Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship at Tallinn Art Hall

OPEN CALL

 

Tallinn Art Hall and Upė Foundation are jointly announcing an open call to find a suitable Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow to work in Tallinn Art Hall as a curator. The position is full-time and due to start in April 2026. The duration of the fellowship is 12 months, with the possibility to extend by a further 6 months (total of 18 months) upon review. Re-location to Tallinn, Estonia is mandatory.

 

What we are looking for

 

Tallinn Art Hall (est. 1934) is the biggest and oldest commissioner, producer and exhibitor of contemporary art in Estonia. Currently our historical building on the main square of Tallinn is going through a full renovation, with the opening scheduled for 13 November 2026.

 

Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow will be responsible for curating the programme for a completely new space to be built under the historical building. The new black-box type venue will be ca 100m2, with retractable seating for 50–60 persons, height ca 5.5m, hatch on the roof 3×3m for loading large artwork, roof window with blackout option, super-silent air pressure available for pneumatic artworks, motorised track system for hanging lights and art, and a large built-in video screen and projector. The incoming curator can have a say in the equipment we buy for the space according to the programme proposed by them.

 

Most of the programme in the black box should be connected with the main exhibitions in the house, but there will be plenty of freedom to include independent programming as well. Tallinn Art Hall produces annually 5-6 exhibitions dealing mostly with burning social and political questions.The artists & curators include both local and international talent. We avoid fully historical exhibitions, but occasionally mix contemporary art with artwork from the past. The renovated house will be opened with a group exhibition curated by Tamara Luuk & Siim Preiman dealing with the shift in visualising nature in Estonian art from 19th century masters to contemporary new commissions. After that we will welcome an extension of the Estonian pavilion of the Venice Biennale by Merike Estna.

The programme could be roughly divided into 4 blocks. These are preliminary ideas of what could be done at the black box, things we are ready to host and feel would fit Tallinn Art Hall. The final programme will be agreed with the incoming curator based on their proposal. We hope the future programming will include both local and international artists.

 

 

Art exhibitions

  • Solo exhibitions – new commissions, could be site-specific
  • Duos – artist paired with a non-artist
  • Sound installations
  • Immersive visual installations

Supporting programmes

  • Film and video screenings connected to current exhibitions
  • Lectures on topics of the exhibitions
  • Showings of Tallinn Art Hall resident artists and resident chefs
  • Concerts by artists

Collaborations

  • Mashups of contemporary dance and performance art
  • Screening of archival artist films

Fun

  • A big air mattress that you can jump onto from the roof hatch
  • A few occasional raves

 

The incoming curator is expected to propose the programming, agree on it with the director and in-house curators, make the agreements with the artists, and actually curate the programme. They will receive daily production support from three in-house project managers and mentoring from our curators and the director, if needed.

 

Eligibility Criteria

 

  • 1–5 years of relevant curatorial experience.
  • Higher education qualification (BA, MA or equivalent) in curating, art history, visual culture, or related disciplines.
  • Shall be a UK citizen, resident, or otherwise able to prove UK affiliation (e.g. settled/pre-settled status, long-term residency, or equivalent). Tallinn Art Hall and Upė Foundation will fully support the process of arranging the Estonian work and residence permit.
  • Strong preference given to emerging practitioners who have not held full-time roles in major institutions or museums, able to demonstrate experience and initiative in running small-scale, self-directed projects, spaces, or frameworks.

 

What we offer

 

  • A monthly salary that equals the Estonian average published income of 2213 eur gross.
  • Fully funded Estonian health insurance.
  • Initial flights to Tallinn.
  • Brand new MacBook.
  • 4-day fully paid research trip to Venice Biennale 2026 opening days together with Tallinn Art Hall colleagues.
  • Support in finding accommodation and settling in.
  • Help in arranging the living permit.
  • Very flexible office hours.
  • Amazing people to work with.

 

How to apply

 

Please send your CV, a motivational letter (max 1 A4), and a proposal for programming (max 3 A4 pages) to upefellow@kunstihoone.ee. If you have any questions, please contact us using the same email.

 

Application deadline: noon, UK time, Monday 12 January, 2026

 

Interviews will take place over February 2026.

 

The selection panel will be made jointly of representatives from Tallinn Art Hall and Upė Foundation teams.