Category Archives: Exhibitions

Coming soon, Events, Exhibitions

TIME OUT

On 2 October, painter Peeter Must will open his solo exhibition titled TIME OUT at the Rapla County. Centre for Contemporary Art. 

With the exhibition, the artist symbolically takes time off and offers the viewer an overview of his several painting periods. At the centre of Must’s colourful work is the human being, to whom the artist has given the ability to open up the viewer’s inner world in a delicate way. According to the artist, a timeout taken at the right moment allows a motivating impetus for creativity and to see more clearly what is important.

The exhibition is open 3 – 25 Oct 2026, Tue – Fri 15.00 – 18.00, Sat – Sun 12.00 – 15.00 At the Rapla County Contemporary Art Center at Tallinna mnt 3b. In Rapla

Exhibitions, Now open

Kairi Orgusaar & Erki Kannus in Lithuania

On September 18, 2026, painter and glass artist Kairi Orgusaar opened her solo exhibition in Lithuania, in the gallery of the Raseiniai Cultural Centre. The exhibition is complemented by a video installation by Erki Kannus.
The exhibition will be open until October 18. Orgusaar’s paintings take the viewer to the vastness of his home village, where there is air, light and the feeling of flying. Here, experiences of nature, human beings, art history and the Nordic perception of the world meet.

The SEDNA series, which was created in collaboration with multimedia artist Erki Kannus, is based on the legend of the indigenous Greenlandic goddess of the sea. OCTARINE treats the experience of colour as visual music. SOUL LANDSCAPES takes a look at the creative women who have inspired the author in portrait form. THE FORMULA OF HARMONY examines beings whose states of mind are expressed in their changing skin colour. The watercolour portraits capture fleeting moments when the artist and model make direct contact. Kairi’s paintings convey nostalgia, flashes of thought, memories – an uninterrupted flow of consciousness with a slightly dreamlike undertone.

This exhibition celebrates the 35th anniversary of the cooperation between the twin towns of Rapla and Raseiniai. The exhibition was made possible with the help of the Raseiniai Cultural Centre, the Raseiniai Town Government and the Association of Local Authorities of Rapla County. The author would like to thank: Arunas Kazlauskas, Herbert Orgusaar, Merle Kannus.

Kairi Orgusaar (b. 1969) studied painting (BA) and glass art (MA) at the Estonian Academy of Arts, is the director of the Rapla County Contemporary Art Center and is active in the domestic and international art scene. His works can be found in the Lette Glass Museum (Germany), ETDM and private collections. Erki Kannus (b. 1958) studied art at TPI and EKA. He works in many media – painting, watercolour, glass, video, experimental music. His works can be found in the Estonian Academy of Arts and in private collections.

Exhibitions

Ines-Issa Villido: WHALE

Ines-Issa Villido is a sculptor and world-seeker whose works intertwine environmental themes with artistic forms. The sculpture “Venus” is created from cigarette butts, forming a strong and spatially impressive whole. The physical presence and handling of the material is important in the sculptor’s work, where a dense formal structure and a clear silhouette are born through repetitive elements. Both works “The Whale” and “Venus” combine the classical imagery with the choice of modern and eloquent material.

Locations: Särina COURTYARD and RAPLA COUNTY CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART.

Exhibitions

Helen Rekkor: MAKE SPACE

Scenography as an instantaneous event, not a finished space. Fabrics, overhead projectors, random or deliberately chosen objects, and the bodies of visitors form a constantly changing image. The visitor does not only look at the installation, but they themselves become a part of it and also a scenographer.

With a few movements, a whole world can be created. A piece of glass, lace, film, plant, hand, thread or feather placed on the surface of an overhead projector can become something completely different when projected onto the wall. Small objects create monumental opportunities to create new spaces and environments.

Usually, the audience sees ready-made scenography on stage. They do not see the thousands of choices, experiments and coincidences through which space is born.

The installation gives a person the opportunity to be an audience, a director, a scenographer and an actor at the same time. He moves the object by a millimetre, and the space changes. He steps in front of the light and becomes an image. He pulls the fabric and creates a landscape. He puts two things together and a story is born.

