Home page with featured events and exhibitions

On 2 October, Kumu Art Museum will open the exhibition Expedition: Finno-Ugrians and the Power of Images. The exhibition explores Estonians’ relationship with Finno-Ugric Indigenous peoples, asking why ethnographic research into other Indigenous peoples became a form of self-exploration for Estonians in the 1970s and 1980s. The exhibition is being curated by Linda Kaljundi, with Eha Komissarov and Bart Pushaw as curatorial consultants.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Köler, the first professional artist of Estonian nationality, the exhibition Köler 200: Interpretations opened in the 3rd floor project space of the Kumu Art Museum. The exhibition is a further development of the show at the Rüki Gallery in Viljandi, where five artists – Mihkel Ilus, Jass Kaselaan, Marge Monko, Tõnis Saadoja and Johanna Ulfsak – offered contemporary interpretations of Köler’s work. This new version is being curated by Tiiu Saadoja.

Opening on 11 September at the Kumu Art Museum’s Contemporary Art Gallery, the group exhibition no beginning, no end: Decolonial Gestures in Sámi Worldbuilding focusses on the Sámi people’s struggle for sovereignty over their land, language and culture. The exhibition is being curated by Ann Mirjam Vaikla, with Jenni Laiti as a curatorial consultant.

On 27 August this year, Ülle Meister (1948–2021) would have turned 78. To mark the occasion, the artist’s heirs donated 64 of her works to the Art Museum of Estonia: 18 watercolours, four drawings and 42 prints.

The exhibition Hold Me Dearly: A Monument to Survival will open in the inner courtyard of the Kumu Art Museum on 28 August. The exhibition presents to viewers stories about children and youngsters whose behaviour is often rooted in trauma, fear, rejection and the lack of a sense of belonging. Hold me Dearly is an expressive and heartfelt exhibition, which was born in cooperation with youngsters living in closed child care institutions (the Estonian acronym is KLAT).

The Art Museum of Estonia comprises five museums in Tallinn with a varied exhibition programme. These museums, each with its own image and focus, offer exceptional art exhibitions and a magical atmosphere that make your visit to the Estonian capital unforgettable.

Starting on 28 May, the exhibition Enno Hallek: Portable Sunset will showcase works by one of Estonia’s most significant artists in exile. The exhibition is being curated by Liisa Kaljula.

In connection with Kumu’s 20th anniversary summer, Kristi Kongi’s exhibition Chromatic Drift and the museum’s inner courtyard will also be open on Mondays, when the rest of the museum is closed, from 25 May through 30 September. From the beginning of May through the end of September, two of the Art Museum of Estonia’s branches – the Kadriorg Art Museum and the Niguliste Museum – will also be open on Mondays.

Kristi Kongi’s (b. 1985) solo exhibition Chromatic Drift, opening in the Great Hall of the Kumu Art Museum on 22 May, creates an immersive sensory and spatial experience. Central to this experience is colour, a hallmark of Kristi Kongi’s oeuvre. Extending beyond the canvas, colours and motifs have spilled onto the museum’s floor, walls, windows and into the outdoor space. The exhibition, curated by Ann Mirjam Vaikla, is one of the highlights of the Kumu Art Museum’s anniversary year.

In keeping with the motto of the Kumu Art Museum’s 20th anniversary, Kumu Brings People Together, the artist Pankaj Tiwari’s TENT: School for Performative Practices will take place in Kumu’s courtyard from 9–20 May. The programme Rehearsals for Solidarity, taking place in and around the tent school, teaches participants about togetherness and collaboration.

The exhibition Estonian Realities (“Réalités estoniennes”), in collaboration between the Art Museum of Estonia and the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art (Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, MAM), opens on 3 April. The exhibition introduces French audiences to post-World War II Estonian art through the work of three outstanding women from different generations.

The Supervisory Board of the Art Museum of Estonia Foundation decided by consensus that Sirje Helme will continue as Chief Executive Officer of the Art Museum of Estonia Foundation for a further two years, in line with the candidate’s preferred contract length.