Fotografiska Tallinn is coming!
Plus there is much more to see for anyone who likes photo art.
Fotografiska Tallinn opens in June! It was such a joyful news to me who loves Tallinn, photography and Fotografiska Stockholm!
Fotografiska has been my favorite destination in Stockholm right from its opening. In addition to interesting exhibitions, I have been charmed by the good museum store and restaurant, which may have the most spectacular views of the city.
So you can imagine that I am super excited abot this favorite museum of mine coming to town: Tallinn Fotografiska! And the location being the jagged yet cozy Telliskivi. It is favorite area of many Tallinn visitors.
Fotografiska Tallinn opens already in June 2019!
Fotografiska Tallinn is opening 19th of June – in just a couple of months! Unbelievable how both Telliskivi and Fotografiska have managed to keep this as a secret until now.
The photos below show how Fotografiska Tallinn’s building looked just a few months ago. I shot these photos wondering what it will be when finished. Little did I know!
At Fotografiska Tallinn’s Facebook I got a sneak peek of what the place might look like in just few months. I can say already now, that the restaurant is going to be a success – the view is absolutely amazing! They just opened their website, which is the best place to check the latest news.
Just a quick note: here is a list of all my favorite restaurants in Tallinn! It helps you to find the best places to eat.
It’s been my plan to write about Tallinn’s photo galleries, but now I had to hurry before Fotografiska Tallinn takes all the attention. The thing is that there is already now very interesting places to see for the fans of photography. I hope there will be enough visitors to these places even after Fotografiska Tallinn has opened its doors. I’m sure there will. Probably Fotografiska will do good for all the photo galleries in town.
Interesting photography in Telliskivi even before Fotografiska Tallinn opens
Juhan Kuus documentary gallery is opposite to the building where Fotografiska Tallinn will open. It is a small space with a great vision: to organize high-quality documentary photo exhibitions in the spirit of the late Estonian documentary photographer Juhan Kuus. On the basis of all the exhibitions I’ve seen, I would say they have succeeded brilliantly!
Kuus was a world-renowned Estonian documentary photographer who lived and worked in South Africa. After his sudden death, a fund was set up to secure his heritage, as he had hoped to keep his photographic archives in Estonia. Its public part is this Juhan Kuus center in Telliskivi.
I have seen a few exhibitions in the Telliskivi Documentary Photo Centre. Of particular interest was Maxim Mjödov‘s exhibition Kanikulõ (Holiday): a photo project that the artist had put together with the negatives of a rejected family album found by a trash can. In the pictures, an unknown Soviet-era family spent free time in the 1950s and 60s. The works were capturing and technically amazingly high-quality period pieces. You can read more about the exhibition in here.
Other exhibitions I’ve seen were retrospective by Juhan Kuus, and the exhibition The Blink of an Eye by an Italian photographer Luca Berti: enchanting pictures of Estonian people and nature. You can also look at these works on the Documentary Photo Centre’s website.
When you visit Telliskivi – even after the Fotografiska Tallinn has opened – take a peek into this small gallery in the black-walled house. They are expanding their space, and the opening exhibition will be magnificent Parisian Stories by Robert Doisneau.
Cheaper than cheap is free
Another place where you can enjoy photo art (completely free) is even closer to the upcoming Fotografiska Tallinn than Juhan Kuus gallery. In very front of it is this peculiar iron beam construction to which structures is periodically hung outdoor exhibitions of photographs.
This is an exhibition space called Loomelinnaku Väligalerii. All the exhibitions I have seen were very interesting. So keep your eyes open if the space is still in use, and treat yourself with free photo art in the heart of Telliskivi.
The Positiiv Galerii is just that: a positive gallery
A friend of photo art should also take few step towards the Pelgulinn district. From there I found a miniature showroom called Positiiv Galerii. There a friendly gallerist told about the exhibition and the activities of the gallery.
Silvia Pärmann’s exhibition Without was on display. In her pictures was moods from the city of Pripyat destroyed by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. The works had a strong symbolic dimension as the nature piece by peace took over creations of Soviet architecture and the scattered surfaces of the once inflated public art. Take a look at their web pages and visit this charming little space!
Close to the Positiiv Galerii you will my Pelgulinna favorites café Ristikheina and Pizzeria Kaja. I can promise that an excursion to either – or both – is definitely worth it. One of the city’s most special art museums is also just a few minutes’ walk from the Positiiv Gallery. See photos of this Flo Kasearu Home Museum!
Fotografiska Tallinn also gets a friend from the old town
Yet another friend is waiting for Fotografiska Tallinn in the field of photography. It’s a small Museum of Photography found in the old town. Although this museum is just behind the Town Hall, I bet it has been missed by many. I visit there every now and then to see a new exhibition. Upstairs there is a permanent exhibition on the history of photographic technology, as well as changing exhibitions in the basement. If you are looking for a resting place from the bustle of the Town Hall Square, take a look at what is found in this beautiful old house. The entrance fee is only two euros per adult.