Music and city culture festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW), taking place on 25 – 29 March, includes a contemporary art programme curated by the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC). On 26 March nine art galleries are taking part in a gallery evening called Tallinn Thursday to exhibit art from Estonia and abroad. In collaboration between TMW and the Kai Art Center, an open call is currently underway to find a new piece of music to accompany Anne Katrine Senstad’s exhibition “Radical Light”.
As part of the TMW 2020 festival, the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC) will host a gallery evening called Tallinn Thursday with a special programme and extended opening hours on 26 March. Nine galleries in Tallinn will exhibit new creations by artists from Estonia and abroad, and the programme also includes tours and events to meet the artists and gallerists.
The Kai Art Center, a new international art hub in the historic Noblessner area, is exhibiting a unique light installation “Radical Light” by the Norwegian artist Anne Katrine Senstad, made specifically for the Kai exhibition hall. The work invites the viewer to explore the deeply disorienting combined sensory effects of light, colour and sound in a space. During the TMW week, the exhibition will be accompanied by a musical composition inspired by the light installation, selected through an open call held by Kai Art Center and TMW. On Tallinn Thursday, the winner will be presented with the prize and the winning entry will be played at Kai until the end of the TMW week. Additional information.
At Vaal Gallery, Taavi Tulev‘s exhibition “Infinity” features works from the border of op art and psychedelia, with accompanying sonic analogies in the form of the artist’s musical project HAPE. On Tallinn Thursday, visitors can meet the artist at the gallery, hear his music and observe the analogues in two different mediums.
Haus Gallery is exhibiting a collection of Ashot Jegikjan‘s newest paintings, titled “Spring and mummuism”, all sharing a common element in the form of polka dots, as well as an exhibition of drawings and paintings by the Estonian living classic Jüri Arrak. Gallerist Piia Ausman will present the exhibitions, with Ashot Jegikjan also in attendance.
At the Museum of Photography, Finnish artist Paola Suhonen‘s exhibition “SOUTHERN BOYS, SOUTHERN GIRLS” features photos and videos of youth in Tennessee that observes the conflict between youthful rebellion and attitudes related to the body and sexuality in a conservative environment. The artist will also be present at the opening of the exhibition.
At the Okapi gallery, Maarja Mäemets and Rait Lõhmus‘ exhibition “UNDER THE WATER ON THE MOON II” takes the viewer through photos and installations of glass and concrete to places, where time and space are given another meaning. On Tallinn Thursday, the artists will be present at the gallery, as well as the gallerist Temuri Hvingija.
The Gallery Positiiv exhibition “Parallel Beam” features a collection of photographs by Epp Kubu that displays still moments from everyday life and unexpected combinations of light and shadow. The exhibition will be introduced by Positiiv’s gallerist Kristel Schwede.
At the Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre, photographer and travel journalist Silvia Pärmann‘s exhibition “Countries that do not exist” observes daily life in countries that have all the characteristics of a sovereign state (clear borders, local governments, often their own currencies and armies) but officially do not exist. On Tallinn Thursday, visitors can meet the artist and curator of the exhibition.
The EKA Gallery in the Estonian Academy of Arts will feature the international group exhibition “Country Music”, an amalgam of web-based music and other cultural phenomena by Daniel Iinatt and Anna Sagström, shaped by the potential energy of underused spaces.
Temnikova & Kasela Gallery, which moved to a new location in Port Noblessner last autumn, features the international group exhibition “Narcotics”, featuring artists Ilja Karilampi, Nik Kosmas, Cosima von Bonin, Kareem Lofty and Katya Novitskova. The texts of the exhibition are compiled by the platform theopioidcrisis_lookbook, with the soundtrack created by the Berlin duo Emiranda.
The TMW Art exhibitions will be open at regular gallery hours during TMW festival week. A bus will be arranged to aid with transportation between the galleries. Entry to the bus at every stop is based on the first-come first-served policy. Additional information, including the Tallinn Thursday timeline: tmw.ee/festival/arts
Several notable exhibitions will also be open during the TMW at Fotografiska Tallinn in the Telliskivi Creative City. “Exposed” is a retrospective portrait exhibition by Canadian musician Bryan Adams, featuring his friends and colleagues in the entertainment industries. The exhibition also showcases his series “Wounded: The Legacy of War”, where Adams presents portraits of young British soldiers who have suffered life-changing injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The Darkroom” celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Finnish legend Tom of Finland, focusing on his photos and drawings. “The Dark Testament” by British-Liberian artist Lina Iris Victor blurs the lines between the real and the imagined, reflecting humanity’s search for sacred experiences. Additionally, Tampere Art Museum’s Moomin Museum will open an original Moomin pop-up store in Fotografiska from 17 to 29 March.