20.2.2024 | Culture

Explore nightlife from the Middle Ages to the modern day

Text Mark Taylor
Photos Berta Jänes, ENM

An exhibition entitled ‘Who Claims the Night?’ opened at the Estonian National Museum on February 17. The exhibition allows visitors to experience nighttime life in Estonian cities from the Middle Ages to the modern day.

The exhibition explores the bright and dark nightlife of Estonian cities from many angles, including the laws and restrictions governing nightlife, nighttime occupations, technological developments, contemporary nightlife culture, and much more.

”I dare say this is the biggest exhibition about the night in the world, because the different aspects of life in the city at night have never been handled in such a comprehensive way before,’ said chief curator Karin Leivategija.

Documenting nightlife is made more difficult by the darkness and people’s certain desire for anonymity. However, the night is also a time that gives people a sense of freedom, allowing them to experiment more freely than during the day and to express themselves creatively. The exhibition highlights many aspects of city life at night, including the influence of power and culture, and introduces modern cities, where life goes on around the clock.

The exhibition covers the entire back section of the museum building and is divided into two parts. The gallery of the museum will focus on the history of the Estonian urban night, where visitors can walk the streets from the Middle Ages to the noughties of this century. The second part of the exhibition is spread across the back lobby and basement of the museum in the form of seven installations on contemporary nightlife culture. The exhibition is the joint creation of many ethnologists, anthropologists, creative researchers, and artists.

The exhibition ‘Who Claims the Night?’ will be accompanied by an audience programme, the first event of which will be a thematic conference on March 15. The exhibition will remain open until February 24, 2025.