26.6.2025 | Culture

Mirrors Between Two Cultures

Text Johanna Heinonen 
Photos Anne Pikkov, Laura Pérez Granel, Piret Mildeberg

What happens when two cultures that are far apart meet through stories? “Peegeldused / Reflexiones / Reflections” is a new international exhibition at the Pärnu Museum of New Art. In the exhibition, Estonian and Spanish illustrators approach and explore a foreign culture through the world of fairy tales.

Estonian illustrators chose Spanish fairy tales that fascinated them and depicted them in a new way. Similarly, Spanish artists took up Estonian works. The language barrier and limited translated material brought their own challenges, but the illustrators were also given the opportunity to work on modern stories, as long as they breathed the magical atmosphere of fairy tales.

Spanish artists were inspired by the snowy landscapes of Estonia, the silence, the theme of nature, and especially the forest in Estonian mythology and fairy tales. Estonians, in turn, were fascinated by the magic of the south, timelessness and the deep humanity of these stories. The exhibition does not provide ready-made answers, but opens up space for reflection.

The exhibition reminds us of how stories, as different as they sometimes are, connect us all. The exhibition features 25 illustrators from Estonia and Spain and will be open from 28 June to 10 August 2025 at the Pärnu Museum of New Art.

Spain is represented by ten illustrators: Pep Brocal, Sandra Rilova, Adolfo Serra, Raquel Aparicio, Borja González, Mayte Alvarado, Miguel Monck, Ignasi Font, Pablo Monforte, and Laura Pérez Granel.

There are 15 illustrators from Estonia: Katrin Ehrlich, Kadi Kurema, Anne Linnamägi, Regina Lukk-Toompere, Jüri Mildeberg, Piret Mildeberg, Piret Niinepuu-Kiik, Viive Noor, Catherine Zarip, Urmas Viik, Tiina Mariam Reinsalu, Anne Pikkov, Ulla Saar, Kadri Ilves, and Liis Roden.

The exhibition is curated by Viive Noor from Estonia and Laura Pérez Granel from Spain. The exhibition will be open from 28 June to 10 August 2025 at the Museum of New Art of Estonia in Pärnu.

Other current exhibitions at the Museum of New Art include “La Paloma” and “Negotiations”.