Last night I went to 'How to make Tallinn great again?', which was the first event on the culture step programme! It was an event organised by Estonishing Evenings, and there were local Estonians and people from all over the world, from Iran to Germany to the USA! This series has the aim of bringing Estonians together with those from other countries living in Estonia, to discuss local issues and share opinions and viewpoints with one another. The theme of this month's event was on how to improve Tallinn, through city planning on a government level and also what local people can do. There were talks by local speakers, and the opportunity to discuss in groups and share ideas. The facilitator in my group had brought lots of post-its to collect different people's thoughts. The venue was a place called Erinevate Tubade Klubi or 'the club of different rooms' in English, located in Telliskivi, Tallinn's exciting 'Creative city'. This room somehow manages to combine a comfortable, homely atmosphere with state of the art technology. When you arrive, you can remove your shoes and put on slippers, and there are comfortable sofas and chairs around tables. This is combined with screens throughout, and a green-screen stage. I felt like it was a really relaxed atmosphere, especially because high-tech venues are usually brightly lit and often feel uncomfortable to me. This space nurtured an informal environment for discussion and sharing ideas and enabled everyone to have a good view of the stage. Later in the evening, we had a talk from the founder and CEO of Telliskivi, Jaanus Juss. He shared some of the aims that he had in creating the spaces, and how they developed and built a successful artistic community. During the Soviet times, the buildings that now make up Telliskivi were railway warehouses and factories. They stood disused for many years, until they were bought by Jaanus and his partners. They rent the spaces primarily to creative enterprises, sometimes allowing in something more commercial to subsidise lower rents for artistic spaces. He attributes some of Telliskivi's success to the fact that they haven't accepted grants from outside investors, either from the private sector or any governments or the EU. He sees this as key to maintaining creative control over decision-making, that they do not have to answer to investors, and thus do not have to choose the biggest profits over the 'best fit' to the community. The city hosts practice spaces for bands, music venues, theatre, art galleries and much more, as well as many cool bars and restaurants. According to their website, they have nearly one million people going to events here each year. Having been involved myself with creative communities in the past, it is a truly impressive achievement, because I know there are huge physical, economic and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome. There are perhaps some compromises that have to be made in an endeavour like this, in terms of corporate events. Personally, I'm more in favour of a shared ownership model, and not totally averse to local government funding. One worry I have is that governments could use a success story like Telliskivi as an excuse not to fund culture, and leave it entirely up to free-market forces. Also, most decisions are made by Juss and his team, so the city relies on their taste and view points. I wonder what would happen if they opened up creative decisions to the wider community of people who go to Telliskivi? Could it be more democratic? I want to look more into how this creative city is benefitting the local community, but it does seem like a good example of how creativity can thrive given the right nurturing. I also think another key to its success is local knowledge. It was created by people who knew the area and were able to think about ways that they could improve it themselves. Juss stands in stark contrast to corporations and outside investors who know nothing about a locality and its needs. If you are reading this and you know something about Telliskivi, or I got something wrong, please leave your ideas in the comments! This event is a great example of adult learning that can be bottom up, and be beneficial for participants and wider society. These Estonishing Evening events have made a start in creating a dialogue and building communication between wider sections of the community living in Estonia. I hope that the team will continue to run and build upon these fantastic, collaborative events and I hope that more like it will spring up.
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LaurenI am an IMAESC student, English teacher and adult education researcher from the UK. Categories
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