photo: ©Valmar Voolaid, ERR News
The commissions of the Museum Council selected the nominees for the Estonian Museum Annual Awards, Museum Rats, in nine categories. The winners will be announced on January 28, 2022, this year's conference and gala will be organized by the Estonian Road Museum in Põlva County.
The competition received 93 applications this year, the number of applications has remained stable over the years.
"It is a pleasure to see that the competition remains strong over the years and it is clear from the projects that the mission of museums is to be visitor-oriented. Museums offer exciting activities and exhibitions for anyone who wants to spend quality time alone or with family," the head of the museum sector of the National Heritage Board Mirjam Rääbis said.
The nominees for the 2021 Estonian Museum Annual Awards are:
The three nominees for the Temporary Exhibition Award are the Estonian Museum of Architecture's exhibition "Houses We Need", the Saaremaa Museum's exhibition "Vikings before the Vikings" and the Tallinn City Museum's exhibition "Urban Animals. Cows, Bedbugs and Dragons in Tallinn History".
In the category of Permanent Exhibitions, the Kumu Art Museum with the exhibition "Identity Landscapes. Estonian Art 1700-1945", the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum with the exhibition "The Story of Estonian Sports" and the Estonian Open-Air Museum with the exhibition "Collective Farm Apartment Building" are the candidates.
Among the nominees for the Promotion of Museum Award, education are the Estonian Writers' Museum Association's project "A Quick Course of a Star Work", Iisaku Parish Museum's training "Housewife Course just like a 100 Years Ago by Lake Peipsi" and the University of Tartu Museum's web lessons pilot project.
Candidates for the title of Conservation of the Year are the Research and Conservation of fish replicas of the Estonian Museum of Natural History, the conservation of Anna Elisabeth von Münnich's guard belonging to the collection of the Tartu City Museum and the Estonian Open Air Museum, which conserved and restored the Estonian Art Museum's sofa set.
Among the Scientific Publications, the commission selected the Estonian Art Museum's book "Talomuro Weather Space. Creators of Southern Estonia", the Estonian Maritime Museum's "Sea State Käsmu" and the Virumaa Museums "Residents of Rakvere in the County Town in 1783–1917" as the nominees.
The Estonian National Museum's series "Turning Points and Key People in Estonian Ethnology" and the organization of opening conferences, the Estonian Maritime Museum's conference "Opportunities in the Digital Exploration of Shipwrecks" and the Narva Museum's annual conference "100 Years since the End of the Estonian War of Independence" are candidates for the Research Events Award.
The title of Museum Developer will be fought for by the overhaul of the visitor environment of the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum, the creation of the apartment building of the Estonian Open Air Museum collective farm and the virtual performance of Tartu Peace at the Tartu City Museum.
The Estonian Dairy Museum, which organized the 15th Milk Day, the Livonian Museum with Kodavere Film Camp for children and young people "Kinu piäb suama!" and the Tallinn City Museum's participatory project "Museum Laboratory. The Story of Estonian Russian" are applying for this year's Community Friend Award.
The aim of the competition for the annual awards of Estonian museums is to recognize the best museum specialists and to highlight the various aspects of museum work to the public. Both the conference and the gala will be held in a limited form this year and all nominees and winners will be able to participate online.
More information about the competition can be found on the website of the National Heritage Board (link in Estonian).