This experiment talks about one of the fundamental pillars of theatre – how little it really takes for the imagination to work.

Events, Exhibitions

Surface Poetry

You are welcome to the opening of the painting exhibition “Surface Poetry” on Friday, 8 May at 18:00.

Surface poetry is born where the surface begins to speak in silence. Colour is no longer just Colour and image are not just images – they hint at something that remains unarticulated, but it is still perceptible. In this joint exhibition, different worlds meet: abstract rhythms, nature, man, mountains and sea. Each work is like a short text, the meaning of which is not final, but unfolds in the eyes of the viewer.

The exhibition features first-year students, advanced, alumni and professional artists of the Art Centre: Maiu Albo, Mikk Allas, Anne-Mai Heimola, Ain Jürisalu, Mai Klemmer, Eha Koit, Liina Oper, Avo Päädam, Editha Salm, Ave Tislar, Sandra Tomingas and Eteri Tõlgo.

Exhibition Design by Eteri Tõlgo.
Graphic Design by Kati Kerstna.

The exhibition is open from 9 to 24.05.2026, Tue – Fri 15.00 – 18.00, Sat – Sun 12.00 – 15.00. Rapla County Contemporary Art Center, Tallinna mnt 3b, Rapla.

Events, Exhibitions

Men and Women

Jüri Arrak
MEN AND WOMEN
8 – 29.03.2026

The exhibition at the Rapla County Contemporary Art Center is part of the celebration of the 90th anniversary of Jüri Arrak’s birth. The spacious and flexible exhibition hall also provides an opportunity to exhibit larger works, especially from the oil paintings, which often do not fit into every room. The prints provide an overview of the artist’s creative path and the changes in his handwriting over the decades.

The human figure with its biological nature has always had an important place in Jüri Arrak’s works, or rather, there are only a few works in which a biological figure does not appear. If it is not depicted as a human, it can be either a bird or an animal. Conditionally, women in their tenderness can also be considered birds, and men, as more vigorous, as animals. The artist has said that he has always drawn/painted human eyes for both birds and animals. At this exhibition, we can see – with our own eyes – whether this is the case.

Jüri Arrak was an artist who explored the path of humanity in his works, where he has always been accompanied by worries and joys, successes and trials, challenges and always the next and the next tasks. It is good to have someone to lean on and refuges to hide on.

The exhibition is organised in cooperation with the Women’s Nights Film Festival (NÖFF), Kai Olivia Arrak and Tokko&Arrak Gallery.

The exhibition was designed by Eteri Tõlgo. Graphic design: Kati Kerstna.

The eighth Women’s Nights Film Festival (NÖFF) will take place from 6 to 8 March at the Rapla cinema, bringing to the audience ten quality films, domestic short films, internationally acclaimed feature films, film classics and cartoons. The overarching theme of this year’s festival is “liberation” – in a personal, creative and social sense. Info: https://noff.ee/

The exhibition is open until 29 March. Tue – Fri 15.00 – 18.00, Sat – Sun 12.00 – 15.00. Closed on Monday. Exhibition opening: Saturday, March 7 at 12:00.

Info: kairi [dot] orgusaar [at] mail [dot] ee

Exhibitions

PERCEPTUAL FIELDS

Leho Rubis, Janno Bergmann
PERCEPTUAL FIELDS
7.02 – 1.03. 2026

The opening of the exhibition took place on Friday, February 6 at 18:00. At the opening, musician Sakiko Ishii (chromatic kannel) performed sound improvisations. Pictures of the opening of the exhibition can be viewed here.

