to reflect on our own lives.

Join us for the opening of Marleen Suvi’s solo exhibition “We’ve Never Lived in a House” at EKA Gallery on Friday, July 5, at 6 pm!  The exhibition will remain open until August 4. Curated by Aleksander Metsamärt Marleen Suvi's personal exhibition "We’ve Never Lived in a House" brings together 16 large-scale canvases to form a major installation, which concerns itself with the topics of memory and family.

You are welcome to the opening of “Souvenir of Haapsalu” by Liivia Leškin on July 3 at 5 pm. The exhibition will remain open until August 4. This exhibition is entirely and completely dedicated to Haapsalu - my hometown. To the light here and to people by my side. Liivia Leškin Lisainfo: Haapsalu City Gallery Posti 3, 90502 Haapsalu www.galerii.kultuurimaja.ee Wed–Sun 12.00–18.00