A brand new contemorary arts center is going to opn next month in Estonia,which has built something of a cultural utopia, complete with government-subsidized art-fair participation and a national artists' union within the last two years alone. The Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center is a small organization with a large vision. It is one of several national platforms working to build a bridge between the local contemporary art world and the international field, with a special emphasis on expanding the contemporary Estonian art market. Two equally important and closely connected areas of their activity are enhancing the exposure of Estonian contemporary art on the international scene and supporting the international competitiveness of Estonian galleries.
Encouraging greater interest in the work of local artists by the international art market is a joint effort involving many participants. The Kai Art Center -a new cultural hub that will present four main exhibitions a year, boast a one-hundred-seat theater, and serve as an education center- will open on the waterfront in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, next month. Spearheaded by the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center, the arts space will be housed in a century-old building in Port Noblessner, a former submarine production plant, and will host an international residency program, dubbed 7+7, that will invite up to fourteen artists to Tallinn each year. The center will also provide studio and event spaces for artists and other local arts organizations.
Funding for the center’s operations will come from Enterprise Estonia (European Regional Development Fund), BLRT Group and Lindermann, and Birnbaum & Kasela. Its inaugural exhibition, “Let the field of your attention... soften and spread out”, featuring artists such as Marie Kølbæk Iversen, Pia Lindman, Andrea Magnani, Elin Már Øyen Vister, and Carlos Monleon Gendall will be curated by Hanna-Laura Kaljo and will open at Peetri 12, as part of the city’s contemporary art biennial, Tallinn Photomonth, on September 20.
Encouraging greater interest in the work of local artists by the international art market is a joint effort involving many participants. The Kai Art Center -a new cultural hub that will present four main exhibitions a year, boast a one-hundred-seat theater, and serve as an education center- will open on the waterfront in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, next month. Spearheaded by the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center, the arts space will be housed in a century-old building in Port Noblessner, a former submarine production plant, and will host an international residency program, dubbed 7+7, that will invite up to fourteen artists to Tallinn each year. The center will also provide studio and event spaces for artists and other local arts organizations.
Funding for the center’s operations will come from Enterprise Estonia (European Regional Development Fund), BLRT Group and Lindermann, and Birnbaum & Kasela. Its inaugural exhibition, “Let the field of your attention... soften and spread out”, featuring artists such as Marie Kølbæk Iversen, Pia Lindman, Andrea Magnani, Elin Már Øyen Vister, and Carlos Monleon Gendall will be curated by Hanna-Laura Kaljo and will open at Peetri 12, as part of the city’s contemporary art biennial, Tallinn Photomonth, on September 20.