Summer Opening 2026
20.06.2026
Summer Opening 2026 is a one-day festival that marks the opening of the renovated cultural center and the start of Viscosa’s cultural season
On June 20, 2026, the grand opening ceremony of the Viscosa Cultural Factory will take place, featuring the Summer Opening 2026 day festival! This day holds special significance—we’ll be celebrating the opening of the renovated Viscosa Cultural Center and, at the same time, the 111th anniversary of the viscose factory’s founding. Come celebrate with Viscosa!
Schedule
At 11:00 a.m., we’ll open the gates and gather in the Viscosa courtyard
12:00 p.m. Opening Ceremony
1:00 p.m. Curator-led tour of the exhibitions “New Baltic Painting” and “La Viscosa: The Textile Factory”
2:00 p.m. Guided tour of the Creative Lab (registration required)
2:30 p.m. Concert by the Maili Metssalu Duo
3:30 p.m. Curator-led tour of the exhibition “Reflections”
4:00 p.m. Guided tour of the Creative Lab (registration required)
5:00 p. m. Lecture by Lennart Lennuk: “Life in a Handful of Seawater” (in estionian)
5:00 p.m. Curator-led tour of the exhibitions “Baltic New Painting” and “La Viscosa: The Textile Factory”
6:00 p.m. Circus Folie performance
7:00 p.m. DUO RUUT
9:00 p.m. DJ SU-MU
In addition, throughout the day, you can:
Summer Opening 2026 Programme
Opening Ceremony
Join us in celebrating the grand opening of the Viscosa Cultural Center, as we embark together—after restoring this building, which had fallen into disrepair—on a new era in the cultural life of Viscosa, Viskoosa, and Hiiumaa.
The opening will feature a few speeches, with musical interludes by Brassical; under the curatorship of Henri Hüt, performance artists will present a performance, and poet Joonas Veelmaa, the 2024 European Poetry Slam Champion, will perform a poetry program created specifically for Viscosa. We’ll announce the first-ever recipient of Viscosa’s “Cultural Key”—a person who has caught our eye over the past year for doing something special. And after that, we’ll get the summer opening buzz going!
Music
DUO RUUT
Duo Ruut, which has received a warm reception on stages around the world, is the result of the collaboration between two musicians with different musical backgrounds and tastes. Having toured major festivals and concert halls in more than 20 countries over the past few years and shared the stage with stars of the music world, the duo’s challenge is to think outside the box and infuse their inherently minimalist music with a wealth of new and exciting ideas. Sometimes it is precisely simplicity that can touch the listener most deeply. Duo Ruutu pushes boundaries as a duo on a single stage, yet, as the renowned British magazine *Mojo* aptly puts it, they create a soundscape on par with a full band. It is a whole composed of lyrics rooted in tradition, contemporary musical composition, and a unique approach. The high-flying Duo Ruut is considered one-of-a-kind worldwide—and by no means only among world music lovers.
MAILI METSSALU DUO
Maili Metssalu’s concert takes the listener on a journey into a dreamlike, mysterious world. Her songs capture the enchantment of nature, layered emotions, poetry, and something hidden deep within the soul—something we don’t encounter in our everyday lives.
Maili Metssalu is a singer and actress who released her debut album, *Kahe une vahel*, in the fall of 2022. The album draws on nearly a decade of experiences and emotions—some grand and profound, others light and bright. It also features works by Estonian poets and Scottish folk songs.
The singer’s soft and shimmering voice intertwines with the guitar parts during the concert to form a cohesive whole that lifts the listener high into the air. Joining Maili on stage is Jaan Jaago, a musician with an exquisite guitar style, whose musical language adds its own touch of the cosmos to the music.
DJ SU-MU
Su-Mu’s DJ sets are infused with world music rhythms and organic dance music. His musical selection spans genres such as worldbeat, organic house, Afro house, tribal, and folktronica. In addition to a carefully curated selection of tracks by other artists, Su-Mu’s sets also feature his own original productions. The result is a rhythmic and diverse sonic journey that invites you onto the dance floor.
Exhibition Openings and Curator-Led Tours
Viscose x Viscosa Guided Tours
Under the guidance of tour guides Inna Lepik and Anne-Ly Torstensson, a walk through Viskoosa and Viscosa offers a fascinating insight into both the history of the village of Kõrgessaare—also known as Viskoosa—and the development and growth of the Viscosa viscose factory—and the subsequent development and growth of the fish processing plant along this route, which has now transformed this architectural heritage into a hub for culture and art.
Viscosa x Viscosa guided tours will take place on June 20 at 10:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m., starting from the Viscosa parking lot.
Lennart Lennuk, “A Handful of Seawater”
Who are these miniature creatures that we usually don’t notice, yet form the very foundation of the ocean’s functioning? Let’s marvel at their otherworldly appearance and unique way of life. Let’s get to know plankton, the tiniest inhabitants of the aquatic world. We’ll explore various groups of plankton—such as single-celled algae, ciliates, copepods, and water fleas—in all their diversity. We’ll discuss why microorganisms are important and how they influence marine life and our diet. Additionally, we’ll examine issues specific to the Baltic Sea from the perspective of zooplankton. The lecture will take place in the Viscosa Silk Hall at 5:00 p.m.
