From 9 August 2024 an international art exhibition, “The Secrets of the Leaning Building”, will take place at the Tartu Art Museum and Holm Park. Interactive artworks made in collaboration between acclaimed artists and local children allow visitors to create their own art on the spot, invent new rules and travel through the walls. The exhibition is part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.
The aim of the exhibition is to support the development of children’s social skills and mutual understanding through art and educational activities. “What is special about the exhibition is that the starting point was not a specific artistic theme or artists, but children and the desire to involve them in the creative process. The exhibition, created with the participation of children, families and schools in southern Estonia, is about the feelings and experiences that are hidden in the Leaning Building and inside all of us,” said Hanna-Liis Kont, the curator of the exhibition.
The exhibition will be on display throughout the three floors of the museum, as well as in Holm Park, where visitors can explore multisensory artworks. The exhibition consists mainly of new works of contemporary art made especially for this exhibition which provoke exciting encounters, allowing for the development of self-expression and cooperation. There is also much to discover in the Treasury of Views, consisting of art chosen together with children from the museum’s collections, as well as in the Story Attic, containing a thematic selection of children’s books.
Participants: Jaakko Autio (Finland), Simon and Tom Bloor (UK), William Forsythe (USA, Germany), Kristiina Hansen and Sigrid Viir (Estonia), Jarõna Ilo (Estonia), Anna-Liisa Kree (Estonia), Leisure: Meredith Carruthers and Susannah Wesley (Canada), Lundahl & Seitl (Sweden), Johanna Sternfeld, Karolin Kägi and Jaan Tamkivi from the Vivita Creativity Accelerator for Kids and Youths (Estonia), the Baltic Engagement Center of Information Disorders and the Bullying-Free School Foundation (Estonia). The works of nearly 30 artists from the collections of the Tartu Art Museum and the Art Museum of Estonia, as well as thematic books from more than 40 authors, will also be exhibited.
The exhibition is united by various spatial solutions: in the Leaning Building, full of secrets, hidden windows have been opened up and new passages and nooks have been created, which visitors of all ages can discover. During the exhibition, the entrance on the Town Hall Square will also be open.
The curator of the exhibition is Hanna-Liis Kont and the architect is Kaisa Sööt.
The exhibition will stay open until 02.02.2025.
“The Secrets of the Leaning Building” is the main event of the art education project “Creative Connections” and is part of the programme of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024.
As part of the public programme, on 9 August, there will be an international art education symposium at the Palupera Primary School in the Elva district and on 10 August there will be a free family day in the Palupera Manor Park surrounding the school.
More information about the exhibition and project you can find here.
Exhibition partners: the Baltic Engagement Center of Information Disorders, Bullying-Free School Foundation, Estonian Children’s Literature Centre, Estonian Union for Child Welfare, Kidsmile Podcast, O. Luts Tartu City Library, Shaté Dance School, Sõber Raamat, Tartu 2024 Foundation, Tartu Dance Academy, Tartu Emajõe School, The Estonian Library for the Blind, the University of Tartu Academic Sports Club, University of Tartu Library and Vivita Creativity Accelerator for Kids and Youths
Partner schools: the Elva Gymnasium, Kalmetu Basic School, Miina Härma Gymnasium, Otepää Gymnasium, Palupera Basic School, Põlva School, Tartu Annelinn Upper Secondary School, Tartu Herbert Masing School, Tartu Karlova School, TäheTERA – Tartu Private School and Võru Kreutzwaldi School
Funders: a-n The Artists Information Company, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Estonian Embassy in Berlin, IASPIS, Ledshow, Ministry of Culture of Estonia, Nordic Culture Point, and the Republic of Estonia Education and Youth Board (Harno)