This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the surrealist literary and artistic movement, and it is noteworthy that Prague emerged as the second significant center of surrealism in Europe alongside Paris in the 20th century. The idea and preparations for the joint Estonian-Czech exhibition began five years ago, and now the culmination of years of work has been presented to the public. Welcoming speeches at the opening were delivered by both Estonian curator Joanna Hoffmann and Czech curator Anna Pravdová, expressing their great joy over the successful collaboration, but also sadness that this long journey together is coming to an end. The exhibition features works from the National Gallery Prague, the Aleš South Bohemian Gallery, the Art Museum of Estonia, the Tartu Art Museum, and other galleries and private collections.

Among others, the Czech Deputy Minister of Culture Ondřej Chrást delivered a speech at the exhibition opening, whose visit to Estonia included several important meetings. Experiences in cultural support policies, as well as topics such as preserving Ukrainian cultural heritage, were exchanged between the Deputy Minister Chrást and Märt Volmer, Undersecretary for Cultural Heritage at the Estonian Ministry of Culture. In addition, the Deputy Minister also met with representatives of European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 and learned about everything that comes with the title of Capital of Culture.

We are glad that many other Czech representatives came to the opening of the exhibition in Tartu. A delegation from South Bohemia also took part in the event, among them the Mayor of České Budějovice, Dagmar Škodová Parmová. Since České Budějovice will become the European Capital of Culture in 2028, their visit included meetings with the Tartu 2024 team to hear both best practices and lessons learned in preparation for becoming a Capital of Culture.

The exhibition "Surrealism 100: Prague, Tartu, and other stories..." is part of the main programme of Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture and will remain open at the Estonian National Museum until September 8, 2024.

Please see the photo gallery from the opening ceremony here. (ERM / Anu Ansu)