Exhibition ‘Life in Decline’

On June 17, the art exhibition ‘Life in Decline’ opens at the Estonian Mining Museum. 

For the show, the former administrative building of the Kohtla mine has been intervened to bring forth what goes on in a condition described as in decline.

Ten contemporary artists, who act here as accidental ethnographers, have been invited to reflect on a broken world. The artworks, commissioned especially for this exhibition, engage with the fragility of the things we construct – with special attention to the side-effects of modern extractive industries in Ida-Virumaa. This region stands as a living laboratory where Estonia’s future is at stake, answering to key issues such as the sustainable use of natural resources, social integration, and the maintenance of infrastructures. This exhibition, however, shifts the focus from the region’s current state of social and environmental deterioration to enhancing sustainability through the re-use of disqualified resources.

Curator: Francisco Martínez

Artistic coordinator: Marika Agu

Graphic designer: Viktor Gurov

Technical support: Johannes Säre

Opening performance: Raul Saaremets

Guided tours: 17.06. at 6 PM (in English); 18.06 at 2 PM (Estonian and Russian); 09.07. at 5 PM (Estonian and English); 03.10 at 2 PM (Estonian and English)

Exhibition is open Tue–Sat, 11 AM–5 PM , entrance with ticket (except ICOM card holders, members of Estonian Artists Association, students of higher art schools)

Supported by: MOBERC30 Reparare research project, Estonian Cultural Endowment

Partners: Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art, Purtse Brewery

Special thanks to Etti Kagarov, Andra Aaloe, Keiti Kljavin, Kaia Beilmann

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Contacts:

Francisco Martínez (Curator)
E-mail: fran@tlu.ee
Telefon: +372 58038079

Etti Kagarov (Director of Estonian Mining Museum)
E-mail: etti.kagarov@kaevandusmuuseum.ee
Telefon: +372 5303 6799