Estonian Museum of Applied Arts and Design

Design shapes our daily lives on many different levels; from clothing, home objects and vehicles to houses, environments and relationships between people. The function of design has been to mediate changes in technology, science or in human thinking more broadly. In this way, plywood furniture, synthetic fabrics or coherently marked pathways have become part of our everyday environments. The concept of design has been redefined over the past decades, reflecting the predominant attitudes of the time.

The Estonian Design Museum in Tallinn shows exactly this change on several floors in an old warehouse and presents extraordinary pieces in a clear and modern way. We were lucky enough to get a personal insight from the director Kai Lobjakas, who also revealed to us that the museum will significantly expand its collection in the field of graphics. We are excited!

The aim of the exhibition is to provide an overview of the layers, characteristics and variety of Estonian design, and highlight a small selection of examples that at various times and for various reasons have shaped the local design scene, either under the name of applied art, industrial art or design. The many layers of this well curated selection represent also political and economic changes of the period, abrupt endings and new beginnings.

The story of Estonian design is still young and the Estonian Design Museum has only been collecting and analyzing materials for the past 20 years. There’s still a lot to be uncovered, so that it can become a chapter in the history of Estonian design.

Find more information here: www.etdm.ee