ERM’s new exhibition ‘Strange Encounters’ focuses on nocturnal encounters with urban animals

The Estonian National Museum’s new exhibition, Strange Encounters, focuses on animals in the city at night and explores the situations in which the boundaries between humans and animals become blurred.
The exhibition will be open in the permanent exhibition “Encounters” in the ERM’s Participation Hall 3. from 1 to 18 May. until 2024.

The exhibition will be in dialogue with the Estonian National Museum’s new temporary exhibition “Who owns the night?”. and opens up another perspective on nightlife, this time from the perspective of nature.

“We’ve collected stories, pictures and videos that illustrate how we – the people – feel about other kinds of city dwellers. Through the material collected, the ways in which we experience, remember and interpret these encounters are revealed. We invite visitors to take a step closer to understanding the world of other kinds of animals,” explains exhibition curator Hildegard Reimann.

“The exhibition ‘Strange Encounters’ adds an important layer to the ERM’s research theme on the ethnology of the urban night, by exploring the nocturnal activities of animals living in and visiting the city, which are usually hidden by the darkness,” added the curator of the exhibition “Who owns the night?”. Karin Leivategija, the curator of the exhibition “Where does the love of the night belong? “Both exhibitions – “Who owns the night?” and “Strange Encounters” invite you to discover the diversity and dynamics of urban nightlife. Whether it’s people or animals, we are offered a unique view of what goes on in the urban space at night.”

Today, there is seemingly no limit to urban growth. That’s why we’re seeing more and more wild animals on the streets. The exhibition invites people to notice and understand other types of animals in urban spaces, so that all types of people can live safely in the city at night.

As part of the additional programme of the exhibition, on 18. On 1 May, the evening urban nature tour “Strange encounters in a city by night”. The walk will highlight how nocturnal animals operate in the city: bats, nocturnal bats, cockatoos, foxes, rodents and others.

“Strange Encounters” won the ERM’s exhibition ideas competition “My Exhibition”. The competition is aimed at people, civic associations and organisations who are not traditionally involved in museum work or curating exhibitions. The winners will be able to create their own exhibition and display it in the ERM’s Participation Hall, which is part of the permanent exhibition “Encounters”. 2025. The 2010 competition is book-themed. More information: https://www.erm.ee/et/oma-naitus

Exhibition team
Curators: Hildegard Reimann, Liina Lember
ERM: Tiit Sibul, Reet Mark
Authors: Hildegard Reimann, Liina Lember, Mona Tärk, Renato Perotto, Jakob Mass.
Pictures, videos and stories collected from Tartu residents and Facebook forums.