The international new music and city festival Tallinn Music Week (TMW) will take place next week from 4 – 8 May in both the Estonian capital Tallinn and the border city Narva. The festival’s city programme introduces both cities through free concerts, public conversations, urban space explorations and art installations that see the border as a unifying rhythm.

The UNESCO City of Music Tallinn will send a greeting to the eastern border of the EU, and the unique cross-country event will finish with a collective tree planting in EV100 park.

President of Estonia Alar Karis will open the festival day on Saturday, 7 May in the Vaba Lava Narva culture centre. 

“The theme of this year’s festival is unity,” says Founder of TMW Helen Sildna, “Culture brings us together both in Tallinn and in the border town of Narva. Narva is a place that opens itself layer by layer. Through music, art, conversations, hospitality and joy, we can experience something special together. Any country in Europe is as safe as any of our border cities. Culture creates unity, unity is our strength.”

The TMW city programme will kick off on Wednesday, 4 May in Tallinn with free public discussions on the power and possibilities of culture, featuring, among others, the young voices of European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, and continues with the kids’ mini-festival. On Thursday, 5 May, Ukrainian pop star Ivan Dorn will open the TMW music festival with a free concert at Telliskivi Creative City Square, to be followed by the Tallinn Thursday gallery night of extended opening hours hosted by the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center.

On Saturday and Sunday, TMW invites to discover Narva’s urban space – through daytime City Stage gigs on the river promenade and night-time light installations in majestic Kreenholm Manufacture. The opening of sound and light installations “On the Border” and “Border Light” will raise questions and seek answers about identity and interpersonal space, seeing the border as a unifying rhythm.

President Alar Karis will open the festival day in Narva on Saturday, 7 May at 12 pm with a welcome speech at the Vaba Lava Narva cultural centre.

On Saturday night, after the Station Narva main stage programme in Kreenholm, a special night train will take festival guests to Tallinn.

For those who stay in Narva, the joint festival will end on Sunday, 8 May with a long-table brunch, Mother’s Day celebration and collective tree planting in EV100 Park.

Ahead of the festival of the two cities, TMW warm-up events will also reach the other cities of Ida-Viru County – Kohtla-Järve, Jõhvi and Sillamäe.

TMW 2022 City Festival programme overview

17:00 – 20:00 TMW Kids x VIVITA Kids’ Festival
Vivistop Telliskivi (Telliskivi 60a/5)

Thursday, 5 May

16:00 TMW 2022 Opening Concert: Ivan Dorn (UA)
Telliskivi Creative City Square (Telliskivi 60a)

17:00 – 20:00 TMW Art: Tallinn Thursday Gallery Night
The Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC) hosts a gallery night with extended opening hours called Tallinn Thursday. Tour schedule and additional info: tmw.ee/art

 

TMW City Festival in Narva 

Saturday, 7 May

Vaba Lava Narva (Linda 2)

12:00 TMW 2022 opening in Narva
Opening address by President Alar Karis

12:00 – 18:00 Record Fair
DJ Janek Murd
Collectors’ free mic and deck hour

12:30 – 13:00 Presentation of Narva’s youth mag Narvamus
13:00 – 14:00 TMW Talks: Russian language media space in Estonia – whose business?

City Stages

13:00 – 17:45 Joaoru Beach House Square (Linnuse 2)
13:00 DB4 / 14:00 ЧЕ
15:00 Marten Kuningas & Robert Linna
16:00 Canadian hour
17:00 Pale Alison

13:30 – 17:00 Dahlberg Stage, Narva River Promenade
13:30 Fenno-Ugrian artists
14:30 Africa NOW! artists and DJ-s
15:30 SHIRA
16:30 Genka & Alla Jakubova Ensemble

14.00 – 17.00 Youth skatepark (Tuleviku 9)
14:00 Propazha
15:00 SizeoptimaL
16:00 Fenkii