Lennart Lennuk is a biologist at the Estonian Museum of Nature and the author of the Klassikaraadio program “Looduse leksikon” (Nature’s Lexicon). He has studied animal plankton, and a book featuring his illustrations, “Uninvited Guests in the Estonian Sea,” was recently published.
Circus Folie
The artists of Circus Folie will take the stage at Summer Opening 2026 with a performance full of air, movement, balance, and creativity—one that may make the audience forget that gravity even exists. Folie will perform in the Green Hall at 6:00 p.m.
Performances
ÕS: [pə(r)fooməns, pe(r)foomans], performance art [pə(r)fooməns aa(r)t] (Eng.) • art A form of conceptual art that emerged in the early 1970s; a type of performance or action art in which, under the artist’s direction and with audience participation, a performance with a more concrete scenario is created from a “happening.”
So there’s plenty to see! At the Summer Opening Day Festival, five different performing artists will take the stage with four performances, which will take place throughout the day between the various parts of the festival program. The performances at Summer Opening 2026 have been curated by performing artist Henri Hütt.
ANUMAI RASKA AND KEITY MEIER
This performance, born out of the Summer Opening is an attempt to discover yet another alternative landscape. Anumai has invited Keity Meier, a stunt motorcyclist who has performed in numerous international projects—including Marvel Universe live shows and, this year, at the Austrian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale—to engage in a dialogue with her.
Anumai Raska is a performance artist whose recent work has focused on creating site-specific performances for venues such as festivals, exhibition openings, or private events. Anumai was most recently seen in the productions “Softpower” (Rūta Ronja Pakalne, Kanuti Gildi SAAL) and “Carmen Electra” (Ants1, elektron.art), and she is a member of the art collective Rängad rotid, whose first exhibition, “vahi vahi,” opens on July 30 at the Tartu Art House.
JUULIUS VAIKSOO, “KALAMEES”
A fisherman, just like any other fisherman, but this time more lively and playful.
Juulius Vaiksoo is an Estonian dancer who studied in Iceland and performs internationally. He has collaborated with numerous artists, such as Hirvo Surva, Loreen, and Ólafur Arnalds, and has performed throughout the Nordic countries. His style is minimalist, at times grotesque, characterized by strong improvisation and following his impulses—often in silence.
KEITHY KUUSPU “KUNAGI AMMIU AMMU”
Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a Viscosal factory; once upon a time, long, long ago, silk was made there; once upon a time, long, long ago, the army came, and then there was a slaughterhouse, and then a fish processing plant. Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a Viscosal pond; there was water. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, a woman lived in Viscosal. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, that woman was locked up in the Viscosal factory. She is angry. She wants to get out.
Keithy Kuuspu is an artist from Estonia who works at the intersection of performance art, choreography, visual art, and ceramics. In her work, she focuses on everyday structures and the influence of society on the individual, often through an ironically naive approach. A key aspect of her work is the integration of performance art and visual art, as well as the exploration of connections between the body and materials.
KEITY POOK “SYMPHBUNNY NO. 3”
“Symphbunny No. 3” is a performative ASMR concert-performance featuring a cuteness menu open for the audience to sample. Here, the audience is not merely a spectator, but a co-taster, co-composer, and co-dreamer. The work explores cuteness as an aesthetic, affective, and digital-social phenomenon, inviting participants to notice subtle shifts in attention.
Keity Pook is a Tallinn-based choreographer and performing artist who divides her time between England and Estonia. In her creative research, she focuses on the phenomenon of“cuteness” in dance, linking the influences of movement, internet culture, consumer culture, and club music with post-club aesthetics.
Viscosa Creative Lab Tours
Creative Lab is Viscosa’s new and impressive space where, as the name suggests, you can get creative. The lab actually consists of three rooms, where during Summer Opening festival you can ask Creative Lab Lead Rasmus Rattas any questions you have about what you can do with one machine or another. Pre-registered tours of the Creative Lab take place at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Summer Opening festival with the Kids
Children are welcome at Viscos, and at Summer Opening they can do everything that kids aged 0–99 can do: listen to music and dance or sway along—or even sing, why not? Look through the pictures on the walls to find a familiar object or simply pick out your favorite picture. See all the things you can make from fabric and yarn, and check out how you look in the mirror installation—both up close and from a distance. It’s also nice just to watch other people, swing your legs while sitting on a bench, and chat with your family about life and the weather.
It’s definitely worth it for kids to try riding a bike on our pumptrack—they can bring their own helmet and bike from home, but rentals are also available on-site. You can also ride the lovely Klötsimäe ponies that visit us for Summer Opening 2026. If you don’t feel like riding, you can just enjoy watching the ponies. There’s also a sandbox.
Children up to 7 years old (inclusive) get in for free!
A Look Back at the Beginning of the Summer Opening Tradition
If you missed Viscosa’s Summer Opening festival last time, here’s a glimpse of the theatre experiences, concerts, exhibition openings, and fun activities for the whole family that will be waiting for you in less than a year.
WE ARE GRATEFUL
Activities supported under the CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027 measure “LEADER Community-Led Local Development”
Project intentsion: tourism marketing for Hiiumaa and the Kõrgessaare region, the organisation of a major event, and the extension of the tourism season.
