Estonia's long-awaited new art museum KUMU opens its doors
24 Feb 2006 Riina Kindlam
A glimpse of some of the fun at the opening of KUMU, the new 24 000 m² main building of the Art Museum of Estonia on February 17. (The name comes from kunstimuuseum – art museum in Estonian.) Young Finnish artist Anssi Kasitonni was playing in the museum’s freight elevator to a receptive audience, including some furry friends. Anssi’s works are featured as part of the inaugural international exhibition “Shiftscale – Sculpture at the Extended Field”, which also includes works by famous Icelander Olafur Eliasson and Swiss video diva Pipilotti Rist, who caused a stir at last year’s Venice Biennial.
Approaching Kumu from Kadrioru Park.
The entrance off Mäekalda tänav and the corner of Weizenbergi. Kumu's address is Weizenbergi 34 when approaching from the closest tramm stop, past Kadrioru Palace and the Presidential Palace and Valge 1 from the upper, Lasnamäe embankment, where there is a parking lot.
KUMU was abuzz on opening night, as can be seen from one of the bridges spanning the arched building’s atrium. Designed by Finnish architect Pekka Vapaavuori, it took 12 years to rise from within Kadrioru Park’s limestone embankment, backing up on Lasnamäe. Anyone responsible for the slightest morsel of the Estonian cultural pie seemed to be on hand that night and everyone was congratulating everyone else, since February 17 will go down in history as the day Andrus Veerpalu won Estonia its third gold medal at the Torino Olympics and the day Estonians finally got their own, world-class art museum to share with the world.
A watchful eye above Kumu's parkside entrance, although it doesn't seem to be that of museum director Sirje Helme.
The hall of a thousand busts, with representatives of many an era, was most memorable for many visitors on opening night. Texts and photos: Riina Kindlam
For more information and photos from the opening, please go to the article "Imeline KUMU on rahvale avatud" in this week's Estonian section: http://www.eesti.ca/main.php?o...
