Kristi Kongi in her studio (left); Jaanus Samma in his (right). Source: (Tallinn Music Week)
For the third year in a row, city festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW), which takes place during the last week of March, will include a special contemporary arts program curated by the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC).
Tallinn Tuesday
A gallery evening with extended hours of operation on March 28, called Tallinn Tuesday, will include projects from both Estonian and international artists and feature both group and solo exhibitions, according to a TMW press release. With extended hours from 5 to 9 p.m., Tallinn Tuesday offers visitors the opportunity to get to know the Estonian art gallery landscape as well as meet the gallery owners and artists.
Okapi Gallery will present Mexican-born artist Niña Yhared's performance "Via Baltic." A resident of Vilnius, Lithuania, Yhared's work will focus on the Baltic Way, or Baltic Chain, where in 1989, one million people formed a 600-kilometer human chain stretching from Estonia to Lithuania, raising questions about nationality, freedom and borders in her performance.
Tallinn Tuesday will also be the last day of the National Romantic exhibit "Tricolor Games" by pop artist Mall Nukke at Haus Gallery. The exhibit features Estonian flag-colored works depicting games with tricolor marbles, tangled up fabrics and black latex costumes, while the blue of the EU and the colors of the Euro will also lend extra variety to the color palette.
OGH is a joint project by Greg Ponchak and Paige Früchtnicht which combines fashion, art, design, curation and architecture. In the context of the exhibit at EKA Gallery, OGH will explore the expressions of political action and militarization influenced by Greco-Roman tradition and Neoplatonic Christian Asceticism.
"Euroland" is an international group exhibit at Temnikova & Kasela Gallery, curated by Oleg Frolov, which brings together different generations of artists from Tallinn, Moscow, Berlin and Vienna whose works have a common interest in exploring the relationships between society and physical space.
The tour will end at Vaal Gallery with the exhibit "Pink Tree" by Laurentsius (Lauri Sillak), a fetishist aesthete approaching his subjects with extreme devotion. For this exhibit, Laurentsius has taken on a challenge to paint landscapes, demonstrated through his larger-than-life paintings in this forgotten genre.
All projects and exhibits, with the exception of Nukke's "Tricolor Games," will remain open throughout TMW during their usual hours of operation.
Artist studio tours, future talent competition
On Friday, March 31, a special studio tour will allow visitors to peek into the studios of contemporary artists Kristi Kongi and Jaanus Samma. On Saturday, April 1, the studios of the ARS building, which has a history dating back to 1944, will likewise open their doors to visitors, stopping by the studios of up to four artists — for example that of painter Merike Estna.
For the second year, TMW Arts will also host a joint event with the NOAR.eu art environment and the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) that will introduce future talents of Estonian art to a wider audience and include an online voting campaign to elect the public's favorite artist. A selection of works from the competition will be displayed at Wabadus Café in Freedom Square and voting will be open to the public throughout TMW.
Not just music
This year's TMW, which runs from March 27 through April 2, will include a music festival, two-day industry conference, a series of free City Stage concerts, the TMW Arts program as curated by the ECADC, a design market showcasing Baltic and Scandinavian brands and designs, a TMW Talks series with topics ranging from music to science and societal issues, City Space activities in cooperation with interior designers from EKA as well as the premiere of a special children's program.
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