Baltic Heritage Network Newsletter 2016, No.3
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BALTIC HERITAGE NETWORK Newsletter no. 3 (16) 2016 issn: 228-3390 In this issue: • New Estonian National Museum • Roman Toi’s 100th Birthday Celebration in Toronto • BHN Summer School • Conversations About Emigration 2 • Summer Guests in Lithuania • World Lithuanian Unity Day • Still Estonian Mai Raud-Pähn from Sweden and Anton Pärn, the director of the • Music in Estonian Life Foundation of Haapsalu and Läänemaa Museums at the Ants • Call for Papers & Laikmaa Museum – photo by Lea Kreinin Upcoming Conferences Estonian Cultural Heritage From Repository to Exhibition The Baltic Heritage Newsletter is distributed This year the 7th BaltHerNet Summer School titled From Repository quarterly, on-line. The newsletter is compiled to Exhibition took place from July 4th-7th in Haapsalu, Estonia. 34 and edited by Kristina Lupp. The next deadline for submissions is 18 November participants came together from 8 different countries from Estonian 2016. Please send all related enquiries and organizations, museums and archives located both in Estonia and submissions to abroad. Kristina Lupp: [email protected] On the way to Haapsalu we stopped at the Ants Laikmaa House The Non-Profit Association Baltic Heritage Museum, where the artist’s life and art were introduced. Among the Network was founded in Tartu on January 11, 2008. NPA BaltHerNet was established summer school participants was Mai Raud-Pähn from Sweden, who to foster cooperation between national and remembered visiting Ants Laikmaa when she was a child in 1930. Upon private archives, museums, libraries, and arriving in Haapsalu the summer school program continued in the institutions of research, public associations and organizations collecting and studying rooms of the vocational school. Tiina Kirss’ lecture, the BaltHerNet the cultural heritage of the Baltic diaspora. annual meeting and opening party all fit into the first day along with It aims to facilitate the preservation and a documentary film program after dinner, which was focused on the research of the historically valuable cultural property of the Baltic diaspora, as well as to theme of Estonians abroad. ensure accessibility of these materials to the The second day was filled with many interesting lectures about a public. variety of exhibitions in Estonia and abroad. Maie Barrow from NPA BaltHerNet is also committed to the organising of conferences, seminars Sydney, Australia, Vera Nikolajeva-Oinets from Siberia, Russia, Ain and workshops, and to developing and Dave Kiil from Alberta, Canada, and Piret Noorhani from Toronto, administrating the electronic information Canada all shared their experiences organizing Estonian themed website Baltic Heritage Network, a multilingual electronic gateway for exhibitions abroad. Many of the communities are not in as great information on the cultural heritage of the a situation as the Toronto Estonians are in terms of resources for Baltic diaspora. exhibitions. However, all of the speakers had interesting material to www.balther.net share with others. Lectures about archives and museums in Estonia ISSN 2228-3390 2016 NO . 3 (16) Baltic heritage network 2 were also presented by the some of the leading figures of these institutions. It was interesting to hear about the new buildings housing the National Archives and the Estonian National Museum. The lecture on the Occupations Museum and upcoming changes regarding its content and new name (Vabamu) created a lot of excitement and discussion. During the lunch break an exhibit from the Dance Festival Museum was put on display in the hallway. A discussion about Estonia 100 and celebrations taking place abroad followed the lectures. Many The BaltHerNet directors kept up a summery spirit during a board interesting ideas were proposed meeting on July 8th at the Cafe Pierre in Tartu. Participants (from on how to celebrate such an the left): Kristine Bekere, Guntis Švitins, Piret Noorhani, Karin Kiisk important historical event. All and Birgit Kibal. Unfortunately, summer travels had taken Jolanta are welcome to contribute and Budriuniene and Maarja Merivoo-Parro elsewhere and they were propose ideas, no matter how unable to attend the meeting. small or large. At the end of the long and busy Wikland and her creations. Ilon project was Memory Field by the day we drove to the beach town, Wikland was raised in Haapsalu Dorell Ghotmeh Tane Architects Nõva, to visit Marko Raat at his and has become known as the firm in Paris. summer home. On the way, we illustrator of Astrid Lindgren’s Construction began in 2013. stopped to see the wooden church children’s books. The final evening The building has 6200 m2 of in Nõva, which is one of the oldest ended with a spirited party with exhibition space and 8100 and most unique churches of its live music and singing. m2 of storage space. Two new