For the first time in its nearly one-hundred-year existence, the Art Museum of Estonia has a building that meets the requirements of a museum. The winner of the international architectural competition (1993-1994) to design the building was the Finnish architect Pekka Vapaavuori. The building started in 1999. KUMU Art Museum will open to visitors in February 2006.

KUMU (KUnstiMUseum - Art Museum) is a new type of modern multifunctional art building that contains exhibition halls, a lecture hall offering diverse facilities, and an educational centre for young visitors and for art lovers.

The heart of KUMU is naturally its permanent exhibition, the displays on the floor of contemporary art and in the hall for temporary exhibitions. The permanent exhibition on the second and third floor is based on the extensive collections of the Art Museum of Estonia and introduces the development of Estonian art since the 18th century. The contemporary art floor offers new ideas in both Estonian and international art. The hall for temporary exhibitions presents an extensive overview and thematic displays about the development of the history of Estonian and international art and the accompanied by theoretical discussions about various issues in art.

KUMU is meant for different people - for those who are already well-versed in art and for those who simply wish to spend their time in a congenial enviroment. KUMU welcomes children and families, and most importantly - KUMU is a laboratory where diverse ideas emerge and develop. The examine contemporary visual cultural and functioning in society.


Interesting facts about KUMU

• Area: 23 000 square meters
• Seven floors, two of them underground
• There are almost 56 000 works of art in the collection of the Art Museum of Estonia, almost 50 000 of which will be moved to KUMU
• Ten times more space than previously for the display of Estonia art: the total area of exhibition halls at KUMU is 5000 square meters
• Exhibition halls and rooms serving visitors accommodate 400 people at once
• It is estimated that in the first year it is open, the number of visitors to KUMU will be 1500 per day
• It took 16 000 cubic meters of concrete, 268 kilometers of electrical cable, 290 kilometers of weak-current cable and 26 kilometers of ventilation piping to built KUMU
• In February 2006, the largest exhibition of Estonian art will be opened at KUMU
• KUMU will be the headquarters of the Art Museum of Estonia, with 94 museum workers and art specialists working there
• KUMU's museum space fully complies with international requirements, for the first time allowing art classics of the highest value to be brought here
• KUMU was completed in collaboration between the Art Museum of Estonia, Kunstimuuseumi Ehitamise Sihtasutus (Art Museum Construction Foundation), AS Merko, the Government of the Republic of Estonia, the Estonian Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Finnish architect Pekka Vapaavuori
• The total cost of KUMU is 656 million Estonian kroons