Metsavaimud masinas

International technological art exhibition in Tartu
at the Estonian Literary Museum and the University of Tartu Natural History Museum building
29 June – 25 August 2024, opening on 28 June

The exhibition Enter Woodland Spirits together with our new online anthology Estonian Nature Folklore is part of the main programme of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024.

The international technological art exhibition Enter Woodland Spirits explores how technology-driven art can revive the wisdom of folklore and make the essence of nature tangible and perceptible.
The nearly 20 participating artists from the Nordic and Baltic countries embrace the essence and reverence for nature in their work. The artists come from Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Latvia and Estonia, among them Bryndís Björnsdóttir, Oskar Koliander, Tori Wrånes, Ingrid Torvund and Jonas Mailand, Hans Rosenström, Niskanen & Salo, Linda Boļšakova, Norman Orro and Joonas Timmi, Zody Burke, Johannes Luik, Emer Värk. The final list of artists will be revealed in the upcoming months.

The exhibition Enter Woodland Spirits takes the visitor on a journey through two neighbouring historical buildings on Vanemuise street in Tartu – the Estonian Literary Museum and the University of Tartu Natural History Museum. There, one may encounter installation environments, sound and video works, interactive installations and other hybrid forms that create immersive spaces where perception is multi-sensory. Several new artworks are based on materials of our new online anthology Estonian Nature Folklore.

The roots of the exhibition are in our newly created online anthology Estonian Nature Folklore that gives prominence to the rich collections of folklore and their significance from an ecological point of view. We introduce the attitude towards nature among the people in the Nordic region and the forest zone. There, both the utilitarian and sustaining aspects are evident, and a contract-like relationship with nature manifests, where also humans have responsibilities.

This website offers a selection of nature folklore from Southern Estonia in the local languages of Võro, Seto, Tartu, Mulgi, and translations into Estonian and English with added commentaries. In the selection, we find folk songs, tales, images and audio-visual recordings from the Estonian Folklore Archive of the Estonian Literature Museum. The anthology is intended to be used by everyone and to be updated continuously.

The exhibition is supported by the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Office for Contemporary Art Norway, the Danish Arts Foundation and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

ORGANISERS AND CONTACTS

Concept and organising by Henri Hütt, Evelyn Raudsepp, Taive Särg, Ave Goršič.
Additional info from Evelyn Raudsepp at evelynraudsepp@gmail.com