More than 50 artists take part in art competition for Khrushchev-era buildings
Tartu City Government
8. detsember 2016 / The international competition launched to find artists to create works for the Khrushchev-era buildings in the city centre has come to an end.
The international competition launched as part of Tartu’s smart city district project to find artists to create works for the Khrushchev-era buildings in the city centre has come to an end. A total of 54 artists from Estonia and abroad are interested in contributing to the urban design project.
“We’re really pleased with the results of the competition,” said jury member Rene Tõnnisson, a member of the management board of the Institute of Baltic Studies. “We had people taking part from the Netherlands, Poland, Latvia, Chile, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Norway, France and the United States – 10 other countries in all. A number of respected Estonian artists threw their hats into the ring as well, like Marko Mäetamm, Malle Leis, Tiiu Kirsipuu and Mall Nukke.”
The artworks will be created from scratch, taking the specific location and surroundings of the buildings into account and based on the wishes of the residents in terms of what kind of art they would like to see on their buildings. In order for all of the works to fit together as a whole, the project will be overseen by curators who themselves are art experts.
Working with residents, the curators will choose which artists to make proposals to for which building. The first of these partnerships will be launched before the year is out; the remainder throughout 2017.
“Putting art on the walls of these buildings will make the city space in Tartu a much more playful and colourful place,” said Tõnnisson. “And given the typical appearance of the Khrushchev-era buildings we’re dealing with, that’s a big step forward in the design of great urban space.”
The art project is being implemented as part of the much bigger SmartEnCity project (co-financed by the European Union’s Horizon 2020), which is designed to transform the Khrushchev-era buildings in the centre of Tartu into smart buildings. Since most of the smart solutions to be created as part of the project are technological in nature, the external appearance of the buildings is also being considered in cooperation with the artists who took part in the competition.
By the time the project comes to an end in 2019, the city centre in Tartu will boast a unique urban space based on art as well as a distinctive urban gallery for the enjoyment of both locals and visitors to the city.
Viimati muudetud 09.12.2016