Archbishop, heritage society call for new stained glass museum
A proposal to establish a stained glass museum in Tallinn's Old Town has been made by the Estonian Heritage Protection Society and Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Archbishop Urmas Viilma. The culture ministry said it cannot provide funding.
A letter sent to the Ministry of Culture, the City of Tallinn, and Tallinn Cultural Office called for the preservation of stained glass artist Dolores Hoffmann's workshop in Katariina käik.
The shop, located on a busy tourist thoroughfare, also hosts an exhibition and visitors can buy and watch the production of stained glass.
"D. Hoffmann is a vibrant artist today, but given that she is 85 years old, it would be wise to think about preserving this unique art center and ensuring its presence in the future," the proposal said.
"With an eye to the future, we propose that the current stained-glass workshop in Katariina kaik be used as a base for a new D. Hoffmann museum. Hoffmann's stained glass museum, where, in addition to the permanent exhibition, the process of making stained glass from design to execution would be exhibited," it states.
The Ministry of Culture's Mihkel Kaevats told ERR that the proposal is welcome but the initiators must find the funding themselves.
"The Ministry of Culture does not have the role of deciding what kind of exhibitions our different communities want to create. Nor does the Ministry of Culture curate the displays, that is up to the sector's professionals and representatives," he said.
There are 170 museums operating in Estonia and 227 places to visit, Kaevats said.
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Editor: Grete-Liina Roosve, Helen Wright