kind. Filmmaker Marko screened We wish the organizers lots of permanent exhibitions will be a number of his creations in an old strength and will be eagerly opened: an Estonian permanent fishnet shed behind his summer waiting for the next BaltHerNet exhibit titled Kõnelused (Talks), home in Nõva. One of Marko’s Summer School next year. and a Finno-Ugric cultural more recently completed films is Lea Kreinin exhibit titled Uurali kaja (The a documentary based on archival Echo of the Ural). In addition, material collected in Canada titled New Estonian there are a number of smaller Fast Eddy vanad uudised (“Fast National Museum exhibits, such as the Talu elu ja Eddy’s Old News”). This October will mark an talu ilu (Farm Life and Beauty), The third day included a walk important historical event; the Inimene ja keskkond (The Person through the resort town with new building for the Estonian and the Environment), Regilaul Haapsalu history expert, Kalev National Museum will be opened (Regi Songs), Aja jälg vaibal (The Jaago. We visited the ruins of the in Tartu, Estonia. This moment Imprint of Time on a Carpet), bishop’s castle, the cathedral and a has taken 107 years to arrive. Korralik toit (Proper Food), etc. number of museums. Haapsalu is Until now the museum has For the first time in history, the very rich in this department; the been housed in a number of first Estonian flag, which belongs most memorable museums were temporary locations. Although to the Estonian Student Society, the Museum of Coastal Swedes, there have been many architecture will be put on permanent display where there is an active handicraft competitions, this is the only in the Rahvas ja riik (The People circle, and the child-friendly time any of the projects have and Nation) exhibit. museum Ilon’s Wonderland. This reached completion and become The Estonian diaspora are also museum is based on the Estonian a building. The last competition included in the new exhibits. artist living in Sweden, Ilon was held in 2006 and the winning For example, in the exhibit 2016 NO . 3 (16) Baltic heritage network 3 On June 18th Maestro Roman Toi, choir director, composer and keeper of Estonian culture in Canada, celebrated his 100th birthday. To celebrate this occasion a number of events took place in Toronto. The festivities began at Tartu College on June 17th with a VEMU symposium titled The Grand Old Man of Estonian Music: Roman Toi 100. The conductor of many choirs and the artistic director of many song festivals, Hirvo Surva, the President of the Estonian focused on the Soviet period in but also that there was a lot to be Song and Dance Celebration the section titled Raudne eesriie happy and sad about in everyday Foundation, Aet Maatee, the active (The Iron Curtain), a theme life, regardless of politics and the Canadian-Estonian musician and about both forced and voluntary government. Similarly, there are cultural figure, Andres Raudsepp migration has been included. a number of main characters, and the ethnomusicologist from One display is dedicated to those who have spent most of their the Estonian Literary Museum, who fled in 1944 (the two other lives abroad, away from Estonia Triinu Ojamaa spoke of Estonia’s displays discuss deportations featured in the exhibit. outstanding musical culture and and immigration to Estonia). In Beginning October 1st, we Roman Toi’s achievements. Jean addition, a touch screen will be welcome all who are interested in McKen from Toronto also told available for looking at photos, Estonian and Finno-Ugric cultures many stories about teaching documents, and letters about the to Tartu to visit our new, modern, Roman Toi how to use a digital life of a 13 year old boy in 1944. and exciting Estonian National sheet music program. Charles The material covers 1944, when Museum. Kipper played a piano piece the boy fled from Estonia with by Johan Aavik based on his his parents until the fall of 1989 Riina Reinvalt memories of his trip to Canada, when he took his first trip back to Roman Toi’s 100th which he wrote while he was Estonia. Birthday Celebration on his way back to Sweden. The One of the largest themed Roman Toi 100 exhibition was exhibitions is titled Paralleelilmad (Parallel Worlds), which discusses the everyday and extraordinary moments in the lives of Estonian people from the years 1939-1989. Among the represented people are Estonians who were born and raised in Estonia, left or taken from Estonia, and those who have come and remained in Estonia. The exhibit uses life history episodes as “windows” through which one can see into the period in history when there was major opposition in the world – The Jubilarian arriving to Tartu College. From right to left: the Artistic Director and Cold War. These episodes show Chief Conductor of the Estonian National Oper Boy´s Choir Hirvo Surva, Toi the impact of these significant family relative Hanno Puskar from Tallinn, Roman Toi and his son Dr.