In the media:
ERR Olev Kenk, Raplas avati Janno Bergmanni ja Leho Rubise näitus “Tajuväljad”
Raplamaa Sõnumid: GALERII | Uus näitus vaatleb inimese teadvuse ja tajuväljade suhet

For the first time, the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art  brings together two artists who have celebrated their 50th anniversary, Janno Bergmann and Leho Rubis, whose exhibition “Perceptual Fields” examines the relationship between human consciousness and perception fields. Over the years, both authors have created thematically brief aesthetic worlds. It is a unique visual encounter where artists, using different technical techniques such as printmaking, photography, installation and painting, observe the relationship between human consciousness and the surrounding reality and culture. The human experience in this world can be described from the perspective of the world-perception of an intertwined genomic, cultural or empty consciousness freed from inner noise.

Janno Bergmann and Leho Rubis deal with these questions, trying to answer them not intellectually, but with the help of the central question of visual art – “how”. This means that one possible answer to the questions about our mortality, the nature of consciousness, etc., finds expression in the exhibition primarily in the complete aesthetic system created by the authors, alluding to the sacredness of existence, which is hidden in the deep layers of our own perceptual experience.

About the authors:

Janno Bergmann was born in 1975 in Pärnu. He began his art studies in 1994 at the art department of Pärnu Sütevaka Humanitarian Gymnasium and has been active in the art field since 1996. He has realised his work through a variety of mediums, including painting, printmaking, performance art, video art, conceptual art, sculpture, installation art, and photography.

Janno Bergmann is a founding member of the performance group Non Grata. He worked as an assistant to Ilya Kabakov in New York from 2000 to 2001. Since 2009, he has been associated with the Art Container group.

Since 2014, he has been working as a freelance curator, from 2017 to 2023 he was the coordinator of the Vaskjala Creative Residency, and since 2025, he has been coordinating the residency programme of the Pärnu Artists’ House.

Janno Bergmann has been awarded the Pärnu Annual Art Award 2013 and the title of Pärnu County Cultural Pearl 2025. Outside his homeland, he has exhibited his work in Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Norway, Georgia, Finland, Japan and Belgium. In her personal projects, he deals with the themes of art, culture and communication, reinterpreting the myths of contemporary art history and looking for poetic imagery in visual art.

Leho Rubis (1975) is an artist, musician and orientalist. He studied painting (BA 2001) and art history (MA 2010) at the University of Tartu. Since 2003, he has been involved in North Indian classical music and is involved in various music groups. The most important object of study in his art history is the history of Buddhist iconic art, with a focus on the possibility of depicting deeper states of consciousness. His interest in human consciousness is also directly related to the themes and motifs of his figurative painting. Inspired by various traditions of Asian canonical art and the history of European painting, he has created a style of expression in which the static nature of the figures creates a multi-layered perceptual fabric together with the liveliness of the textures. The main focus is on the indescribable yet ever-present consciousness.

His solo exhibitions have taken place in Estonia, India and Egypt. In 2010, he curated the joint exhibition of Estonian artists “A Gift to Arvo Pärt”, which was dedicated to the composer’s jubilee. He has also been the artistic director of the cultural festivals “Kolmkõla” and “PaIDA”. Since 2021, he has been the author of the Estonian Classical Radio series “Raaga aeg”.

Previous media covering of the authors
„Vikerkaar” (Leho Rubise „Poeetiliste sisemaastike“ tajuväljad , 12/2025 – Vikerkaar )
„Postimees” (INTERVJUU ⟩ Kunstnik Leho Rubis: aja jooksul on Eesti looduse askeetlik nüansirikkus mulle järjest huvitamaks muutunud ),
ERR (Pärnu kunsti aastapreemia Janno Bergmannile | Kunst | ERR, Galerii: Janno Bergmanni isikunäitus “Mikrogenees” kompab taju piire | Kunst | ERR ).

The exhibition is open 07.02 – 01.03.2026, Tue – Fri 15.00 – 18.00, Sat – Sun 12.00 – 15.00 at the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art, Tallinna mnt 3b

Exhibitions, Now open

Phoenix 2

The art of Phoenixes
You are all invited to the opening of the exhibition of the female artists’ group Phoenix on Friday, 21.11.2025 at 18:00 at the Rapla Contemporary Art Center.

