The end or beginning? The ‘Arts of Survival’ put Tartu on Europe’s cultural map

Is it the end or just the beginning? Whenever a city concludes its tenure as the European Capital of Culture the question arises as to what has been and will be there to last beyond a year of cultural celebration that is usually packed with a wide range of events, cultural gatherings and artistic action to entertain both domestic visitors and guests from abroad. This year Tartu took on the big stage along with Bodø in Norway and Bad Ischl in Austria – a unique chance for Estonia’s second biggest city to present itself as a European cultural hotspot and raise its profile internationally by promoting its heritage and cultural dynamism, and fostering transformative cross-cultural cooperation across the entire Southern Estonian region.

The programme of the European Capital of Culture year in Tartu and Southern Estonia was packed with activities that are supposed to have an impact for many years to come, helping to attract tourists and boost both the region’s economy and cultural activity. Whether this will really be the case, remains to be seen. But the organisers are now already confidently drawing a positive conclusion and expect the multiple effects of the year-long creative artistic endeavour to continue to last, making both local and international cultural exchange the norm rather than the exception.

“It has been a wonderful year for Tartu and I am really, really happy that so many people found their way here,” Estonian Ministry of Culture Heidy Purga told at the sidelines of the Tartu 2024 Final Celebration at the Estonian National Museum, adding that the title of European Capital of Culture 2024 has given the Estonian cultural sector the skills, courage and ability to think and communicate more globally, all while not losing its very own identity. “It was just spectacular because it made people closer and more educated through these events.“

Tartu in the cultural spotlight

Tartu has been the second European Capital of Culture in Estonia – a title that has been awarded for one year since 1985. In 2011 the capital Tallinn shared the honour with the Finnish city of Turku but its year in the spotlight coincided with a global economic crisis that was felt particularly keenly in the Baltics and saw the funding slashed to a third of its original promise. This was preceded by political infighting between the government and the city council in the early stages about who pays for what and also led to the resignation of the head of the Tallinn 2011 foundation after a public outcry over his salary. 

Nevertheless, Tallinn’s year in the cultural spotlight of Europe still has been considered to be a success. The same can probably be said about Tartu whose tenure as the European Capital of Culture was also not free of challenges and had a motto that rarely could have been more fitting. Even though the motto “Arts of survival” was already decided in 2018 when the city submitted its application, it ultimately has taken on a current and real meaning due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine which has also had a big impact on Estonia and its society. And in between there also was the COVID-19 outbreak and pandemic, although nowadays nobody really wants to talk about it anymore. These crises have added new and further layers to the original idea and led to some adaption in the programme that has drawn from all artistic fields and was made up of four different thematic ‘programme lines’ involving the Earth, Humanity, Europe and the Universe. 

When the Tartu 2024 programme was written, Europe was a very different place than currently, and the organisers were more concerned with questions such as what knowledge, skills and values it takes to lead a good life or what makes cities worth living in. The concept emerged from the woes of a small town and was supposed to be taking on some of the most pressing questions of our times: the ecological and climate crisis, their effects on the environment and the Green turn, but also essential things about culture, coexistence and living together. For instance about how a small country like Estonia and its language, which is spoken by just about one million people, can survive in a globalized world, as Tartu 2024 artistic director Kati Torp explained endless times to numerous curious foreign delegations and journalists that were coming to Tartu.

Usually, the visitors were welcomed in an old building at Town Hall Square, painted pale pink below and white above, with “Tartu 2024” written on the wall right above the entrance door. On the second floor is the cultural capital’s organisational headquarters from where you have a nice view of the fountain with the beloved statue of kissing students. The meeting room is full of displays, posters and flyers. Most of them were in pink and turquoise – the colours of the year in Tartu. They were widely used in the PR and merchandising material as well as on many of the Tartu 2024 branded products, some of which ended up also in a “cultural time capsule“ that the organizer on the final day left behind for the next Estonian European Capital of Culture in 2037. Whatever city this might be – it can definitely learn from the “Young Blood City“, as Tartu has called itself in the specially composed official Tartu 2024 anthem.

Plentiful programme with Tartu-like celebrations

Boasting its very own unique identity, Tartu has a habit of making waves and punching above its weight – despite having only around 100,000 residents. The big festivities started off with a colourful multimedia live open-air performance entitled “All is one” on January 26 at the Emajõgi riverfront and ended with a 15-minute light show under the motto “Stay and create“ on November 30 in the Pirogov Park at the slope of Toonemägi. Thousands of people came out to celebrate the launch and final of the Tartu campaign which were neither overly shiny nor glamorous but rather down-to-earth, joyful, direct, and brief – in line with the pragmatic forthright Estonian mindset and its openness to new ideas when showing off their traditions and culture that they are so proud of. 

Both times the celebrations continued afterwards with after-parties and an open-air rave where also no one else than Purga herself took the stage and performed as DJ – a fact that amazed many Western visitors and editors in international news agencies, but seemed totally normal for all Estonians who are anyway not really known for going to emotional extremes in their reactions and simply enjoying being Estonian. And what else could be more Tartu-like and capture the sense of its well-known special vaim than a Minister of Culture who gets a cheerful crowd moving to the loud basses and tunes of electronic music – instead of mumbling generalities in a dull speech put together from all the other speeches held throughout the European Capital of Culture year. 

By the end of the year, more than 350 projects with over 1,600 events will have taken place across Southern Estonia – a region ranging from the shore of Lake Peipsi to the Latvian border with its very own charm and character that was very well reflected in some of the events. While some of them are still on, others will enrich the cultural life in the often Tallinn-centred Estonia also in the upcoming years or are continued abroad. Among them is the highly acclaimed theatre play “Business as Usual” about the money-laundering scandal surrounding Danske Bank in Estonia. The hit production will return to Tartu in 2025 for 16 already fully sold-out performances and also be translated and read in other languages abroad. Not least because it was “brilliant, entertaining and intriguing“, and an “all-encompassing theatrical experience“ – to use some quotes from my very own review of the play.

Other programme highlights for the general public and also myself included the mass kissing event “Kissing Tartu,” the sauna debate festival “Naked Truth” and the major solo exhibition of Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda who not only showed off his unique audio-visual art but also premiered his first musical work together with the Estonian Philharmonic Orchestra. All these outstanding events spread the word about Tartu far beyond Estonia and generated international headlines. But as usual during a European Capital of Culture year: it is often the smaller events that made the biggest impression and left a lasting mark in the memory of visitors. Not only for me who very much liked the humble but lovely designed hands-on exhibition “Europe plays” in the Tartu Toy Museum. 

While Purga’s favourite event was the outdoor technical art exhibition “Wild Bits”, Tartu mayor Urmas Klaas in retrospect was very fond of the concert “Forgotten Peoples” by singers from the Chœur de l’Orchestre de Paris that performed Veljo Tormis’s musical portrayal of six Finno-Ugric tribes from the Baltic Sea region. “Musically it was, of course, excellent, but what I also realized when listening was that they not only understood but also felt what this is about. This was very moving and fascinated me quite a lot,“ he told open-heartedly at the final celebration in the Estonian National Museum – as always willingly in almost perfect German when approached by journalists from German-speaking countries like me.

“Arts of Survival” at the border with Russia

Having personally attended many of the events, Klaas looks back happy and satisfied on Tartu’s year as the European Capital of Culture. “Many foreign tourists have once again found their way to Tartu and Southern Estonia,” the mayor says, while also referring to initial statistics released by the city government for the summer months of 2024. There were 15 per cent more guests from abroad and 16 per cent more overnight stays – with strong interest coming from Germany, Lithuania and Great Britain along with the neighbouring countries Finland and Latvia. All of them have been also the main targets of marketing outside Estonia. Tere tulemast Eestisse! 

Overall, the organisers aimed to reach the target of one million visitors from Estonia and abroad, and make the city more visible on the map of Europe. Although the final figures are not there yet, preliminary estimates suggest that this goal has been reached – despite or maybe even because of a temporary suspension of flights at Tartu Airport in May due to targeted Russian GPS signal disruptions in the region. “We have survived“, Klaas commented in a typical sober Estonian way by consciously drawing a verbal analogy with the motto of the Tartu 2024 artistic concept.

However, overcoming the perceived closeness to war was not that easy. “It was a challenge for us. Because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, this war in Europe, there were concerns and fears whether it is safe here,” Klaas admits frankly as 2024 draws to a close, before firmly underlining that it is “totally safe“ in Tartu and Southern Estonia and that there is peace here. His assessment is echoed by Purga: “We, of course, do not have any issues talking about safety here, but I guess living near the border is, you know, quite a different thing“, the Estonian Minister of Culture said.

Both officials hope that a strong message has been delivered through the programme to Europe and beyond that Estonia and Tartu are safe and unique places both to live in and visit – they have various interesting things to offer culturally. To ensure that it remains like this, the Tartu 2024 organizers are counting on the momentum provided by the European Capital of Culture year will carry on and the “greatest joint venture ever“ – as it was officially described in the programme – between Tartu and more than 20 different municipalities in Southern Estonia will continue also in the future. 

“We had the official closing party, but it is not the end”, said Tartu 2024’s CEO Kuldar Leis, full of conviction that the vibrancy Tartu received through the European Capital of Culture year will give the city and the surrounding region an enduring cultural boost and lasting impetus for change. “This exciting year will continue even without an official title and without our team.”

About the author: Alexander Welscher is a freelance German journalist who is reporting for the German Press Agency DPA from the Baltics and also writes for other German and international media about what is happening in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Being based in Riga for almost 20 years, he has been attending and covering many events of Tartu 2024 – as he did before also of other European Capital of Cultures in the region