For the eleventh time, the SÄRIN Cultural Festival invites all new and old friends to Rapla on 11–12 September to hold a memorably fun festival together! The festival is powered by five sub-programmes, which intertwine film, theatre, music, art and literature, bringing talented creators from near and far to Rapla. Here you will find sizzling joie de vivre, pleasant discussions, experiences and unexpected new favourites for both locals and visitors. SÄRIN brings together old friends and new ideas! We are waiting for you to sizzle in Rapla!

WHEN: September 11-12, 2026
TICKETS: Get a festival pass from Piletikeskus: https://piletikeskus.ee/et/e/ljy3by

LOCATIONS: 
BAAS Culture CLub · Tallinna mnt 5, Rapla
Rapla County Centre for COntemporary Art · Tallinna mnt 3b, Rapla
Rapla Cultural Centre · Tallinna mnt 17a, Rapla
Rapla cinema · Tallinna mnt 17, Rapla

TRANSPORT AND ACCESSIBILITY:
By bus: Rapla bus station is located directly opposite BAAS.
By train: You can walk from the train station, take a shuttle bus or scooter. Accessibility: BAAS is located on the second floor and the Center for Contemporary Art on the third floor, which is why wheelchair access is limited in these rooms. Let us know your needs in advance and we will find a suitable solution together!

On the last day of the exhibition, 29 March at 14:00, everyone is welcome to take part in a small exhibition tour. The artist’s wife Kai Olivia Arrak introduces Jüri Arrak’s work and explains the background of his creative process.

The exhibition is organised in cooperation with the Women’s Nights Film Festival (NÖFF), Kai Olivia Arrak and Tokko&Arrak Gallery. The exhibition is open until 29 March. Tue – Fri 15.00 – 18.00, Sat – Sun 12.00 – 15.00. Closed on Monday.

March 19 at 11:00 – 16:30. Rapla Cultural Centre Tallinna mnt 17a, Rapla, 79513 Rapla county

Community learning event – different learning paths and experiences.

Register your participation by 12 March 2026.
Register HERE
https://docs.google.com/…/1V2N1vkTnT4o1WazWSIjM…/edit…

INFO Ivi Sark 5128931, ivi [dot] sark [at] gmail [dot] com

You are welcome to attend an artist talk within the framework of Janno Bergmann’s and Leho Rubis’ exhibition “Perception Fields” at the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art on Sunday, March 1 at 14:00. The conversation will be moderated by Mathura.

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 “Sensory 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.

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

On 18 February, the “Rapla County Thanks” gala took place at the Rapla Cultural Centre, where the Rapla County expert group of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Association of Local Authorities of Rapla County awarded the 2025 awards to the outstanding cultural and sports figures of the county. One of the annual awards 2025 was awarded to Kairi Orgusaar, who was noted as an artist and leader of the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art, whose creative and dedicated activities have given the cultural life of the region a modern and inspiring face. The award was presented by ICDS colleague Eteri Tõlgo.

Coverage of the entire event: Eesti Kultuurkapital Raplamaa

Since July 2025, the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art has a new board consisting of Kairi Orgusaar and Eteri Tõlgo.

Feature story in the newspaper “Raplamaa Sõnumid” by Siim Jõgis: Eteri Tõlgo: “Art is my great helper.” https://sonumid.ee/2026/02/11/eteri-tolgo-kunst-on-minu-suur-abiline/

Eteri Tõlgo has been associated with the art centre since its foundation. He has contributed to activities related to Rapla County, having designed more than ten county exhibitions, including large overview exhibitions such as “The Line Flowing Under the Hand” and “Being in Art”. She has contributed to the development projects of the art centre, helping with the art community in updating the gallery space and in the activities of the new lighting solution. Eteri is also involved in art, participating in exhibitions and courses.

Former board member Riin Pallon left the RCCCA  to focus more on her work and teaching art. Since October, she has been working in her studio “Liberal Arts”.

Sunday, 14. On December at 13:00, we will celebrate the last day of the exhibition “Phoenix 2” with a meeting with the artists and an exhibition tour.

At the meeting, the curator of the exhibition, Eveli Varik, and 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 much more. Everyone interested is welcome to see the exhibition together once again and talk to the authors.

The exhibition “Phoenix 2” is the second appearance of this year in the chain of exhibitions of the new artists’ association. The first joint performance took place from 09.03 to 03.04.2025 at Pärnu City Gallery, where the group of female artists of the same name was born in the exhibition mirror from the point of view of tests.

This time, we celebrate the miracle of birth more consciously, and in accordance with the phoenixes. In the course of preparing for the exhibition, in addition to creating new works, we also engaged in so-called introspection – it would be more accurate to say mapping the views of the Phoenixes on some of the most important issues that women artists are more generally associated with. Based on the experiences of 20-30 years of artistry, we considered the distribution of energy between creativity and family responsibilities, the reflection of gender and age in creation, the sources of ideas and inspiration, i.e. where creative POWER comes from. We solved the measurement of one’s own creation, based on the main thesis of the classics of feminism, according to which man = intellect/culture, woman = body/nature, in a more modern form, contemplating the connections between NATURE and CULTURE in creation.

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to compare and relate the self-reflections formulated as the text of the Phoenix Women. with works of visual art. The space of more than 200 square meters is filled with visual mystery. There is nothing accidental in the room, which has been specially reconfigured with new partitions, but at the same time, everyone is looking for a a combination of works of art through the balance it creates. This time, the works are grouped by author, which is why the placement of each author in the whole becomes important. The uniqueness of the artists and the diversity of techniques is what makes the exhibition unique.

Participants: 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 author of the music piece “Sweet Sweet” is Rene Varik. The initiator of the idea of the phoenix, curator/designer Eveli Varik

The exhibition is open until 14 December, Tue – Fri 15:00 – 18:00, Sat – Sun 12:00 – 15:00. Closed on Monday. Info: kairi [dot] orgusaar [at] mail [dot] ee