Menu

NEWS

POP-UP EXHIBITION “WASHING MACHINE MADE OF BEETROOT” BEGAN ITS INTERNATIONAL JOURNEY AT ÜLEMISTE CENTRE

The pop-up version of the “Washing Machine Made of Beetroot” exhibition has set out on its tour across Estonia and Latvia, stopping first in Ülemiste Centre.

As a joint exhibition of the Estonian Road Museum, Estonian Agricultural Museum and Tartu City Museum, the pop-up exhibition highlights invention, ingenuity, recycling and do-it-yourself mentality. Participants have the unique opportunity to ride a bicycle with a generator, examine fascinating exhibits placed inside a historical sideboard and read interesting recollections of Soviet-era inventions and inventors.

The pop-up exhibition is open on the second floor of Ülemiste Center, in the green space opposite Vapiano. The exhibition is free for all visitors. In the summer months, the pop-up exhibition will travel to various locations across Estonia, making its way to Estonia’s summer capital Pärnu and to our good neighbour Latvia by the end of summer, after which it will return to Estonia.

The three sub-exhibitions of the “Washing Machine Made of Beetroot” project will be open in all exhibition venues until the end of 2024 and is a part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.

Sub-exhibitions:

JOINT TICKETS TO “WASHING MACHINE MADE OF BEETROOT” EXHIBITION NOW AVAILABLE ON PILETILEVI„

This joint ticket to the exhibition “Washing Machine Made of Beetroot” is valid for all three exhibitions at the Estonian Road Museum, Tartu City Museum and Estonian Agricultural Museum.

The exhibits are accompanied by texts in Estonian and English.

For more information visit peedistpesumasin.ee

The joint ticket can be used to visit all sub-exhibitions once during the exhibition opening hours between 24 April 2024-29 December 2024.

Single ticket €24
Family ticket €48
Buy tickets HERE

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue in Estonian and English which is available for purchase at the ticket offices of the museums.

30. October – 02. November 2023

“WASHING MACHINE MADE OF BEETROOT” EXHIBITION CATALOGUE NOW IN MUSEUM STORES

The “Peedist pesumasin”/“Washing Machine Made of Beetroot” exhibition catalogue can be found at ticket offices of the Tartu City Museum, Estonian Agricultural Museum and Estonian Road Museum.
Price: €10

“Washing Machine Made of Beetroot” is a collaborative project between the Estonian Road Museum, Estonian Agricultural Museum and Tartu City museum and is composed of three sub-exhibitions. The stories of invention, ingenuity, recycling and DIY of the three museums are bound into one in the “Washing Machine Made of Beetroot” exhibition catalogue, introducing the topics of each exhibition.

Tartu City Museum
“Washing Machine Made of Beetroot: Resourcefulness in the City” shows the creativity and resourcefulness that urban Soviet citizens had to possess. Nothing was readily available in stores in the Soviet Union, and if it was, it was unattractive and of poor quality. Clothing, accessories, furniture, consumables, etc. often had to be crafted by the people themselves. The deficits and conflicts of needs made people creative and thrifty.Estonian Agricultural Museum
“Washing Machine Made of Beetroot: Resourcefulness in the Countryside” displays the ingenuity of people living in the country. During the Soviet era, every resident of a farm or kolkhoz centre had a small garden that helped cover the table during food shortages. Valuable components were purchased from scrapyards and farm repair shops, and the so-called “men with golden hands” pieced together tractors and other machines using these parts. Garden produce was processed at home – people made preserves, jams, juices and were always on the lookout for new and exciting recipes.

Estonian Road Museum
“Washing Machine Made of Beetroot: Ingenuity on the Road” introduces the audience to various self-made solutions that aided Soviet citizens in travelling from point A to point B. The DIY technical culture and garage innovations thrived, with the operational principles of the internal combustion engine being a universally understood language. This exhibition explores inventions, innovation, creativity, recycling and the DIY culture within the motor world of the Soviet Union, as well as the yearning for a modern and comfortable life.

The catalogue is in Estonian and English and includes numerous illustrations.

Compiler and editor: Marge Rennit
Designer: Maarja Roosi
Texts written by: Madle Uibo and Meeli Väljaots (Tartu City Museum), Kaire Ilula, Monika Levkin, Merlin Lumiste and Mari-Liis Tammiste (Estonian Agricultural Museum), Paavo Kroon and Andres Seene (Estonian Road Museum)
Editor of Estonian texts: Ene Nagelmaa
Translators: Martin Jaigma, Piret Hion, Luisa Translation Agency

The exhibition project “Washing Machine Made of Beetroot” is part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.

30. October – 02. November 2023

Conference „Sustainability in Practice: DIY Repair, Reuse and Innovation“

Is organised by the Estonian National Museum in collaboration with the Washing Machine Made of Beetroot joint exhibition project, concentrates on sustainable do it yourself (DIY) practices, solutions and lifestyles.

Repair, reuse and repurpose of diverse commodities and materials, and vernacular innovation, are today increasingly perceived as part of sustainable consumption culture. Facing the global climate crisis, we are looking for lessons to learn from the past and present, for more sustainable and resilient ways of life.