“Searching for the Spirit of Tartu. Malev Toom’s Photographs of Famous Individuals From Tartu”

Tartu, along with southern Estonia, has been chosen as a 2024 European Capital of Culture. VEMU Estonian Museum Canada’s home is also Tartu – Tartu College, that is. Thus, it’s very natural and fitting that we also celebrate this special year for Tartu here in Toronto.

In search of an exhibit for this occasion, we were reminded of Malev Toom, a renowned and recognized photographer who has captured Tartu, its residents and events. An overview exhibition of his works in celebration of his 70th birthday took place in the fall of 2023 at the Pallas University of Applied Sciences, of which he is an alumnus and a long-time lecturer. 

Peeter Linnap, an expert on the history of Estonian photography, places Malev Toom as one of the best portrait photographers throughout times in Estonia: “The first attribute of Malev Toom’s portraits is a deep respect towards the subjects of his photos. Those who Toom chooses to photograph are individuals that he treats with the utmost respect and holds in esteem. Leaving himself in the background, Toom focuses on the psychology of the subject, identifying with them to a large degree and ensuring that the result heightens and deepens the portrayed character and their dignity.”

At the exhibition, you’ll meet these famous Tartu people – scholars, artists, cultural figures, and bohemians – who have contributed to the image of Tartu and shaped the character of the city. All of them embody the Spirit of Tartu in their own ways, the mysterious character that has been spoken about for nearly a hundred years; firstly, in relation to the student life of academic organizations, and later through contrast, President Konstantin Päts (the Silent Era!) versus Jaan Tõnisson (democratic opposition). The Spirit of Tartu has become increasingly ephemeral over time, trying to capture that which cannot be captured; the specific stances of the city and its residents and the atmosphere which exists here, from which the age-old contrast between Tallinn as the political capital and Tartu as the intellectual one has surely never been excluded. 

Throughout the exhibition, we’re searching for the Spirit of Tartu through its various human embodiments — through the residents of the city who have left their mark on Tartu throughout the years.