Enter Woodland Spirits

We will be unlocking the meaning of old traditions. It is both an online anthology of natural heritage based on the collections of the Estonian Folklore Archives and an international digital art exhibition. 

Story

The world is evolving technically and digitally. Urbanisation is growing. Lots of people are moving away from nature as well as the knowledge and skills of their ancestors.

But we still have that sustainable mindset of the Nordic and pastureland people in us and that respect towards nature. Compared to the northern part of Estonia, it is in southern Estonia that the nature-oriented way of life and thinking has been preserved more intact.  

We need to tell the story.  

Experience 

The project consists of two interlinked parts.

We are compiling a collection of text, sound, images and video reflecting the human-wildlife relations of a traditional society. It will be available for everyone online. It will be called the "Natural Heritage Anthology". 

The second part of the project is a collaboration with digital artists from different countries. The exhibition "Enter Woodland Spirits" will be focusing on the following questions. How to make sense of the world through technological art? In what ways can folk wisdom ideas be refreshed? How can we make the soul of nature tangible today?

The inspiration for this exhibition comes from a mysterious old tradition and is transformed into rooms of state. You will experience cutting-edge digital art in unexpected places, telling the story of our natural heritage. It will be a moving and thought-provoking experience. 

Impact

We are making the intellectual property of the Estonian Folklore Archives accessible. These are materials from a time when people were able to organise their lives sustainably without modern technology and medicine. These people were very skilled and very present. Only one question remains. 

Can woodland spirits be a threat and take over?