Young artists cover fence of new hotel under construction in city centre with street art
For the first time, young artists had the opportunity to create street art in the centre of Tallinn by painting different graffiti images on the fence around the first Novotel Living hotel with studio apartments in the Baltics that will be built in the area between the port and the Old Town at the initiative of property development company Estmak Capital.
On 29 July, the people of Tallinn had the chance to observe themselves how the winning works of the Poordi Supergraafika 2023 project of the teams of Estmak Capital and the Mobile Youth Work Team (MONO) of the Tallinn Education Department were painted on the fence surrounding the construction site at Poordi 5.
In total, 10 teams and around 15 young artists contributed 10 different works. Young people were given free rein to choose the theme and style they liked. The first phase of the project included the completion of 62 metres of supergraphics and in the autumn, a further 38 metres of the fence will be covered with graffiti.
“Before we start building the new hotel in autumn, we wanted to give young people the chance to practice their street art, which bring beauty to the surroundings and inspire both locals and visitors to the city,” said Marianna Elksnin-Vald, Marketing & Communications Manager of Estmak Capital. According to her, the artworks created by young people add novelty and uniqueness to urban spaces and create a one of a kind environment and atmosphere. Young artists were also given a valuable opportunity to show and express their creativity.
According to Aleksei Jefimov, Head Youth Work at the Tallinn Education Department, Estmak Capital is the first private company to approach MONO with such a proposal and to offer its space for a large-scale supergraphics event of young people. The main goal of the MONO supergraphics projects is to give young artists the opportunity to try their hand and develop their graffiti skills legally and safely in public spaces. This is already the sixth major supergraphics event. In Tallinn, it is also possible to see the work of young artists on the Pärnu Road viaduct, at Paljassaare 2, in Vilde Sports Park and Kivila Park.
Estmak Capital signed a cooperation agreement with the world’s leading hotel chain Accor back in 2020 to open the first Novotel Living apartment hotel in the Baltics on Poordi Street at the end of 2024. The hotel, which offers studio apartments, will have 120 rooms plus a communal work area, gym and restaurant. There will be retail, service and office premises on the ground floor of the hotel. Negotiations with the first prospective tenants are already underway.
Estmak Capital participates in the Estonian art scene by supporting various exhibitions and competitions. For example, the urban art exhibition “Night Pictures” on the LED-panelled wall of the Explorer House was opened in 2021 with Kristi Kong’s “Pink Cloud”. The Poordi 3 commercial premises hosted Olev Kuma’s exhibition “Transmission” as part of TASEˈ22, the graduation festival of the Estonian Academy of Arts, and the vision competition exhibition “CIRCULAR BLOCK: Reinventing the Mikrorayon” of the Tallinn Architecture Biennale. The animation students of the Estonian Academy of Arts were also given the opportunity to create art for the interior wall of the Lasnamäe Health Centre.
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