At the centre of various programme parts, discussions and activities of Tallinn Music Week (TMW) city festival last week in Tallinn were smart and sustainable human-centered cities that have room for creativity as well as entrepreneurialism that brings to a pedestrian-friendly festival oasis as part of an unprecedented public space experiment.
The festival was presented by Telia Estonia and Telliskivi Creative City as the main partners. The Main Street public space experiment was supported by Viru Keskus.
TMW that to the diverse music programme and conference, the festival also offered new experiences in film, arts and cuisine.
The TMW Creative Impact Conference that tor of the new economy, the future of music, human-friendly public space and design thinking. Important keywords throughout the conference were future skills, gender equality, civil activism and sustainable development.
“I am so proud to get rich on the expense of our environment.”
The opening speech by President Kersti Kaljulaid at the TMW conference. In text.
The opening of the conference was followed by a speech on inclusive digitalisation and sustainable development goals by Henriette Wendt, Senior Vice President and Head of Cluster at Telia, and a presentation on future technologies and cities as the networks of creative cooperation by Kristjan Port, Professor at the School of Natural Sciences and Health of Tallinn University. The new economy session of the conference was run by Luminor bank, covering discussions from immediate financial advice topics, on creating future scenarios for analytical journalism, researching sources of revenues and new music markets in the digital era, and mapping the global clubbing landscape. The human-centered public space session, presented by Telliskivi Creative City, focused on the night economy and the vision of Tallinn-Helsinki twin city, and one of the most exciting parts of the design thinking session were the presentations on the future scenarios for the city of Narva.
Discussions and activities around human-centered public space, future of Tallinn and the European Capital of Culture were visible throughout the festival programme. The second half of the festival week drew attention top of a mirrored glass design house built by ÖÖD, which also served as a studio for MyHits radio during the festival week.
“Tallinn Music Week is much larger than a music event, it is a central event for the whole city culture,” Mayor of Tallinn Taavi Aascommented. “This festival marks the beginning of spring and brings people to people, that is the objective of the new Main Street.”
The concerts and club nights of the TMW 2018 three-day music programme tonia and the jubilee of the TMW.
The festival, focused on presenting new musical talents, brought fresh sounds with the warm-up party for the upcoming Narva Station festival and the juke and footwork night Booty Powder at Sveta bar, a two-day artpop and future music spectacle Crypto Temnikova & Kasela Gallery.
The festival pop-up cafe at the Design and Architecture Gallery, run by coffee gourmands’ favourite Renard Coffee Shop and the culinary duo RabaPeet, attracted both diners as well as visito the revival of the popular Check My Demo session at Raadio 2.
The TMW jubilee festival also presented an art programme curated by the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center, movie screenings at Kino Sõprus, creative workshops for children, a restaurant programme TMW Tastes and a spring-time Design Market.
The winners of the TMW 2018 Artist Award, presented by Telia and Telliskivi Creative City, will be decided by both the public vote as well as on the feedback of the festival delegates of music specialists. You can choose your favourite Estonian artist on the TMW website or app until midnight of 18 April. Additional information.
TMW is founded and run by Shiftworks, previously known as Musiccase. The new name of the company traces the collective actions of reinvention, turning creative, cultural and communication to effective soft power engine.
Tallinn Music Week 2018 in numbers:
262 artists from 31 countries
34 170 festival visitors
1330 delegates, incl. 870 foreigners
150 foreign journalists
83 festival venues
Tallinn Music Week 2017 in numbers:
250 artists from 32 countries
36 823 festival visitors
1193 delegates, incl. 879 foreigners
132 foreign journalists
80 festival venues
TMW 2018 partners and delegates about the festival:
“As we know, the best way tomorrow. By inspiring, thinking big and being bold. Thank you!”
– Katrin Isotamm, Head of Communications at Telia Estonia
“We are happy to be a culture-friendly hotel and a second home in Tallinn for all our music friends. And we are sincerely happy about that!”
