Negroni week in Rotermann

The panel discussion: “What Makes a Product Valuable?”

🚀 Tallinn Design House and Tallinn Business Incubator present the panel discussion “What Makes a Product Valuable?” as part of the satellite programme of Disainiöö / Tallinn Design Festival 2026 on Thursday, October 1 at 18:00.

The main theme of the 2026 Tallinn Design Festival, “The Future of Product Design”, focuses on how sustainability, adaptability, inclusivity and material awareness are shaping the next generation of products and services. At the Tallinn Design House panel discussion, we will explore these questions through jewellery, leather and fashion design, asking what value really means in product design.

Is value created by high-quality and durable materials, thoughtful functionality, a strong design language, or rather by an emotional connection with a product? When does a product become something that a person does not simply want to use, but wants to keep, repair, wear and choose again years later? And how is our understanding of a valuable product changing in a world where we need to think increasingly consciously about materials, production and consumption?

The discussion will feature:

Sofia Hallik / SOMA – a jewellery artist whose work brings together form, material and conceptual thinking. Jewellery, as a small and personal object, opens up the question of how a product’s value can arise from its meaning, its wearer and the emotional connection between them.

Stella Soomlais – a leather designer and artist whose work combines material awareness, functionality and circular design principles. Stella’s approach considers the entire life cycle of a product – how it is used, cared for, repaired and valued for as long as possible.

Cärol Ott / carolxott – a fashion designer whose work is characterised by expressive forms, bold colours and a material-focused approach. Her garments are more than simply objects to be worn – they are products with a strong identity and character, bringing together material, form, craftsmanship and personal stories.

Through the perspectives of these three designers, we will explore what truly creates value in a product and how quality, durability, material awareness, functionality and emotional value can shape the future of product design.

You are welcome to listen, join the conversation and ask questions!

The event is FREE, but advance registration is required:
https://forms.gle/D3HJBF6P5tnUU3Xs8

The panel discussion starts at 18:00 at Rotermanni 14 (Tallinn Design House). Doors open at 17:30!

The Salt Storage Phenomenon: Back to the Future

This June marks the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Rotermann Salt Storage as an exhibition venue. The industrial building, completed in 1908, became home to the Museum of Estonian Architecture and the contemporary art department of the Estonian Art Museum. It was here that the meaning of a contemporary exhibition space in Estonia began to take shape.

The Salt Storage soon became an important meeting point for art and architecture. With little prior experience of operating a venue on this scale, exhibition formats and working methods had to be developed on site. During the 1990s and 2000s, artists experimented with new media and forms of expression, responding to a rapidly changing society and the rise of mass culture. The Salt Storage provided space for projects that could not be accommodated within traditional galleries, creating an environment where disciplines intertwined and the boundaries between art forms became increasingly fluid.

Alongside experimental art, the Museum of Estonian Architecture played a significant role in shaping the understanding of Estonia’s architectural history through its exhibitions at the Salt Storage. These exhibitions helped uncover and interpret the country’s 20th-century architectural heritage. The museum focused on solo exhibitions, accompanying publications, and the continued development of its collection.

The exhibition The Salt Storage Phenomenon: Back to the Future brings together the many elements that have made the Salt Storage what it is today: groundbreaking artists of the 1990s and 2000s, the media and ideas explored within its walls, and architects whose work has been consistently highlighted through the Museum of Estonian Architecture’s exhibition programme. Past ideas and practices are placed in dialogue with contemporary creative work.

“There has been fashionable art and the most fashionable art, moving and stationary objects, the sound of running water, birdsong, smoke bombs and singing sculptures, reclining yellow men, breathing iron beds and hanging pianos. At the Rotermann Salt Storage, everything seems somehow different from an ordinary museum, exhibition hall or concert venue. Here, everything seems possible.”

— Karin Hallas-Murula, 1998

Curators

Grete Margna (Museum of Estonian Architecture)

Eha Komissarov (Estonian Art Museum)

Architects and Artists

Arnold Matteus, Anita Kremm, Ene-Liis Semper, Erika Nõva, Hanna-Eliise Kitter & Saskia Krautmann, Ilmar Malin, Kiwa, Kristel Zimmer, Liisamari Viik, Marko Mäetamm, Toomas Rein, Urmas Viik, Valve Pormeister, Tiiu Kirsipuu

Exhibition Architecture

Priit Põldme, Reet Sepp (Joonprojekt)

Graphic Design

Mette-Mari Kaljas, Chloé Gourvennec

Supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment

Special Thanks

Estonian Art Museum, Floorin

Masayoshi Sukita “Bowie x Sukita”

On October 9, a photo exhibition by iconic Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita, focusing on pop music legend David Bowie, will come to Estonia for the first time. This is a visual journey spanning more than 100 photographs, bringing together their four-decade-long creative partnership. At the end of September, Sukita will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards in London.

Masayoshi Sukita came into contact with David Bowie in a rather unusual way: he didn’t speak English, and Bowie didn’t speak Japanese. But in 1972, upon seeing a poster of Bowie on a London street, he knew immediately that he had to photograph this person. What was supposed to be a single session turned into an influential collaboration that lasted four decades.

Sukita followed Bowie around the world—from press conferences in Tokyo to studio sessions in Berlin, the streets of Kyoto, and concert stages in New York. This friendship brought together two curious minds: Sukita was fascinated by Western culture, while Bowie was fascinated by the East. The result was a series of photographs that are not merely images of the artist, but a documentary series of two worlds discovering one another.

The album cover for Heroes (1977), shot by Sukita, is more than just music photography—it is cultural history.

🗓️ 09.10-25.04.2027

The exhibition program will certainly extend beyond the museum’s walls. PoCo organizes events at regular intervals: guided tours, film screenings, tribute band nights, and more intimate evenings with DJs and music experts who delve into the deeper layers of Bowie’s discography.

The exhibition is presented by PoCo in collaboration with Gbg Art AB and ONO arte.

Raul Meel’s exhibition ”Concretization”

Raul Meel (1941) is one of Estonia’s best-known avant-garde artists and one of Europe’s leading figures in conceptual art and concrete poetry. He has participated in more than 600 group exhibitions and over 100 solo exhibitions, and is the only Estonian artist to have received an award at a major international biennial. Meel is also widely regarded as Estonia’s most renowned self-taught artist and outsider. Art historian Mai Levin has compared Raul Meel’s significance in Estonian art to that of composer Arvo Pärt in music.

In concrete poetry, meaning is conveyed not only through words, but also through the visual experience—the rhythmic structure of words and symbols, the interplay of colours, repetition, and the expressive power of silence. A letter becomes a brushstroke, words form architecture, the page transforms into space, and poetry becomes an object.

The exhibition is presented by the Artner.ee art platform, curated by Jaan Heinsoo.

The exhibition is open until 15 October 2026.