Kumu turns 20 and celebrates its birthday all year long
On 17 February 2026, Kumu Art Museum will turn 20. For twenty years, Kumu has been home to the world’s only permanent exhibition of Estonian art and has organised outstanding international and Estonian art exhibitions. Throughout its anniversary year, Kumu will look both to the past and to the future with its programme of exhibitions and special events.
“When Kumu opened, we were all delighted that Estonian art had found a permanent, modern home. Today, twenty years later, Kumu has become a lively place where various audiences and different art forms come together. In addition to exhibitions and tours, Kumu hosts theatre, concerts, film nights, art studios and parties. People are what delight us the most: Kumu is bringing the public closer to art. “Together at Kumu” is also the motto of our anniversary year,” said Kadi Polli, director of Kumu.
The Kumu exhibition programme for the anniversary year features several important themes that have been explored over the years. “Since its opening, new media and technological art have been two of Kumu’s focal points, which is why the opening exhibition of the anniversary year, Triumph of Galatea: Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (curated by Anders Härm), focuses on the current connections between art and artificial intelligence. But we are also highlighting Estonian artists and women: Kristi Kongi’s powerful solo exhibition will be on display in Kumu’s large hall, and we are bringing Karin Luts’s travel pictures from Tartu to Tallinn. In addition, we are organising a large exhibition of international contemporary art on issues related to motherhood, and presenting a research project with a decolonial perspective on the heritage of the Finno-Ugric peoples and the Sámi,” said Kadi Polli.
A special anniversary logo was created for the anniversary year, designed in collaboration with the second-year graphic design students from the Estonian Academy of Arts, who are 20 years old, just like Kumu itself. The logo was designed by Mia Greta Sepp and Berit Raun, and the course was supervised by Aimur Takk, from the lettering design studio Tüpokompanii, and Ott Kagovere and Ivar Sakk, from the graphic design department of the Estonian Academy of Arts.
Renovation work in the Kumu atrium began this summer so that the ticket office, cloakroom and museum shop would get a new look for the anniversary. The aim of the new solutions is to create a pleasant atmosphere and a user-friendly and accessible environment for museum visitors, as well as a comfortable and practical working environment for employees. The new solutions were designed by Pille Lausmäe-Lõoke, one of the creators of Kumu’s original interior architecture.
The special anniversary year programme begins in February. On Friday, 13 February, the anniversary exhibition Triumph of Galatea: Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence will be launched, followed by a public birthday party (with tickets), featuring the internationally renowned Iiris Vesik, with her band Night Tapes (Estonia and the United Kingdom), who rarely perform in Estonia. On 14–15 February, there will be an anniversary weekend programme introducing the new exhibition with curator tours, artist talks and performances, and on Sunday the focus will be on the two decades of Kumu, featuring special tours, workshops and discussion groups.
The Kumu Art Museum opened its doors to visitors on 18 February 2006, after nearly four years of construction and more than ten years of waiting, following the announcement of the winning entry in an architectural competition held in 1993. The architect of the Kumu building is Pekka Vapaavuori, and the interior designers are Pille Lausmäe-Lõoke, Ville Lausmäe and Gullsten-Inkinen Interior Architects. To date, Kumu has hosted 249 exhibitions in 19 years and has been visited by 2 700 000 people.
Kumu Exhibitions 2026
13.02.–09.08.2026 Triumph of Galatea: Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Curator: Anders Härm. Participating artists: Andreas Albrectsen, Maria Arnal, Tilman Hornig, Olga Jürgenson, Marge Monko, Bernard Picart, Darja Popolitova, Jon Rafman, Sten Saarits, Jens Settergren, Timo Toots and Jan Zuiderveld.
20.03.–06.09.2026 Karin Luts: Pictures from Travels. In cooperation with the Tartu Art Museum, curator: Mare Joonsalu
22.05.–11.10.2026 Kristi Kongi: Chromatic Drift. Curator: Ann Mirjam Vaikla
11.09.2026–14.03.2027 no beginning, no end: Decolonial Gestures in Sámi World-building. Curator: Ann Mirjam Vaikla. Participating artists: Carola Grahn, Snowchange (Pauliina Feodoroff & Kaisu Mustonen), Marja Helander, Jenni Laiti & Invisible Flock, Britta Marakatt-Labba, Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Alo Paistik, Outi Pieski, Suohpanterror and Lada Suomenrinne
02.10.2026 – spring 2027 Expedition: Finno-Ugrians and the Power of Images. Curator: Linda Kaljundi
06.11.2026 – spring 2027 Who Is Afraid of Motherhood? Curator: Eda Tuulberg. More than 40 artists, including Renate Bertlmann, Miriam Cahn, Andrea Fajgerné Dudas, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Maria Kapajeva, Lenka Klodova, Kateryna Lysovenko, Maternal Fantasies, Jaan Toomik
See the Kumu 20 website here.