TMW Art

Jaakko Audio’s sound installation “On the Border / Rajalla” in Kreenholm
For free: 12:00, 13:30, 15:00, 16:30, 18:00
With TMW pass or TMW Station Narva Stage ticket: 20:00, 21:00, 22:00, 23:00

Light installation “Border Light” by the students of the Estonian Academy of Arts
Gerassimov Park

Group exhibition “Where is the body?” by the students of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and Estonian Academy of Arts
Narva Art Residency (Joala 18)

Sun, 8 May 01:15 – 03.24  Night-train Narva–Tallinn

Sunday, 8 May

10:00 – 12.00 Narva-style breakfast
VitaTiim (Tuleviku 7)
Tickets shop.tmw.ee

12:00 Mother’s Day Long Table Party
Free Creative Center garden
Bring a picnic basket or choose your favorite meal on site
(Vabaduse 20)

13:00 – 14:00 Mother’s Day Concert by Curly Strings
14:00 – 16:00 Collective planting in EV100 park

Jaakko Audio’s sound installation “On the Border / Rajalla” in Kreenholm
Meeting place: Joala 23c
For free: 12:00, 13:30, 15:00, 16:30, 18:00

Group exhibition “Where is the body?” by the students of Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and Estonian Academy of Arts
Narva Art Residency (Joala 18)

Tours in Narva

Saturday, 7 May

River trip on Boat Caroline
12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00
Narva City Port

Narva Museum tours
Tickets on presale only
Additional information: narvamuuseum.ee/est/tmw

Joala factory: from the basement to the tower
11:00 – 12:30 in Russian
13:00 – 14:30 in Estonian

Baltiets: a secret factory in the city centre
15:00, 16:00 in English
Alex Kohvik (Linda 2)

Sacred Narva
15:00 in Russian
Narva Resurrection Cathedral (Bastrakovi 4)

Narova the famous furniture factory and the miniature of Old Narva
15:00 – 16:00 in Russian
16:00 – 17:00 in Estonian
Former Narva Furniture Factory (Albert-August Tiimanni 1)

Sunday, 8 May

River trip on Boat Caroline
12:00, 14:00, 16:00
Narva City Port

Narva Museum tours:
Tickets on presale only
Additional information narvamuuseum.ee/est/tmw

Kreenholm: the history of the textile giant
12:00 – 13:30 in Estonian, Russian and English

Baltiets: a secret factory in the city centre
15:00 – 16:00 in Estonian
16:00 – 17:00 in Russian

The dining scene in Narva and Narva-Jõesuu

In Narva:
Art Club Ro-Ro, Rondeel, Bublik, BRO Grill Cafe & Shawarma, Kuradigrill, Kohvik Muna, Alex kohvik, Sushiking, FAMA toidutänav, M. Chagall Restoran, Dve Sestry

In Narva-Jõesuu:
Franzia, Albatross, Meretare, Kuurort, Traffic

TMW 2022 takes place in the Estonian capital Tallinn and the border city Narva from 4 – 8 May, showcasing about 180 artists from 28 countries from all over Europe as well as from Canada and Africa.

The music festival starts on 5 – 6 May in Tallinn and continues on 7 – 8 May in Narva. TMW 2022 conference takes place on Friday, 6 May in Nordic Hotel Forum, Tallinn and on Saturday, 7 May in OBJEKT multimedia hub, Narva.

TMW 2022 edition unites the teams, partners and funders of Tallinn Music Week and Station Narva festivals.

The joint festival is supported by the cities of Tallinn and Narva, the Government Office, the Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Endowment, Integration Foundation, Nordic Hotel Forum and Visit Estonia.

TMW’s international activities, the aim of which is to introduce Estonia as an attractive destination, are supported by the European Regional Development Fund.

TMW’s diversity partner is Telia Eesti, strategic partner in the field of music is Music Estonia, partners and supporters Telliskivi Creative City, Viru Center, Go Travel, Ida-Viru Tourism Cluster, Tallink, Go Hotel, Meresuu and British Council. Media partners are Postimees, Kanal 2, Põhjarannik, Raadio 2 and Raadio 4.