Narva creative incubator may be shut down over significant rent arrears

Objekt, a creative incubator which until now has been operating successfully in Narva, is unable to keep itself afloat without operational support, and may have to shut down due to unpaid rent at its premises.
Opened five years ago at Linda 2, Objekt was considered a flagship of Narva's economy, and aimed to develop creative industries and startups in the Northeastern Estonian border city.
In this time, Objekt hosted nearly 600 events, organized master classes and seminars for youth and acquired modern multimedia equipment. However, behind the appealing facade lay the grim reality that making ends meet in Narva's creative sector is difficult.
Objekt's unpaid rent, including interest, swelled to €200,000.
According to Allan Kaldoja, a board member at OÜ Linda Kaks, there was no point in dragging things out any longer, and the lease agreement with Objekt was terminated as of February 1.
"For over two years, we've kept this institution alive because we considered it important for the city of Narva and first and foremost its young people," Kaldoja said. "But since it simply cannot sustain itself in its current circumstances, we are no longer willing to fund it out of our own pockets."
Kaldoja plays a key role in Objekt's fate. In addition to owning the building, he is also chairman of the Narva creative incubator's supervisory board and, through Vaba Lava, one of the incubator's founders.
He noted that the board and founders must decide what will happen to the incubator as a legal entity, but added that continuing as before is pointless.
"As far as I know, even similar incubators in Tallinn cannot sustain themselves purely on market terms," he pointed out. "For it to function, it requires real government operational support — which various management teams, at times with my help, have sought for years from one ministry or another. The result is that no support ever came."
Narva's city budget, the board member acknowledged, is tight. "They have neither the vision nor the means to support this incubator. And so, in the end, we've kept it running out of our own pockets for two years. We feel we've fulfilled our mission as well."
Incubator co-founder and fellow supervisory board member Jana Budkovskaja declined to comment on the future of Objekt.
Others involved in Ida-Viru County's creative sector were similarly tight-lipped, though they admitted that in following the Narva incubator's activities, they were often left with the impression that Objekt's focus was unclear and that it wasn't always evident what exactly it was doing in town.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Aili Vahtla