Arts of Survival Creative Nature Festival

Noticing, mapping and marking the city’s biodiversity, with the involvement of many people, is a good way to start getting to grips with environmental issues. It is an opportunity for everyone to get involved and contribute. We welcome you.

We will seek out people’s points of contact with biodiversity in the urban environment and, through a range of activities, share information, experiences as well as practical tips on how to make coexistence and cohesion between different species a matter of course again.

The festival of nature is already happening and engaging. In 2024, however, it will grow bigger and more spectacular with you.

An international conference on semiotics will provide the theoretical framework for the whole programme. A programme of preparatory workshops and field trips will lead up to one of the central events of the festival – the Baltic Sea Nature Observation Marathon. You will be able to take part in a 24-hour action to collect information on as many species as possible in a defined area within that timeframe.

Linnujämm – Bird Jam in English – is a series of concerts that brings fresh poetry and music, inspired by the songs of different birds, to small urban stages aka bird nests in Tartu. The programme will feature Estonian performers as well as birdies and creators from other countries. The jamming and chirping will culminate in a final concert on the Barge Hall stage.

The Emajõgi River is one of Tartu’s most important symbols and landmarks. A unique environment will be built in the Barge Hall for the premiere of the multimedia production “The Birth of the Emajõgi”. You will be presented with the mythopoetic origins of the Emajõgi River and the river’s wider role as a giver and bearer of life.

Recognising and preserving biodiversity is one of the most crucial topics in the world today. At our festival, all residents and visitors of Tartu can get involved shoulder-to-shoulder and galosh-to-galosh.

We will make the species-rich urban environment visible from different angles, using various cultural means of expression. In this way, we will have a brighter future in the vibrant and biodiverse urban jungle.