Image: Kumu, Paris
Kumu Art Museum in Tallinn will open ‘Hold Me Close. A Monument to Survival’, an exhibition created in collaboration with young people receiving care through Estonia’s closed child-care institution service, on 28 August. The project will be presented in the museum’s courtyard through 25 October, with a free opening programme scheduled for 29 August.
The exhibition forms part of Kumu’s courtyard programme, launched to mark the museum’s 20th anniversary. Kumu is the main building of the Estonian Art Museum and its largest exhibition venue, presenting Estonian art from academic painting and modernism through Soviet-era pop art and contemporary practice. The courtyard programme extends that institutional setting into an outdoor environment for projects and public activities.
‘Hold Me Close’ focuses on the experiences of children and young people whose behaviour may be connected to trauma, fear, exclusion and a lack of belonging, according to the museum. Its stated emphasis is on noticing what happens when a child is left alone, and on the possible importance of trust, attention and genuine human presence.
The project was developed by artists Marta Vaarik and Juri Krutii, who led workshops with young people to identify suitable ways for each participant to tell their story. Several dozen young people took part in the process, while 11 ultimately joined the exhibition. Their contributions use a range of media, including photography, collage, installation, sculpture, sound, music and short film.
Rather than being displayed as a conventional series of objects, the works are arranged as an installative environment in Kumu’s courtyard. The museum describes the setting as a form of social sculpture park, incorporating familiar structures and objects such as a bus stop, kiosk, car and playhouse. These forms serve as places where personal stories meet public space, making visible experiences that can otherwise be difficult to discuss.
The opening programme on Saturday, 29 August, begins at noon with a workshop titled ‘How to Talk to Young People Who May Display Risk Behaviour?’. A tour of the exhibition led by Vaarik and Krutii follows at 2 p.m., and a discussion titled ‘What Kind of Society Does a Young Person Who May Display Risk Behaviour Need?’ begins at 3:30 p.m. The workshop will consider what may lie behind risk behaviour and what needs such behaviour can express; the discussion will address factors influencing its emergence and ways of coordinating support.
The opening programme takes place in Kumu’s atrium, courtyard and seminar room, while the tour is held in the courtyard. Both the programme and exhibition are free to attend. The exhibition runs at Kumu Art Museum from 28 August to 25 October 2026.