The opening exhibition “Phoenix 2” is the second appearance in the series of the new artists’ association this year. The first joint event took place on 09.03-03.04.2025 at the Pärnu City Gallery, where the group of female artists actually was born while testing themselves with the mirror of exhibition.

This time, we are celebrating the miracle of birth more consciously, and in a way fittingly for the Phoenixes. In the course of preparing the exhibition, in addition to creating new works, we also engaged in so-called introspection – it would be more appropriate to say, mapping the Phoenixes’ positions on some of the most important topics female artists are generally associated with. Through 20-30 years of experience as artists, we looked at the distribution of energy between creation and family responsibilities, the reflection of gender and age, the sources of
ideas and inspiration, or where creative POWER comes from. We solved the measurement of one’s own creation, based on the basic thesis of feminist
classics, according to which man = intellect/culture, woman = body/nature, in a more modern form, reflecting on the connections between NATURE and CULTURE in creation.

Guests of the exhibition can compare and connect Phoenixes` the self-reflections formulated as texts with the exhibited visual artworks. The more than 200-square-meter space is filled with visual mystery. There is nothing random in the room specially segregated for the event, but at the same time each combination of the works seeks its own place through balance created. This time the works are grouped by author, it makes the placement in the whole important. The uniqueness of the artists and the diversity of techniques are what makes the exhibition unique.

The following artists will be performing at the Rapla County Contemporary Art Center: Katrin Valgemäe, Alide Zvorovski, Marina Aleksejeva, Anne Rudanovski, Katrin Saag, Maria Kristiina Ulas, Ülle Saatmäe, Maris Siimer, Kalli Kalde, Kaire Nurk, Katrin Kaev, Lylian Meister, Lembe Ruben, Tiiu Rebane and Eveli Varik.

The music for the exhibition “Magus magus” is by Rene Varik.
The exhibition will remain open until mid-December.
On the last day, Sunday, 14.12.2025, the exhibition will be closed within 13:00-15:00 with artist talks.

Next year, in 2026, the activities of the Phoenix will continue at the same pace, currently preparing for performances in two galleries in Tallinn.

Events, Exhibitions

Artist talk at the exhibition DUO: Restraint and Explosion

On Sunday, 2 November at 14:00, we will celebrate the last day of the exhibition “DUO: Restraint and Explosion” with a meeting with the artists and an exhibition tour. At the meeting, some of the artists participating in the exhibition will share their experiences – they will talk about the creative process, the themes of the exhibition and the possibilities of watercolour. Everyone interested is welcome to see the exhibition together once again and talk to the authors.

On 10 October, the Estonian Watercolour’ Association’s large group exhibition “DUO: Restraint and Explosion” was opened at the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art.

The exhibition brings together nearly thirty renowned and diverse authors. Most of them are members of the Estonian Watercolourists’ Association, but there are also guest artists. “DUO: Restraint and Explosion” does not mean harmony, but a constant field of tension. The works explore contrasts and extremes – silence and sound, the purity of light and the depth of shadow, cold and warmth, balance and its breakdown. The viewer is placed in a situation where balance is not given by itself, but is sought, shifted and sometimes even broken. Conflict here does not mean the end, but the beginning of something new.

Participating artists: Rein Mägar, Marje Üksine, Anneliis Vabul, Maria-Kristiina Ulas, Kelli Valk, Erki Kannus, Kristiina Roots, Svea Lind, Zhanna Toht, Veera Stanishevskaja, Kärt Karjatse, Sergei Minin, Merje Rääbis, Anna Sui, Illimar Paul, Lea Malin, Eleny Kasemets, Eve Ermann, Christel Allik, Tiina Tammetalu, Marju Bormeister, Aleks Kase, Eve Viidalepp, Kadri Bormeister, Kairi Orgusaar, Kerstin Rei, Mari Roosvalt, Naima Neidre, Agne Kuusing-Suomi and Jaan Elken.

Curators: Mari Roosvalt, Kerstin Rei, Kairi Orgusaar.
Graphic Design: Kati Kerstna.

