The southern Estonian city of Tartu is set to welcome the continent of Europe after its programme for the European Culture of Capital was announced.
Hosting the designation alongside Bad Ischl in Austria and Bodø in Norway, Tartu 2024 boasts a schedule of more than 1,000 events across 350 projects including architecture tours, street and contemporary art exhibitions, light installations, music, film, and culinary festivals.
Inspired by the artistic concept ‘Arts of Survival’, the initiative will highlight innovative approaches to sustainability, co-creation, local uniqueness, science, and technology.
Slated for January 26 next year, the grand opening of the European Capital of Culture will begin with a performance on the banks of the river Emajõgi, demonstrating how people, regions and eras are interconnected through images, movements, and music.
Programme highlights include a major concert performance with an unprecedented simultaneous kissing event in the town hall square, beneath the city’s famous Kissing Students statue, a Pagan Folklore Night, and concerts celebrating the harmony of music and nature, with forest bathing and cultural walks guided by Estonian thinkers and artists.
“The Arts of Survival are interpreted by fields of culture, from folk and food culture to music, film, and visual art,” says Kati Torp, Tartu 2024 Artistic Director. “The role and meaning of the theme Arts of Survival has changed over time, the last few years in particular have taught us a great deal about the importance of the need to adapt to survive. We live at a time when European cooperation, solidarity, and democracy are critical to the survival of culture.”
The second largest city in the country after the capital Tallinn, Tartu is known as Estonia’s centre of learning, thanks to its university and scientific community, as well as being a hive for innovative start-up businesses and the IT-sector.