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Continuing Events

The events that have been brought to life will carry on at home and abroad.

Many of the events, festivals, collaborative projects, and community initiatives launched during the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 year will not remain one-time occurrences. On the contrary – these events are evolving into lasting traditions that continue to grow and reach new audiences. They travel, transform, and inspire beyond Southern Estonia as well.

The legacy of the European Capital of Culture is that the events it brought to life continue to thrive both at home and abroad. The culture of Tartu and Southern Estonia has secured a stronger presence on the international cultural map, with many projects finding new partners and platforms across Europe.

Tartu 2024 proved that when creativity is given space and collaboration is supported, ideas are born that will carry us forward long after the title year has ended.

Exhibitions that will continue this year

In Estonia

  • The VARES architectural residency invites you to continue to rethink Valga's urban space.

  • Taevapark on the roof of Põlva Cultural Centre welcomes visitors with new events.

  • Visitors to Toomemägi Hill in Tartu will be delighted by the ‘Dawn and Dusk’ light installation in the cathedral.

  • Curated Biodiversity will continue to make the city a more pleasant place for plants, insects, animals, and people alike.

  • The Estonian Drama Theatre's production "Business as Usual" will return for additional performances in Tartu in the summer of 2025

  • The sub-exhibition "Ingenuity on the Road" from the project Washing Machine Made of Beetroot is open at the Estonian Road Museum until September 28, 2025.

  • The sub-exhibition "Resourcefulness in the Countryside” from the project "Washing Machine Made of Beetroot" is open at the Estonian Agricultural Museum until September 21, 2025.

  • Performances of the joint production "Cosmopolitan" by Ugala Theatre and Valmiera Drama Theatre will continue in both theatres in 2025.

  • The children's production "Tartu's Cat Stories" enhances children's interest in theatre through direct experience.

  • The anthology "Estonian Nature Folklore" from the project "Enter Woodland Spirits" will continue to be available for reading in three languages online.

  • The exhibition "Portraits of Tartu Residents Made from Recycled Materials: Euroopa kultuuripealinna tähtKUJUD" will be on display in 2025 as well.

  • The community-directed theatre hike "Periphery" in the Piusa River Gorge will take place in 2025 as well.

  • The permanent sculptures "Three Pekos" can be explored in Uusvada Cultural Village in Setomaa.

  • Many community events from the South Estonia Community Programme will continue, such as the Winter Trails Festival in the Emajõgi-Moorland, the Tartu County food event series "Tirin", the Kodavere Laalupido, and others.

  • Peaasi brings the production "Mental Health is Like a Carrot" to Northern Estonia in 2025 and continues offering youth counselling in Tartu and Southern Estonia. On the last Saturday of each month, mental health cafés will take place not only in Tartu but also in Põlva, Viljandi, Pärnu, Kuressaare, Paide, Rakvere, and Tallinn.

  • The Year of Contemporary Art by Youth project continues, with ongoing work on the legacy of artist Anu Põder, originally from Kanepi. In 2021, Anu Põder’s work “Tongues” ("Keeled") became the first piece by an Estonian artist to be included in the collection of the Tate Modern art museum in London.

In Europe

  • The ‘Wild South’ series of documentaries is already gaining recognition at foreign festivals.

  • The short film ‘The Unstruck Sound’, a collaboration between the British film group Blast Theory and Estonian youngsters is also set to conquer foreign stages.

  • Selected works from the joint exhibition ‘Secrets of the Leaning Building’ by renowned artists and children are travelling to the Children's Museum in Berlin.

  • The hit play "Business as Usual", which explores the bank money laundering scandal, is being translated into French and Romanian. In addition to translations, a staged reading of "Business as Usual" will be performed in English at The Rehearsal for Truth festival in New York in spring 2025.

  • The works of Pärt and Handel, interwoven with Concerto Copenhagen and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, will be performed in Belgium, Denmark and Sweden in 2025 and elsewhere in Europe in spring 2026.

  • Ryoji Ikeda's composition, created for the opening event of his solo exhibition, will be performed with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir on the stage of the Paris Philharmonic in December 2025.

Events that took place previously, which we empowered this year and that will continue in the future:

Tartu 2024 Youth Programme Extended

The youth program Extended continues with its fourth year.

Young people aged 14–19 have so far organized 28 events, which have been attended by nearly 17,000 visitors.

Future cultural leaders are also supported by a newly developed elective course for basic and upper secondary schools, as well as a methodology guide for the Tartu 2024 youth program, to be completed in 2025. At Tartu Tamme Gymnasium, the cultural management course has already been held twice.