Helsinki

The cultural relations between Estonia and Finland have been active and self-initiated since Estonia’s independence. The number and quality of events promoting culture are remarkable. For more than 100 years, it is culture that has connected us and helped us cope through various, including difficult, times.

Both Estonia and Finland are part of the European Capitals of Culture tradition and engage in close cooperation within this framework, exchanging experiences and contacts, as well as undertaking creative collaboration projects. In the current year, 2024, with Tartu and Southern Estonia holding the title of European Capital of Culture, Finland is one of the target countries in the region. There is extensive cultural cooperation, and Finnish audiences are being introduced to Tartu as a cultural tourism destination. Collaboration is also underway with the city of Oulu, which will hold the title of European Capital of Culture in 2026.

To develop cultural relations between Estonia and Finland and to support the Estonian citizens in Finland, the Eesti Maja – Viro-keskus (Estonian House) was established in Helsinki in 2010. Currently, it houses the Tuglas Society and the Union of Estonian Societies in Finland. The Tuglas Society is also the main organizer of the popular Martin markkinat cultural festival in Helsinki in November. Additionally, Estonian societies in the Helsinki area use the Estonian House premises for cultural activities. In Estonia, the Finnish Institute has been promoting cultural relations between Finland and Estonia since 1994.

In 2017, the Estonian-Finnish Cultural Fund was established with the primary goal of strengthening cooperation between Finland and Estonia in various fields of culture and art, developing joint projects, and promoting cultural export to third countries. The long-term investment of the Estonian-Finnish Cultural Fund’s assets is managed by professional asset managers. As of autumn 2023, the fund’s assets amounted to nearly eight million euros. During its activity period, the cultural fund has supported more than twenty cooperation projects with a total of approximately 360,000 euros.

There is very close cooperation in the film industry. The latest major success is the Estonian co-produced “Compartment No. 6,” which won the Grand Prix at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. One of the most high-budget Nordic TV series, “Estonia,” was co-produced by Finland, Sweden, and Estonia, and premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival. Estonian history has been a central theme in Finnish films such as “The Fencer” and “Purge,” based on Sofi Oksanen’s novel. There is also long-standing cooperation with the Helsinki International Film Festival. Docpoint is a unique documentary film festival held simultaneously in two capitals, Helsinki and Tallinn. Finnish films are consistently featured in the competition programs of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and film projects participate in the Baltic Event co-production market. Documentary filmmakers from both countries share a joint training program, Ice and Fire Docs.

The Espoo City Theatre has organized Estonian theatre weeks six times. Thanks to Finnish and English subtitles, it has been possible to promote performances to a wider audience. Estonian theatre has also been featured in the program of the Tampere International Theatre Festival, such as in 2023 with Kanuti Gildi Saal’s production “It Stays As It Is.” One of the latest examples of collaboration is “Varamiehet / Varumehed” created by the Finnish National Theatre and the Estonian Drama Theatre, which delves into the grassroots realities of contemporary Finnish and Estonian societies. Written by Andra Teede and directed by Aino Kivi, the play featured actors from both theatres and was performed in both Helsinki and Tallinn.

On average, more than 10 Estonian literary works are published in Finnish each year. Additionally, there are several Finnish authors who write on Estonian themes. Estonian literature and authors are represented annually at Finnish book fairs in Helsinki and Turku. Estonia was the theme country at the Helsinki Book Fair in 2011 and in Turku in 2018.

There is close cooperation in the field of music at the level of festivals, organizations (such as Music Estonia and Music Finland), and individual performers. Currently, around 20 Estonian musicians are studying at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. In the fields of design and architecture, various collaborative seminars and pop-up events have been organized in recent years.

In the field of art, cooperation is also close and broad-based. Joint efforts are made in activities related to the art market, and on the international stage, collaboration between Estonian and Finnish art professionals is significant. For example, in the autumn of 2023, during the Performa Festival in New York, there was close cooperation with the Center for Contemporary Arts Estonia. At the Icelandic art festival Sequences, curated by the CCAE in 2023, several Finnish artists were involved. The Konrad Mägi exhibition, opened in collaboration between Estonia and Finland at the Espoo Museum of Modern Art in 2021, also traveled to Denmark and Norway.

The Museum Card, introduced in Estonia in April 2023 by the Estonian Museum Association and supported by the Ministry of Culture, was inspired by the Finnish model. Simultaneously, the Estonian National Museum’s fairy tale exhibition “Once Upon a Time…” was opened at the Vapriikki Museum Centre in Tampere, adapted to Finnish conditions through collaboration between the two museums.

According to the “Convention of Intellectual Cooperation” (education and cultural cooperation agreement), the Finno-Ugric Day is celebrated in Estonia, Finland, and Hungary on the third weekend of October each year. The World Congresses of Finno-Ugric Peoples are crucial for raising awareness of the existence and situation of Finno-Ugric peoples, their languages, and cultures. The 7th Congress was held in Lahti in 2016, and the latest, the 8th World Congress, took place in 2021 at the Estonian National Museum in Tartu.

The coming years will offer excellent opportunities for cultural cooperation. In 2025, we will celebrate in Finland the 90th anniversary of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and the 95th birth anniversary of Veljo Tormis. Soon, it will also be 100 years since the first comprehensive exhibition of Estonian art in Helsinki, held at Taidehalli in 1929. A few years after that, in 1930-1931, Finnish art exhibitions were opened in Tallinn and Tartu.

Information about Estonian cultural events in Finland can be found on the Finnish website https://virosuomessa.fi/ and the Facebook page Eesti kultuur Soomes.