“Living Library” for school students
Friday, 10th May
10:00–11:00
Annelinn Library
In the “Living Library,” you can meet so-called living books, intriguing with their fascinating life stories or backgrounds. Each living book shares their personal experiences, profession, or interests in small groups, in several sessions. Engaging with living books broadens horizons and can also help make plans for the future. The concept of “Living Library” was first introduced in Estonia in 2006 as part of the European Council’s Europe’s campaign “All Different, All Equal.” The format was developed and piloted for the Roskilde Music Festival in Denmark in 2000, and since then, it has spread widely and found increasing usage worldwide.
“Bring Your Own Utopia”: a tour “Walk through the times of you, me and us” with Anne Richter (UNESCO City of Literature Heidelberg, Germany) and Argo Vals
Thursday, 9th May
20:15
Meeting point: in front of the house of Lai 30
At the end of February 2024, composer Argo Vals and writer Anne Richter met to have a walk together in Tartu districts Supilinn and Tähtvere, where they talked about their observations, experiences and wishes for the future. It was focused on their personal experiences about living in or visiting Tartu, living in the Baltics, Germany and Europe in a broader picture. This meeting was the beginning of their artistic collaboration. Now the two artists invite you to take a walk during which you can experience the results of this project. The colours of nature, houses, human characteristics and influences are captured in text and colours of sound. Present, past and future become poetic and musically interwoven. The performance will be held in German; Estonian and English translations available as booklets and also online.
Duration: ~120 minutes
See also: http://kirjandusfestival.tartu.ee/en/events/tartu-2024-events/bring-your-own-utopia/
Screenings of the program “Stalking Eastern Europe” films “In the Dust of the Stars” and “Love 2002”
Thursday, 9th May
20:00
Cinema theatre Elektriteater
Tartu Elektriteater presents: screenings of the program “Stalking Eastern Europe” films “In the Dust of the Stars” (East Germany, Romania, 1976; director Gottfried Kolditz) and “Love 2002” (East Germany, 1972; director Joachim Hellwig). The films will be introduced by Swiss science fiction researcher Simon Spiegel. Introductions will be in English, and the films will be in German with Estonian and English subtitles. The screening is supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Estonia. Ticket price: €7, see elektriteater.ee
Tartu poetry slam TarSlämm final at Vilde ja Vine, featuring guest performer Joelle Taylor (UK)
Thursday, 9th May
20:00
Vilde ja Vine
It has become customary for TarSlämm’s booming and exhilarating final to take place during the springtime Prima Vista. Now is the time! On May 9th, the brightest performers from the four preliminary rounds will meet at Vilde ja Vine, guided onto the stage with great enthusiasm by hosts Sirel Heinloo and Toomas Leppik. The guest performer is the exceptionally powerful award-winning poet and author of a fresh novel Joelle Taylor.
A play „Tundmatute asjade mets” (“The Forest of Unknown Things”)
Thursday, 9th May
19:00
Tartu New Theatre
Tartu New Theatre presents: „Tundmatute asjade mets” (“The Forest of Unknown Things”)
A play about entirely ordinary things and non-things. Introduction and ticket information: uusteater.ee
Concert “Parable of the Moon”
Thursday, 9th May
19:00
Tubin Hall of Heino Eller Music School
Adam Strug (Poland; vocals, accordion) will perform music composed to the texts of Czesław Miłosz. He will be accompanied by a band consisting of: Szczepan Pospieszalski (trumpet), Tomek Stawiecki (clarinet), Hipolit Woźniak (double bass), and Mateusz Kowalski (drums). This Prima Vista concert will feature Adam Strug’s original compositions dedicated to the distinguished creator and Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz on the 20th anniversary of his death. The concert will last one hour. The event is organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and marks Europe Day. The project is funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. Partners: Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Representation of the European Commission in Estonia, European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, University of Tartu’s Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies.
Grand Futurological Congress: Josh Sawyer (USA)
Thursday, 9th May
18:00
The University of Tartu Library conference hall
The lead designer at game studio Obsidian Entertainment, renowned for games such as “Icewind Dale,” “Neverwinter Nights 2,” “Fallout: New Vegas,” “Pillars of Eternity,” and “Pentiment,” will give a presentation about the future through the lens of his personal experiences and creations. Following this, a discussion with game writer Märten Rattasepp (Estonia) and game researcher Paweł Frelik (Poland) will delve into the literary aspects of video games and the future of literary imagination in video games. The presentation and discussion will be in English with simultaneous interpretation into Estonian.
Discussion “Literature in a More-Than-Human World” led by the Writer of the Day Maarja Pärtna
Thursday, 9th May
17:30
Tartu Literature House
Participating in the discussion will be Penny Boxall (UK) and David Hartley (UK), who have been in residence in Tartu, along with the current guest of the Tartu City of Literature residency program, Christiane Vadnais (Canada). The discussion will be in English.
