In collaboration with artists and city officials, a unique art exhibition has been opened underneath Tallinn’s Freedom Square. Besides walking through the venue in the conventional way, the sculptures can also be enjoyed from behind the wheel of a car. The “drive-in” exhibition developed in cooperation with the city of Tallinn is a Merko initiative.
The contemporary works nestled among the historic bastion walls in the parking garage below the plaza are by two acclaimed Estonian sculptors, Edith Karlson and Jass Kaselaan. Karlson contributed a horse sculpture entitled Body and Spirit and a series of sculptures of child-sized spectral figures cast in plaster, bearing the collective name Drama Is in Your Head. The Kaselaan works are two groups of sculptures: Seven Mice and Them and Me.
“It’s great to open an exhibition in a place not usually sought out by art exhibition-goers. People usually come here for other reasons – to park their car, drive by, keep on going. Usually art is expected to be in a white hall, a quiet space, in front of a viewer in the right mood. This place is different and that is what makes it interesting for me. Art in this space does not necessarily demand much time and concentration – it can just slip in for a brief period,” said Jass Kaselaan.
Tallinn Mayor Peeter Raudsepp said it was important for Tallinn’s public space to not be merely functional but also offer an experience to be savoured. “This exhibition is a very good example of how a partnership between the city and entrepreneurs can make the public space livelier and more diverse. The city can create the context and the possibilities, and entrepreneurs can bring in ideas and initiative, and together something with lasting value for the city and people is born,” said Raudsepp.
The mayor for the Kesklinn district of Tallinn, Nikita Groznov, concurred that art does not always have to be waiting passively in galleries. “Often it’s all the more exciting if art speaks to people in the city environment and calls out to be discovered. The exhibition underneath Freedom Square shows that even an everyday urban space can offer a memorable experience and food for thought, whether it’s for people driving by in a vehicle or making their way through the exhibition on foot.”
With the aim of making our shared living environment more diverse and offer Estonian artists an opportunity for displaying their works, Merko has added more than 20 individual works and ensembles of sculptures to the streets and squares of Tallinn.
“A builder’s main work is constructing high-quality buildings and infrastructure. But the environment around the built structures is also very important. It has to be comfortable and safe, and if it conjures up good emotions and is memorable, that’s an added bonus. This is why we’ve brought art closer to people, into the surroundings of homes and other places that people pass while making their way around Tallinn on their everyday activities,” said the CEO of Merko Eesti, Jaan Mäe.
Sculptor Edith Karlson credited Merko for its commitment to underwriting and carrying out art projects. “We all know that creating something in the public space always collides with differing opinions and as such, it requires confidence and responsibility from both the people commissioning and creating the artworks,” she said. “For that, I am sincerely grateful. I consider it essential for our city to be diverse, with space for individual flair. I hope this kind of bold, enterprising approach will endure.”
The Merko-commissioned artworks closest to the Freedom Square exhibition are the monk sculptures by Simson von Seakyll and Paul Mänd in the Danish King’s Garden. Merko has also installed – commissioned by Kapitel and in cooperation with the city of Tallinn – modern facade lighting on the Old Town’s walls and towers, reminding passersby of the city’s storied history and offering a little artistic value.
Of the two Freedom square exhibition artists, Jass Kaselaan’s sculpture group Toys can be seen at the Uus-Veerenni residential project and Edith Karlson’s giant dinosaur sculpture Good Old Times is at Noblessner. Besides these two artists, Merko has commissioned public artworks from Heigo Jelle, Kalle Pruuden, Siim Poomann, Kersti Lootus and Flo Kasearu.
For an overview of Merko-supported public artworks and suggested tour itineraries, go to merko.ee/kunstirannak. The website vaatavanalinna.ee provides information on the Old Town facade lighting project, and also features thematic itineraries that can be followed with an audioguide at one’s own convenience and pace.omas tempos külastada.
