Tallinn Photomonth 2025 announces its main programme featuring exhibitions across the city

The international contemporary art biennial Tallinn Photomonth will take place for the eighth time, from 5 September to 31 October 2025. The main programme, consisting of three exhibitions, will open with a joint exhibition by Estonian artists Tanja Muravskaja and Sirje Runge at Kai Art Center. The main programme also features an international public exhibition of photographic art in the city of Tallinn and a collaborative exhibition of Estonian and Finnish photographic artists at the Hobusepea and FOKU galleries.

“The main programme of this year’s Tallinn Photomonth holds three very different exhibitions, each of them asking in their own way what kind of meanings can be attributed to photographs today – in an era where photography has become part of our everyday,” explains the director of the biennial, Kulla Laas. “Photos proliferate in various areas of life, but art provides an opportunity to view them in a contemplative manner. This also allows us to develop our visual literacy skills which is an important coping mechanism in a world overflowing with images. Photomonth’s programme seeks to emphasise photographic art’s ability to move people and bring forth new layers of interpretation both on a philosophical level, as well as with regards to social issues. Everyone can find what’s meaningful for them: a sense of recognition, an aesthetic experience or a new perspective.”

The 8th Tallinn Photomonth opens at Kai Art Center with the joint exhibition On Fragile Grounds by two well-known Estonian artists, Tanja Muravskaja and Sirje Runge, presenting an intergenerational and intermedial dialogue. The curator of the exhibition, Mėta Valiušaitytė (LT/FR), proposes the concept of fragility to contextualise the work of Muravskaja and Runge, positioning it at the centre of the artists’ common commitment. Both artists have focused on exploring the material and sensory dimensions of the media they are working with, using either photography or painting to navigate between thought and material, light and shadow, the visible and the almost invisible.

It has become a tradition that Tallinn Photomonth also brings with it a public art programme. Curated by Kati Ots (EE) and Trine Stephensen (NO), this year’s exhibition explores how photography can function in public space not only as an image, but also as a sculptural element that influences space. In the urban environment filled with sensory overload, the exhibition seeks ways in which art can offer moments of pause and open new perspectives on what we see and experience on a daily basis.

For the first time, the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (FOKU) collaborates with the Finnish Association of Photographic Artists (VTL) within the framework of Tallinn Photomonth. The joint exhibition taking place across Hobusepea and FOKU galleries displays works by both Finnish and Estonian photographic artists that have been selected by a jury of professionals from both countries. The exhibition focuses on the question of what photography means in the context of contemporary art at the present moment and how artists are constantly redefining its essence through their work. The exhibition highlights currently relevant topics, as well as different ways in which contemporary photographic art is presented – from the selection of original materials to the use of experimental formats.

The aim of this exhibition project is, among other things, to strengthen the cooperation between the photographic artists of the two countries, and to exchange experiences in exhibition-making and contemporary art practices. The exhibition will be accompanied by a gathering and discussion panel aimed at the fields’ professionals of the immediate region. The exhibition series that takes off from Tallinn, continues in 2026 in Finland.

In addition to the main programme exhibitions, Tallinn Photomonth also holds a diverse satellite programme, as well as public programmes to encourage a better comprehension of photographic art and visual culture and to increase accessibility to contemporary art. More detailed information about the biennial’s artists and the satellite and public programmes will be announced in the coming months.

Artistic director of the 8th Tallinn Photomonth: Kulla Laas
Project manager: Liisi Kõuhkna
Communication manager: Marion Leetmaa
International communication coordinator: Alexia Menikou
Graphic designer: Kert Viiart

Partners and Supporters: Kai Art Center, Estonian Artists’ Association, Finnish Association of Photographic Artists (VTL), Cultural Endowment of Estonia, City of Tallinn.

The main organiser of Tallinn Photomonth is the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (FOKU).