The Salt Storage Phenomenon: Back to the Future

June 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Rotermann Salt Storage as an exhibition venue. In the industrial building completed in 1908, the Estonian Museum of Architecture and the contemporary art department of the Art Museum of Estonia began their activities in 1996. It became a place where the meaning of the contemporary exhibition space in Estonia started to take shape.

The Salt Storage became an important meeting point for art and architecture. As there was little prior experience with exhibition-making on such a scale, exhibition formats and working methods had to be developed on site. During the 1990s and 2000s, artists experimented here with new media and modes of expression, engaging with a rapidly changing society and the advance of mass culture. The Salt Storage provided space for projects that did not fit within traditional gallery settings — different disciplines intertwined, and the boundaries between art forms became increasingly fluid.

Alongside experimental art, the exhibitions of the Estonian Museum of Architecture at the Salt Storage helped shape the narrative of local architectural history. These exhibitions contributed to uncovering and interpreting Estonia’s 20th-century architectural heritage. The museum´s programme focused primarily on solo exhibitions, accompanying publications and the expansion of the museum’s collection.

The exhibition “The Salt Storage Phenomenon: Back to the Future” brings together different fragments of the phenomenon that made the Salt Storage what it is: the groundbreaking artists of the 1990s and 2000s, the media and ideas explored here, and the architects whose work has been consistently highlighted through the exhibitions of the Estonian Museum of Architecture. The ideas and practices of that time enter into dialogue with contemporary artistic production.

Curators:

Grete Margna (Estonian Museum of Architecture)

Eha Komissarov (Art Museum of Estonia)

Artists and architects:

Arnold Matteus, Anita Kremm, Ene-Liis Semper, Erika Nõva. Hanna-Eliise Kitter & Saskia Krautmann, Ilmar Malin, Kiwa, Kristel Zimmer, Liisamari Viik, Marko Mäetamm, Toomas Rein, Urmas Viik, Valve Pormeister

Exhibition design: Priit Põldme, Reet Sepp (Joonprojekt)

Graphic design: Mette-Mari Kaljas, Chloé Gourvennec

Supported by Cultural Endowment of Estonia

Thanks to Art Museum of Estonia, Floorin