Joint presentation-discussion of Epp Petrone’s dystopian fairy tale „Linnutee koodid“ (“Codes of the Milky Way”) and Triinu Meres and Kristo Janson’s post-apocalyptic novel “Devolutsioon” (“Devolution”)
Thursday, 9th May
17:00
Tartu Kaubamaja Apollo bookstore
Joint presentation-discussion of Epp Petrone’s dystopian fairy tale „Linnutee koodid“ (“Codes of the Milky Way”) and Triinu Meres and Kristo Janson’s post-apocalyptic novel “Devolutsioon” (“Devolution”)
Grand Futurological Congress: Lesley-Ann Brown (Trinidad-USA-Denmark)
Thursday, 9th May
16:00
The University of Tartu Library conference hall
Brown critically observes American and European gender and race stereotypes, imperialist dogmas and also the attitudes related to the poor and the immigrants in seemingly progressive Denmark. As a teacher, she is also critical of the educational system. In her writings, she charts the ways towards a more caring and ecologically minded future society. Carolina Pihelgas will be in conversation with Lesley-Ann Brown. The discussion will be in English with simultaneous interpretation into Estonian.
Opening of the Exhibition “Poetics of Survival,” presentation of artworks, and a discussion
Thursday, 9th May
15:00
The University of Tartu Jakobi 2 building, room 114
As part of the “Poetics of Survival” project, seminars and workshops were held in 2022 and 2023 with the aim of trying to understand endangered animal species through their own eyes. As a result of these seminars and workshops, poetry, short prose, paintings, installations, and digital art pieces were created, addressing themes of extinction, survival, and protection in various ways. The visual art can be explored at the exhibition, and texts will be read during the opening. The discussion will be in English.
See also: http://kirjandusfestival.tartu.ee/en/events/tartu-2024-events/the-poetics-of-survival
“Literary Adventures with the TartuFic Mobile App” for 7th-8th grade students
Thursday, 9th May
12:00
Starting in front of Tartu Public Library
During the game, teams will navigate various points of interest in Tartu city centre using the mobile app. At each checkpoint, a task will be solved. The game will end at Toomemägi.
Half hour with Toomas Kiho
Wednesday, 8th May
21:30
Promenaadiviis
21.30 Half hour with Toomas Kiho at Promenaadiviis
Screening of the program “Stalking Eastern Europe” film “Eolomea”
Wednesday, 8th May
20:00
Cinema theatre Elektriteater
Tartu Elektriteater presents: screening of the program “Stalking Eastern Europe” film “Eolomea” (East Germany, Bulgaria, 1972; directed by Herrmann Zschoche)
The film will be introduced by German science fiction researcher Sonja Fritzsche. The film and introduction will be in German, the film has subtitles in Estonian and English. The screening is supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Estonia.
Tickets: €7, see elektriteater.ee
A dance performance: „Ma jään kaevu / juurde igavesti jooma“ (“I Will Stay at the Well / Drinking Forever”)
Wednesday, 8th May
19:00
Tartu New Theatre
Tartu New Theatre presents: „Ma jään kaevu / juurde igavesti jooma“ (“I Will Stay at the Well / Drinking Forever”)
A dance performance based on the poetry of Ene Mihkelson. Introduction and ticket information: https://www.uusteater.ee/lavastused/maret-joosep-ene
The dance performance ““I Will Stay at the Well / Drinking Forever” is based on Mihkelson’s poetry collections from 1978-2010 and aims to spatially recreate the lyrical tone of the poems, where the experience of the sole reader becomes more important than the story.
“If I bump against the air, then finally I can pass through it” writes Mihkelson herself. This is the poetry of inevitability, the expression of which is also inevitable.
We express endless movement, discontinuity and the search for continuity, dead ends and memory traces that merge into each other.
We give up words to experience poetry.
“The performance is English-friendly, there is no spoken text.”
Grand Futurological Congress: Cory Doctorow (Canada)
Wednesday, 8th May
18:00
The University of Tartu library conference hall
Renowned science fiction writer, blogger, journalist, and free knowledge activist will give a presentation on the enshittification of the internet and on how to transform it back into the digital nervous system of a connected world to face the crises of the near future. A discussion with distinguished English science fiction scholar Mark Bould will follow the presentation. The presentation and discussion will be in English with simultaneous interpretation into Estonian.
Author’s reflection “”A Fool in the Pocket” and other stories from synthetic paradises” by the Writer of the Day Tõnis Tootsen
Wednesday, 8th May
17:00
The Fahrenheit 451° Bookshop
Author’s reflection “”A Fool in the Pocket” and other stories from synthetic paradises” by the Writer of the Day Tõnis Tootsen
Grand Futurological Congress: Julia von Lucadou (Germany)
Wednesday, 8th May
16:00
The University of Tartu Library conference hall
Tartu University professor Raili Marling will engage in a discussion with the author of the dystopian novel “The High-Rise Diver” (“Die Hochhausspringerin”). Together, they will explore whether a (total) surveillance and (self)control society is already a reality or a future scenario. The conversation will be held in English, with simultaneous interpretation into Estonian. The event is supported by the Goethe Institute in Estonia.
“Living Library” for school students
Wednesday, 8th May
14:00–15:00
Karlova-Ropka Library
In the “Living Library,” you can meet so-called living books, intriguing with their fascinating life stories or backgrounds. Each living book shares their personal experiences, profession, or interests in small groups, in several sessions. Engaging with living books broadens horizons and can also help make plans for the future. The concept of “Living Library” was first introduced in Estonia in 2006 as part of the European Council’s Europe’s campaign “All Different, All Equal.” The format was developed and piloted for the Roskilde Music Festival in Denmark in 2000, and since then, it has spread widely and found increasing usage worldwide.
Cultural-historical tour at Raadi Cemetery
Wednesday, 8th May
14:00
Raadi Cemetery
The tour will be led by guide and writer Kaspar Jassa. The meeting point is at Kalmistu St. 22, at the main gate.