Exhibitions
PERMANENT EXHIBITION
“‘A Village in the Middle of the City’. Stories about Kalamaja”
The permanent exhibition of the museum “‘A Village in the Middle of the City’. Stories about Kalamaja” speaks of the life of the area through six personas characteristic to Kalamaja: a man of Kalamaja, a child of Kalamaja, a parent of Kalamaja, a life artist of Kalamaja and an animal of Kalamaja. These characters are a summary of different times and eras and tell the story from the Middle Ages to today. Walking through the museum will open the stories of the houses of the area together with the local people: the visitor is welcomed in the cellar, corridor, garage, living room, but you can find exhibitions in the toilet as well. Young visitors can play in the dollhouse that depicts the Tallinn-type house in the family area of the museum.
In the museum you will find a gallery where locals and others can form their ideas into exhibitions or present interesting collections to wider audiences.
The museum is big on its contents, but small in cubic meters. Therefore you can often see our exhibitions also on the streets of the area.
Many thanks to all the people of Kalamaja who helped to create the museum!
Curators: Kristi Paatsi, Tuuli Silber, Laura Jamsja
Space design: Ruumilabor OÜ
Graphic design: Refleks OÜ
Exhibition solutions: HN Steel, Argo Männik, Krista Norden, Riksen OÜ
TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS
Outdoor exhibition “From Screw to Piano. The Story of Kalamaja’s Industries”
Today's Kalamaja was born in the wake of the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. At that time, large and small factories which required hundreds and thousands of workers sprang up here.
EKA TASE exhibition „Three Drops of Blood“ in Kalamaja Museum
An old forgotten suitcase was found in the Estonian National Archives. It contained what seemed to be sketches and materials of an unfinished video game. The suitcase was given to retro video game enthusiasts Camille Laurelli and Rainer Peterson who figured out that it was indeed a game from the late 1980s.
EXHIBITION IN CAFÉ BOHEEM: “Working Kalamaja. Breadwinning in the 1920s-1960s”
Hard-working Kalamaja residents are at the centre of the Kalamaja Museum’s outdoor exhibition “Working Kalamaja. Breadwinning in the 1920s-1960s.” Photos taken decades ago allow visitors to learn about various work environments and compare how jobs, work organisation and conditions have changed over time.
Exhibition in Kalamaja Museum “Kalamaja Wallpapers and What We Can Find Underneath”
In the Kalamaja Museum gallery 12 April 2023 to May 2024 In Kalamaja and Põhja-Tallinn, there are still homes built in the first half of the 20th century that are awaiting renovation or are being renovated right now. There are more and more apartment owners who value the past and its layers and believe heritage to be ...
Kalamaja museum’s outdoor exhibition “Uka-Uka, I Am Free. Outdoor Games in Kalamaja”
The Kalamaja Museum has completed another exhibition on the streets of Kalamaja ahead of the opening of its new building. This time, the focus is on local games and stories of play between 1930 and 1970. Play is the work of a little person, and it is something that the children of all suburbs have always ...
Lost Fragments of Kalamaja. Pictures from family photo albums
This outdoor exhibition by the Kalamaja Museum is like travelling through time into the everyday life of the district of yesteryear. The exhibition includes valuable visual material shared by former and current inhabitants responding to the museum’s call.
Outdoor exhibition on the streets of Kalamaja “Lost Fragments of Kalamaja. Pictures from family photo albums”
This outdoor exhibition by the Kalamaja Museum is like travelling through time into the everyday life of the district of yesteryear. The exhibition includes valuable visual material shared by former and current inhabitants responding to the museum’s call. Photo albums have been the most precious treasure people have carried with them on their difficult journeys ...