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

The exhibition is open from 11.10 to 02.11.2025. Tuesday to Friday from 15:00 to 18:00, Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 to 15:00. Rapla County Centre for  Contemporary Art, Tallinna mnt. 3b

Exhibitions

DUO: Restraint and Explosion

https://kultuur.err.ee/1609828359/galerii-akvarellikunstnikud-avasid-raplas-suure-ulevaatenaituse
https://sonumid.ee/2025/10/14/traditsioon-ja-eksperimentaalsus-kohtuvad-akvarellis/

On 10 October, the Estonian Watercolour’ Association’s large group exhibition “DUO: Restraint and Explosion” was opened at the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art.

The exhibition brings together nearly thirty renowned and diverse authors. Most of them are members of the Estonian Watercolourists’ Association, but there are also guest artists. “DUO: Restraint and Explosion” does not mean harmony, but a constant field of tension. The works explore contrasts and extremes – silence and sound, the purity of light and the depth of shadow, cold and warmth, balance and its breakdown. The viewer is placed in a situation where balance is not given by itself, but is sought, shifted and sometimes even broken. Conflict here does not mean the end, but the beginning of something new.

Participating artists: Rein Mägar, Marje Üksine, Anneliis Vabul, Maria-Kristiina Ulas, Kelli Valk, Erki Kannus, Kristiina Roots, Svea Lind, Zhanna Toht, Veera Stanishevskaja, Kärt Karjatse, Sergei Minin, Merje Rääbis, Anna Sui, Illimar Paul, Lea Malin, Eleny Kasemets, Eve Ermann, Christel Allik, Tiina Tammetalu, Marju Bormeister, Aleks Kase, Eve Viidalepp, Kadri Bormeister, Kairi Orgusaar, Kerstin Rei, Mari Roosvalt, Naima Neidre, Agne Kuusing-Suomi and Jaan Elken.

Curators: Mari Roosvalt, Kerstin Rei, Kairi Orgusaar.
Graphic Design: Kati Kerstna.

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

The exhibition is open from 11.10 to 02.11.2025. Tuesday to Friday from 15:00 to 18:00, Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 to 15:00. Rapla County Centre for  Contemporary Art, Tallinna mnt. 3b

Events, Exhibitions

Kairi Orgusaar at the Venice Glass Week

Kairi Orgusaar exhibited her installation “The Formula of Harmony” at the Venice Glass Week HUB at Palazzo Loredan as part of the Venice Glass Week.

On Saturday, 13 September, the ninth Venice Glass Week, entitled “The Magic of Glass”, was officially opened. Until 21 September, Venice, Murano and Mestre became venues, with more than 200 glass art events taking place in 130 venues and more than 300 artists from all over the world participating. The programme ranged from exhibitions and installations to workshops, tours, conferences and demonstrations in open glass studios.

The festival programme included two group exhibitions: “Venice Glass Week HUB”, which took place at the Veneto Institute of Science, Literature and Arts in Palazzo Loredani, where the works of 50 renowned international artists were represented, and “Venice Glass Week HUB Under35”, which took place for the first time at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Galleria di Piazza San Marco and showcased the work of 30 young talents.

The exhibition was put together by a curatorial committee led by the renowned Venetian glass historian Rosa Barovier Mentasti and consisting of international glass experts: Nina Alessandri, Cristina Beltrami, Jean Blanchaert, Rainald Franz, Mikkel Hammer Elming, Susanne Jøker Johnsen, Cristina Tonini and Alma Zevi.

Kairi Orgusaar’s participation in the Venice Glass Week was supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

 

Coming soon, Events, Exhibitions

Existences within Art

You are invited to the opening of the exhibition “Being in Art” on Saturday, 3 May at 15:00. As part of the exhibition, the new lighting solution of the ICDS will be opened and introduced to the art community of Rapla County.

In 2025, it will be 30 years since the establishment of the Rapla Art Society, which is a significant event in the cultural life of Rapla. These years include several revolutionary stages in both social life and the development of the county’s art life. This anniversary gives us a reason to look back with gratitude to the various inspiring art projects led by Krista and Jaan Urvet. Today, these initiatives have grown into new collaborations and several artists. To celebrate the jubilee year, an exhibition “Being in Art” will be held in the spring and a conference on the topic will be held in the autumn.

