New Tartu exhibition highlights resourcefulness in challenging times
This Wednesday (April 24), the exhibition "Washing Machine Made of Beetroot: Resourcefulness in the City" is set to open at Tartu City Museum. The exhibition highlights the ingenuity, resourcefulness and skill of people living in cities during the Soviet era, when much of what was available in stores was unattractive and of poor quality.
This Wednesday, the exhibition "Washing Machine Made of Beetroot: Resourcefulness in the City" is set to open at Tartu City Museum. The exhibition highlights the ingenuity, resourcefulness and skill of people living in cities during the Soviet era, when much of what was available in stores was unattractive and of poor quality.
"The exhibition will focus on objects, photos and memories collected during the 'The Washing Machine Made of Beetroot' campaign in 2022-2023. These stories show how smart and creative people were in the restricted conditions of the Soviet period, and what skills were needed," said Madle Uibo, the exhibition's curator.
"As the choice of goods in the shops was limited at the time, people had to be more inventive. People had to be more resourceful. Old items were repurposed and reworked, and people made their own clothes, accessories, furniture and utensils. They had creative hobbies, with photographs sometimes being developed in small bathrooms or kitchens. In our exhibition, one such corner of a home photo lab including the red lighting has been constructed in collaboration with photographer Malev Toom," Uibo said.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a varied public program featuring a range of different workshops, presentations and family days. The first family day takes place on Saturday, April 27 and includes a curator's tour and two crafts workshops for children.
The "Washing Machine Made of Beetroot: Resourcefulness in the City" exhibition opens at Tartu City Museum on Wednesday, April 24 and will remain on display until December 29, 2024.
"Resourcefulness in the City" is one of the three exhibitions that forms part of the joint "Washing Machine Made of Beetroot" project, organized by Tartu City Museum, the Estonian Road Museum and the Estonian Agricultural Museum. The project is part of the Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture's main program.
More information about the exhibition and project is available here.
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Editor: Michael Cole
