The ecological art exhibition "Unknown" draws attention to the extinction of species

The exhibition is part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme. The goal of the exhibition, which combines science and art, is to inspire the audience to think about other species and our impact on them.

Six contemporary artists will display their artwork in the middle of the permanent exhibition of the University of Tartu Natural History Museum to explore people’s relationship with endangered and extinct species. Curator of the exhibition Sara Bédard-Goulet, Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Tartu Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures, said, “This exhibition has a unique and playful way to bring species extinction to the attention of the visitors while triggering their imagination. Who said that extinction had to be boring?”

The exhibition “Unknown” will be open at the University of Tartu Natural History Museum from 5 April to 29 September and can be visited during museum opening hours with the museum ticket. Works by Damien Beyrouthy, France Cadet, Hayden Fowler, Uku Sepsivart and the duo Flo Kasearu and Elīna Vītola will be displayed.

“Unknown” is linked to the exhibition “Missing”, which will be held at Tartu Art House from 23 August to 6 October. The exhibition is supported by the French Institute of Estonia. Both exhibitions are part of the project „Unfit remains“, which belongs to the European Capital on Culture Tartu 2024 main programme and is connected to the research projects “Meanings of endangered species in culture: ecology, semiotic modelling, and reception” and “Unfit remains: A research-creation approach to species endangerment”. The first of the research projects is supported by the Estonian Research Council, and the second by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.