Venue: Lai 17
Open: Wed-Sun at 11am-6pm
Ticket: 4€ adults, 2€ (students, seniors, EURO26, ISIC, ITIC card holders), 7€ family ticket (2 adults + 2 students), 20€ excursion (in English, admission fee excluded)

The Art Products’ Factory was an interesting phenomenon on the Soviet Estonian design scene for several reasons – firstly because of how it was “assembled”, secondly due to its place in the context of discussions about improving everyday surroundings and thirdly considering the position of the factory as a compromise between art and industry, applied art and design. 

The factories as organisations were connected to the Art Fund of USSR and were located both in Tallinn and Tartu. The products which were designed and produced in these factories played an extremely important role in shaping the local living environment. A wide variety of works and designs by different ateliers of the factory are exhibited.

For the first time, an overview of the development of Estonian design is presented as an independent exhibition which values this topic and displays the most important developments and phenomena in the history of Estonian design through material mapping. 

The emphasis is on the local products from the 20th century up to today. For the first time in history, a large amount of material is exhibited which touches upon an area of Estonian design which has not been discussed until now – Soviet product design. These designers and their works shaped the world around us which was so close to so many people on an everyday level but has remained distant despite that. 

Photo: Ivar Veermäe