PLAYFUL CITY
installation programme / locations on a map
Play isn’t only for children – it’s a vital part of adult life too, nourishing our bodies, minds, and human relationships. Play in urban space brings freshness to routine, encourages spontaneous encounters, and sparks creativity. At the same time, playfulness in the city is a form of resistance to the constant demand for productivity. Play invites us to enjoy the moment, to have fun, to explore, and to experiment.
Philosopher Eik Hermann believes that cities need not only functional spaces but also ambiguous places that lack a clear purpose. These kinds of spaces offer the freedom to create our own meanings and uses; they stimulate creativity and evoke playfulness. According to Hermann, play is also closely linked to wandering, as cities allow us to roam, experiment, and create new experiences in a relatively safe environment.
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Through installations, we reflect on how playful interventions affect our relationship with urban space and encourage us, as citizens, to engage more creatively with one another and co-create unique urban environments. The curators of the program are Marie Valgre and Kadri Lind.
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Locations of the installations:
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The School of Architecture (EE) Find Your Game! / in front of Kastani 42
Tõnis Koppel ja Sophia Bazalgette (EE/US) Fermata / in front of Vanemuise 48
Lauri Lest (EE) Lai 7 / Lai 7
heidundgriess (DE) Pool II / Emajõgi (between Kroonuaia and Vabadussild bridges)
kollektiir (EE) Taaraphone / under Vabadussild bridge (both sides)
Skull studio (CZ) The Floor is Soft! / next to Turusild bridge (Anne canal’s side)
Octavi Serra (ES) Adult Playground / behind Anne 61
Mariann Drell & Sandra Mirka (EE) Aivo, Erki ja Rene / in between Mõisavahe 38 and 39
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Participating artists
heidundgriess are an artist duo from Hamburg created by Alexandra Griess and Jorel Heid that has been working primarily interdisciplinarily in the field of installation art. With diverse professional backgrounds in art, architecture, and design, they create large-scale and mostly site-specific installations.
Octavi Serra is a Spanish visual artist and designer whose work focuses on the tensions of modern society, often through irony and minimal interventions in public space. With a background in design and photography, his installations, sculptures and conceptual projects have been exhibited internationally, addressing themes such as control, consumerism and the absurdity of everyday life.
Founded in 2020 by sculptor MatÄ›j Hájek and visual artist Bet Orten, SKULL studio operates at the intersection of architecture, sculpture and land art. Their work boldly explores the relationship between form, play, and learning often brought to life through large-scale, immersive playground installations.
Lauri Lest is an Estonian musician, sound and performance artist. Lauri creates and plays atmospheric electronic music, works with found objects, vibration speakers and sound and video editing software. His art can be described as melancholic, dreamy, experimental and sometimes humorous.
Mariann Drell is an interior architect, project manager, strategist, 35mm film photographer, and a passionate thrifter and dumpster diver. Sandra Mirka is both an observer and a creator, working across several creative fields including interior architecture, furniture design, and cooking. They both find inspiration in giving new value to leftovers and in reimagining existing resources.
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​kollektiir is a practice-based design garage located in Haljala, Estonia, founded by Mari Uibo and Rait Lõhmus. Mari Uibo is a hairstylist and interior architect. Rait Lõhmus is a designer and craftsman who primarily works with glass.
After a chance meeting at Möku bar in Tallinn, Tõnis and Sophia spontaneously decided to form an art duo. Sophia Bazalgette is a U.S.-born artist based in Tallinn, Estonia. Tõnis Kristian Koppel is a bassist, composer, and installation artist from Jõgeva, Estonia.
The School of Architecture is a school for space magicians who learn how to create, look at and experience the environment around us with a fresh approach. After graduating from the School of Architecture a tree is no longer just a tree, or a corridor simply a corridor. The School of Architecture instructors are landscape architects Kristin Leis, Kerli Irbo and architect Liis Uustal.