As part of the Tartu Light Biennale TAVA26, a lighting design workshop by Finnish lighting designer Katja Muttilainen will be held, during which we invite all residents and visitors of the city of Tartu to seek help and express their opinions:
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE UGLIEST PLACE IN TARTU CITY CENTRE?
The proposed locations should be open to the public during the workshop and the Light Biennale 16.–25.10.2026. After the supervisor has inspected the locations, it is planned to conduct a second round of voting, but then between the three winning suitable locations.
The survey is anonymous and open until March 10, 2026. The survey results will be used in the workshop to analyze the urban space and create a lighting design for the ugliest place. You can answer multiple times.
“Tartu koledaim koht” valgustusdisaini töötuba
The workshop is part of the TAVA26 Light Biennial and is based on Katja Muttilainen's light art concept “Ugliest place in the City”.
The concept of the workshop is both communal, social and sociological. The citizens of the city will vote to select the ugliest place in Tartu, which will then be illuminated during the Tartu Light Biennale TAVA26.
A site-specific lighting solution based on the history of the "ugly place" will be developed together with workshop participants, who will be able to use light to comment on the public space around us, thus raising awareness and arousing curiosity among city residents.
The inclusion of light offers passersby a different visual and cognitive experience, helping to reveal different layers of the “ugly” spirit of the place.
The Ugliest Place in Tartu public survey and the subsequent workshop are being organised in cooperation with the City of Oulu. A second version of the artwork will also be on display at the LUMO Light Festival in Oulu as part of the 2026 European Capital of Culture. Tartu is the first place where the concept is being implemented in a workshop style.
Tartu Light Biennale TAVA26
Tartu Light Biennale or Tartu Light TAVA26 is a comprehensive, international, multidisciplinary major event of contemporary light art and lighting design, which enriches both public space and exhibition halls, aims to reduce light pollution, find sustainable lighting solutions to create biodiversity, and transforms Tartu into a capital of light offering the beauty of light and food for thought on dark autumn evenings. The biennale takes place over a year and TAVA26 is the fifth in a row.
The main program of TAVA26 consists of light educational workshops, outdoor light installations, concerts, and indoor exhibitions. This is supplemented by a side program developed in collaboration with Tartu cultural institutions and companies.
The Biennale itself may be dazzling in its focus on philosophically important topics, but in parallel, spreading awareness about good electric lighting and reducing light pollution in the city is paramount – the organizers' greatest dream is that one day, the glow of light pollution will disappear from Tartu and you will be able to see the starry sky.
Along with workshops, exhibitions and side programs, various TAVA26 events will last for a month, but the main events will take place on only three evenings 22.-24.10.2026.
Information about the program, participants, and venues will be announced soon.
Festival is organised by NGO Valgusklubi and NGO Väike Valgus
Check out the highlights of TAVA
