Exhibition “Life on the Front Page. Estonian Newspapers 1821-2021” presents a selection of front pages of a wide variety of newspapers

Exhibition “Life on the Front Page. Estonian Newspapers 1821-2021” was opened in the exhibition hall of the University of Tartu Library on 12 October. The exposition marks the 200th anniversary the Estonian-language journalism, showing its changing face with 231 front pages of 77 newspapers, published in Estonia, America, Russia, Sweden and Australia.

“When selecting the front pages, we primarily regarded the news value of the events depicted on the front pages. We tried to find something that would offer recognition or surprise to the viewers,“ explained one of the curators of the exhibition and researcher of journalism Roosmarii Kurvits.  

The exhibition offers a good chance to imagine oneself in the midst of historical events and to see how the newspapers reflected the daily life, celebrations and big events. The front pages show the birth and rebirth of the Republic of Estonia, the Olympic champions Kristjan Palusalu ja Erki Nool, the arrival and withdrawal of the Soviet troops, anniversaries of the University of Tartu and the Estonia’s winning of the Eurovision Song Contest, the first train in Tartu and the first man on the Moon, let alone the sinking of the Titanic and the 11 September terrorist attacks in New York. “These events are of great importance either for Estonia or for the whole world, but the exhibition gives a good overview of the history of journalism as well: how do the journalists work, how do the genres, printing techniques and newspaper layouts change, what are the restrictions and regulations governing the life of journalism,“ said Kurvits. 

The newspapers are displayed in their original size and the texts are well readable. In addition to celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Estonian-language journalism, the exhibition aims at introducing the University of Tartu Library collections. Most of the front pages are from the newspaper collection, advertisements from the small prints collection of the library.

The other curators of the exhibition were lector of the history of journalism at the UT Ene Selart, and Kristhel Haak, Kertu Uri, Marika Liivamägi and Jaana Mäesalu from the UT Library. The exhibition was designed and delivered by Lilian Mengel.

The exhibition “Life on the Front Page” can be viewed until 13 February.

Creation of the exhibition was supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment and the Postimees Foundation.