The Urvets’ activities in the field of art began in the 1980s, when Jaan Urvet organised exhibitions of renowned Estonian artists at the Rapla KEK with the help of the Art Foundation. In 1981, the Urvets founded the children’s film studio MINI-ANIMA, with Krista Urvet as its artistic director. The studio created animated films that achieved success at festivals all over the Soviet Union, bringing several important awards to Rapla. The studio operated for 10 years. At the beginning of the nineties, musician and businessman Toivo Kurmet appeared in Rapla from exile. In January 1992, he led the establishment of the charitable foundation MAGHIRA FOND (MF)

In the same year, the foundation founded the MF MAGHIRA ART SCHOOL. The school project was led by Krista Urvet, who was also an art teacher at the Rapla Vesiroosi School. By 1993, MF had become insolvent and there was no support from the local government either. After Estonia regained its independence, a social movement emerged and an umbrella organisation was established to support the hobby and continuing education of adults, the Estonian Association of Non-Formal Education, of which the Maghira Art School also became a member. Grants were received for adult handicraft course students through various projects. The art school ceased its activities in 1995 In the same year, 1995, the RAPLA ART SOCIETY was founded on the initiative of the Urvets. Some former members of the Rapla Art Club, artists and amateur artists from all over Rapla County joined the society. The number of members reached 30 people.

The art trainings for adults took place in the premises of the Rapla Art Society Workshop, which was located in the rectory belonging to the Rapla congregation. The training programmes were approved by the Ministry of Education and Research. The trainers were artists and masters recognised in their fields. The society regularly organised art camps and exhibitions. Exhibitions of Estonia’s renowned professional artists and amateurs were exhibited in the Rapla Central Library, Rütman Gallery and throughout Rapla County.

In 2013, the Rapla Art Society was renamed the Rapla Handicraft and Art Society, the organiser of which was Ivi Sark. The society has continued to organise conferences, study trips and adult trainings. In 2010, former teachers of the Rapla Art Society, Kairi Orgusaar and Riin Pallon, founded the Rapla County Contemporary Art Center (ICDS), which organises exhibitions, trainings and various art events in the ICDS Gallery. This year, the ICDS celebrates its 15th year of operation.

The exhibition “Being in Art”, dedicated to the jubilee, features amateur artists and professionals who have been connected to Rapla County for three generations. All participants have studied or taught at Mini-Anima, Maghira Art School, Rapla Art Society or Rapla County Contemporary Art Center.
ParticipantsMaiu Albo, Mikk Allas, Moyo Eivas, Mauri Gross, Ain Jürisalu, Jaak Kadarik, Erki Kannus, Katrin Kirsipuu, Mai Klemmer, Eha Koit, Sirkka Lasner, Mathura, Maiu Mooses, Kairi Orgusaar, Riin Pallon, Urmas Puhkan, Erki Põld, Avo Päädam, Editha Salm, Ülla Sirendi, Eda Taevas, Ave Tislar, Eteri Tõlgo, Krista Urvet, Märt Vaidla, Siret Varimõis.
Exhibition Design: Eteri Tõlgo
Graphic Design: Kati Kerstna

The exhibition is open: 3 – 23 May 2025, Tue – Fri 15.00 – 18.00, Sat – Sun 12.00 -15.00 Rapla Contemporary Art Center, Tallinna mnt.3b, III floor.

Major exhibitions and recognitions:
2003 – Exhibition in Helsinki
2004 – Exhibition in Axevalla (Sweden)
2005 – “Deed of the Year” for organising the events of the Year of Arts
2006 – joint exhibition in Madona (Latvia) with works by 23 artists from Rapla and three art schools (Märjamaa, Kehtna, Kohila)
2007 – Krista Urvet was awarded the annual award of the Rapla County expert group of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia
2008 – Krista Urvet was awarded the cultural award “Rapla Locomotive”