In his opening speech, President Karis stressed that Estonia and Germany have a common history that goes back centuries. “It hasn’t always been easy, it has sometimes been challenging and full of tension, but it has given us the opportunity to share ideas and culture,” said President Karis. “The exhibition in Dresden is an excellent example of the desire to further deepen these relations.”
President Karis recalled that 500 years ago, the first book containing the Estonian language was printed in Germany. This year has been declared the Year of the Estonian Book to celebrate this historical landmark. “The written word is the foundation of Estonian culture and I believe the same is true for Germany,” he added.
Two internationally renowned luminaries feature strongly in the exhibition: Dresden-born painter Gerhard Richter and Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. “It’s significant that both of them are here, even though neither of them is a writer,” said the Estonian Head of State.
The President quoted Arvo Pärt, who has repeatedly emphasised that his music is based on words: “Texts are independent of us and they are waiting for us: each person reaches them in their own time.”
In 2014, Arvo Pärt dedicated his work Drei Hirtenkinder aus Fatima to Gerhard Richter and it was also performed at the opening of the exhibition. According to President Karis, the song is a kind of revelation – a heartfelt tribute to a great artist who shares a melancholy with Pärt.
“Just as the texts wait for us deep in the bookshelves, patiently and quietly – so too do the paintings on gallery walls and the notes on sheet music,” said President Karis. “Waiting for the viewer, the reader, the listener.”
The exhibition, a collaboration between the Dresden State Art Collections, the Estonian Art Museum and the Arvo Pärt Centre, brings to viewers 150 works of art in 12 thematic rooms, ranging from the Hanseatic period through the Enlightenment and Romanticism to the present day. It is also a tribute to maestro Arvo Pärt on his 90th birthday and the first occasion when his manuscripts and music diaries are exhibited outside Estonia. The exhibition focuses mainly on the artistic dialogue between Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and German painter Gerhard Richter, reflecting the cultural integration of Estonia and Germany. Many of the Estonian artworks on display are shown in Germany for the first time. The exhibition will be open until 31 August at the Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau.
The opening of the exhibition featured a performance by Vox Clamantis, who gave a concert dedicated to the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt at the Albertinum in Dresden on 8 May.
In the evening, President Karis will welcome a cultural and business delegation from Estonia and Germany at a joint networking reception. The event will bring together more than 200 German cultural representatives and entrepreneurs, providing an opportunity to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, share ideas and create new contacts.
The cultural delegation includes representatives of Eesti Kontsert, the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art, the Estonian Art Museum, the Estonian Literature Centre, the University of Tartu and its library, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn University, the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Arvo Pärt Centre, the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Gallery Art&Tonic, Music Estonia, Tartu Art Museum, Theater Junge Generation and the Ministry of Culture.
President Alar Karis visited the Theater Junge Generation in Dresden and met with the theatre’s management, including current artistic director Felicitas Loewe and future directors Mihkel Seeder and Ulrike Lessmann. Mr Seeder will take over the management of one of Germany’s largest theatres for children and young people on 1 August 2025.
Gallery: Raigo Pajula/Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCdgTh
