University of Tartu museums showcase university history and student life in light-hearted exhibition in Tallinn

An open-air photographic exhibition telling the story of the University of Tartu through the photographs of artist Heikki Leis has taken up residence in Tammsaare Park in Tallinn. Accompanying the photos are tongue-in-cheek texts by writer Mart Kivastik.

The exhibition, which comprises 10 photographic studies, tells stories of the university from the 18th to the 20th century, with professors from the university and recognisable faces from the Estonian cultural scene embodying the scientists depicted in them. Keen-eyed observers will note that the plaster casts from the University of Tartu Art Museum are being taken care of by Vice-Rector for Research Professor Mari Moora and that semiotics professor Mihhail Lotman has assumed the role of the first director of the university library and the founder of its art museum, Karl Morgenstern. Elsewhere, professor of evolutionary genomics Mait Metspalu wanders among the stuffed animals from the university’s Natural History Museum, while editor-in-chief of Akadeemia Toomas Kiho plays Friedrich Struve measuring the distance of stars from the Earth in his observatory.

Also appearing in the photos, investigating tillandsia plants in the tropical house, is professor of evolutionary ecology Kristjan Zobel, who bears a striking resemblance to botanical garden founder Gottfried Germann.

Since the University of Tartu goes hand in hand with student life, the exhibition also shines the spotlight on its undergraduates: their studies, their social lives and their [mis]adventures.

 “The role of the Vice-Rector for Research at the university is to serve the scientists who work here,” said Professor Moora. “I’ve had a very successful career in research, but as you can see, at the moment I’m all about serving others!”

The exhibition is designed to draw the attention of and invite people in Tallinn (including visitors from abroad) to the visitor centres linked to the University of Tartu. “We grabbed the opportunity to come up with an exhibition like this with both hands,” said project manager and University of Tartu Museum communications specialist Ilona Piirimägi. “Its narrative jumps backwards and forwards in time, highlighting some fun chapters in the university’s history. By bringing big names from the past into the present and transporting students back to those days, the photos reflect the changes that have taken place in science, gender roles and our everyday lives.”

Designed to encourage people from Northern Estonia and other countries to visit Tartu during its year as the European Capital of Culture, the exhibition will be open in Tammsaare Park in Tallinn until 19 August 2024.