– Feliks Mägus, General Manager of Nordic Hotel Forum
“Throughout all these long years, the annual cooperation with the wonderful TMW team and the dozens of concerts at the atrium of Viru Keskus have become a natural part of the heart of the city as well as our activities. But I have to create a human-centered and dignified area only jointly with the citizens, companies and the city of Tallinn.”
– Taivi Koitla, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Viru Keskus
“The TMW conference is especially powerful and meaningful because the focus of the speakers and workshops is on solutions. When we make visions and, at the same time, stand our ground, we do not just concentrate on discussing the issues of the society and the environment around us, but we also take a step forward. We are happy to have been a part of that.”
– Mirjam Mikkin, Marketing Manager of Luminor Estonia
“Visit Esto calm waters – it makes a noise once, but the circles around it make waves longer and further.”
– Annely Vürmer, Acting Directonia
“Tallinn Music Week is unlike any other music industry conference. It frames music, industry insight and curated networking opportunities within the very broad context of creative impact, innovation and music’s contribution to everyone involved and for presenting a brilliant and balanced conference which included as many women as men discussing the latest in creative thinking.“
– Vanessa Reed, Chief Executive at PRS Foundation
“Of the many conferences I have attended over the years, Tallinn Music Week is truly one of my favorites. TMW is a perfect representative of what makes Esto be missed.”
– Thomas Golubic, Guild of Music Supervisors (US)
“In its 10th year Tallinn Music Week was implicitly and directly about the balance between now and the future. Whether it’s gender equality or setting a context for Estown of Narva, shows taking place in the Russian Theatre – where the stunning Belausian trio Port Mone mesmerised a rapt audience. But Tallinn Music Week is not a lesson – it is a festival, a celebration. It is fun. Just look at the winning concert by prog rock-obsessed local heroes Pohja Konn. Would that looking forward with positivity was always this enjoyable.“
-Kieron Tyler, MOJOmagazine (UK)
“More than just a music festival, Tallinn Music Week is a vision of a brighter future, a celebration of human creativity, a way of building communities and new ways of working. It is critical yet positive, and its musical programming is an exhilarating learning experience. Here’s to another decade of creative thinking!“
– Anastasia Connor, Drowned In Sound (UK)
“Like Tarkovsky’s ‘Zone’, the festival is a magical place where anything can happen; a place of exploration, revelation, self-examination, release. Deconstructing socio-cultural myths, exploring the new human-digital interzones (in performance or policy) and somehow playing guitar with a drumstick in a wild artist’s social club at 2am are all tiny refractions of the same prism. A veritable fun factory. Liquid Modernity for the Real Heads. A blast. More.“
– Richard Foster, The Quietus (UK)
“My 4th time at Tallinn Music Week and I can again confirm it is an eye opening, mind blowing experience. It goes to it’s first focus: music. Daring!“
– Andraž Kajzer, MENT festival (SI)
TMW is founded and run by Shiftworks, previously known as Musiccase. The new name of the company traces the collective actions of reinvention, turning creative, cultural and communication to effective soft power engine.
TMW 2018 is presented by Telia.
TMW 2018 is powered by Nordic Hotel Forum, Eesti Meedia, Enterprise Estonia and Telliskivi Creative City.
TMW 2018 partners are the Estonia, Solaris, Tallink, Taxify, Moe Vodka, La Muu.
TMW 2018 is supported by Go Travel, ERR, R2, Rada7, RGB, The Estonia, Tallinn City Enterprise Department, European Regional Development Fund, Tallinn Department of Culture, The European Commission, Ministry of the Environment, Interreg Europe.
TMW 2018 international partners are: Ebba Lindqvist PR, Chimes, Radio Helsinki, British Council, Embassy of Sweden in Tallinn, Finest Sounds, ETEP – European Talent Exchange Propgramme, Keychange.
Festival’s website is created by Velvet and Festivality, visual identity by AKU.
