Who will be curating the 6th Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB2021?

The Estonian Centre for Architecture recently launched a curatorial competition for the international Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB 2021) to appoint its curator or curating team. It also intends to select an innovative and responsive theme related to the context of Estonia and relevant in the contemporary world of architecture, for its next and sixth edition to be held in Tallinn from September to November 2021.
The international Tallinn Architecture Biennale has earned a name for itself as one of the great architecture festivals, not least because of its standout location in the buzzing capital of Estonia. It is the city’s most prominent architecture and urban planning festival, engaging the public and the profession in the conversation around architecture and the city. As usual, the TAB will address relevant issues in architecture, exploring the present and future of the sector. The event will consist of a core programme that encompasses a Curatorial Exhibition, a two-day architecture symposium, and the Tallinn Vision Competition organized by the curating team. Also, a varied satellite programme includes exhibitions, exhibitions, lectures, installations, film viewings and other events scattered across the city, curated by different coordinators to be appointed by the Estonian Centre for Architecture.
Like in past years, the general goals of the TAB are to provide an outlet for and spread quality projects, internationalize Estonian architecture through an international platform and showcase new approaches to and new visions of architecture. Bearing this in mind, it is essential for the core elements of the TAB - curatorial exhibition, symposium and vision competition - to interact, given that the Biennale aims to extend the idea of the curator into the broader society, and not just restrict it to a narrow group of professionals. 
The deadline for submissions to the competition to find the theme and the team for TAB2021 is 29 May 2020. This is a two-stage competition. Stage 1 consists of submitting the competition project in writing, and Stage 2 comprises an oral presentation of the project to the jury.
The curator’s job will be to establish an innovative theme that responds to the context of Estonia and is relevant in the contemporary world of architecture. The selected person must be able to cross the threshold of international relevance and generate interest in a broader cultural audience. The underlying themes should address issues that may become trendsetting in the field of architecture. The central theme must focus on architecture and/or on urban planning.
The names of the past editions give us an idea of the aspirations of this event, which highlights one of the most vibrant cultural realities in the Baltic. From “Landscape Urbanism” in 2011, through to “Recycling Socialism” in 2013 and “Self-Driven City” in 2015 when Floornature was media partner and we participated with a live reportage (link), , to arrive at “bioTallin” (2017) and last year’s “Beauty Matters”: what will the next edition’s focus be? Will it include a reference to the pandemic that is gripping the world, and that will have consequences on our built environment? 

Christiane Bürklein

Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB2021
Find out more about the competition
Images: see captions