The university city Tartu is also a European Capital of Culture this year. But Tartu also exists in Toronto, Canada and it has travelled to the aforementioned Tartu, Estonia.
Everyone that visits the Estonian Literary Museum in Tartu, Estonia can ensure that fact. On Monday, September 9th, VEMU Estonian Museum Canada’s exhibition “Our Tartu: 50 Years of Tartu College” opened at the Literary Museum.
Welcoming remarks were delivered by the director of the Literary Museum, Piret Voolaid. VEMU’s chief archivist Piret Noorhani had a longer presentation titled “Two Tartus,” in which she talked about the “parallel-Tartus.” Noorhani brought up several examples of her experiences as a Tartu native who has had the unique opportunity
to experience the far-away Tartu and gain further enrichment through her job as chief archivist in Tartu College. In her presentation, Noorhani introduced the history, essence, and organizations within Tartu College, the cultural and academic life that takes place there, and the founder of the TC concept, architect and a long time president, Elmar Tampõld.
In the second half of the exhibition opening, Ahto Külvet introduced and commented on diaspora Estonian music. The music was played on vinyl records, which VEMU had sent to Psühhoteek, a used record store operating in Tartu, at the end of 2023.
VEMU and the Literary Museum, who signed a cooperation agreement in the summer, are contributing to the Tartu European Culture of Capital program and the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Escape of 1944 through this exhibit.
The opening could be viewed on the Literary Museum’s website. The event was supported by the Integration Foundation. The exhibit is able to be viewed at the Literary Museum until October 11th and will then be displayed at the University of Tartu in November.
This article appeared in Estonian Life newspaper in English on September 13, 2024.