Kumu Art Museum has gained notable international and local awards for the architecture of its building, outstanding curatorship, remarkable exhibitions and educational activities, as well as international science projects and conferences.
Meritorious Cultural Figure of Tallinn Award 2023
Eha Komissarov, the curator of Kumu Art Museum, was awarded the Meritorious Cultural Figure of Tallinn award by the Tallinn City Council. According to Tallinn’s vice mayor Kaarel Oja, it would be difficult to over-appreciate the long-time work of Eha Komissarov and her activities in the art field: „In addition to curatorial work in Kumu, Eha Komissarov has been a part of organising various key events of the local art world for decades, through which she has greatly contributed to how we are used to seeing art and what we consider to be art.“
The city council has been giving out the Meritorious Cultural Figure of Tallinn yearly award since 2008, in order to recognise the figures’ creative activities and contributions to the cultural life of the city.
Best Designed Estonian Books of 2023
The award was granted to the catalogues accompanying the Kumu Art Museum exhibitions „Through the Black Gorge of Your Eyes“ and „Art in the Age of the Anthropocene“.
The book „Art in the Age of the Anthropocene“ explores new viewpoints in the relationship of art and the environment, as well as takes a look at how artists have related to the topics of the environment and sustainability both in the past as well as in our current times.. The catalogue was designed by Maria Muuk.
The book „Through the Black Gorge of Your Eyes“ focuses on the oeuvre of the legendary Estonian women graphic artists in the 1960s – 1980s. The book has been richly illustrated, brings into one texts with a very different style, aims and focus points, and its main goal is to look at the creations of the graphic artists in the exhibition from a contemporary point of view. The catalogue was designed by Brit Pavelson.
The Best Designed Estonian Books contest is an annual award competition for the 25 most well-designed books and 5 most well-designed children’s books of the year, given out by The Estonian Publishers’ Association, the National Library of Estonia, the Estonian Graphic Designers’ Association and the Association of Estonian Printing and Packaging Industry with the aim to acknowledge publications most notable in graphic design and print technical realisation as a phenomenon of intellectual culture.
Annual Award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, 2023
The award was granted to the Kumu Art Museum exhibition „Through the Black Gorge of Your Eyes” (16.06.–05.11.2023).
According to the jury, the exhibition became a wonderful spatial whole that demonstrated, how to bring art historically esteemed graphic artworks into our modern age, put them into thematic order so as to emphasize how even four decades ago the artists were already delving into topics that have now become more relevant than ever: the environment, body, living as a woman and as a mother, closeness, care and intimacy. „The value of collecting, preserving and recontextualising art is rarely as impactfully visible to the public as in this exhibition,“ found the jury.
The exhibition brought together the oeuvre of Estonian women graphic artists of the 1960s–1980s. The exhibition was curated by Maria Arusoo, Eha Komissarov and Eda Tuulberg. The exhibition design was created by Edith Karlson and Maria Luiga and the graphic design created by Brit Pavelson.
Estonian Annual Museum Award, 2023
Museum Rat 2023: Best Exhibition of the Year
Kumu Art Museum’s exhibition “Art in the Age of the Anthropocene” (05.05–08.10.2023, curators Linda Kaljundi, Eha Komissarov, Ulrike Plath, Bart Pushaw, Tiiu Saadoja; curator of green practices Karin Vicente) gained the award of the Museum Rat as the best exhibition of the year.
As the largest-scale exhibition in Estonia to-date exploring the relationship of environment and art, the exhibition looked at the possibilities of art in the times of the environmental crisis. The exhibition united environmental and art historians, artists and architects and studied along with them the pictorial heritage relating to environmental topics in the collections of Estonian museums. A number of new artworks were also born, created especially for the Kumu exhibition. In 2022, Kumu became the first museum in Estonia to gain the Green Museum Certificate. In 2023, by the example of “Art in the Age of Anthropocene”, the Sustainable Exhibition Model was created, paving the way for all local museums to implement more environmentally-friendly practices.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
AkzoNobel Art Prize, 2023
The prize was granted to the artist Tõnis Saadoja for the personal exhibition „Tõnis Saadoja. Height Above Sea Level“ in Kumu Art Museum on 11.04–24.09.2023.
The oeuvre of Tõnis Saadoja, focused on getting to know and preserving historical traditions of painting, is always intertwined with the conceptual questions of contemporary painting.
The personal exhibiton in Kumu Art Museum stood out by its high quality, integrity and conceptually interesting solutions, showcasing the artist being in wonderful shape creatively.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2022
Rat Trap
The Department of Tourism of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency recognised the Kumu Art Museum with a special award for being the first museum in Estonia who gained the Green Museum certificate. The agency’s Tourism Director Rainer Aavik commented: „Sustainability is one of the most important topics in tourism development. Museums have done a great job in popularising environmental topics with their exhibitions, but visitors in Estonia are likewise impressed by the environmentally-conscious activities of the museums themselves. … The addition of green museums likewise strongly contributes to advancing the reputation of Estonia further abroad.“
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
State Cultural Achievement Award, 2022
The award was given to Kadi Polli, the director of Kumu Art Museum, and the historian Linda Kaljundi for curating the Kumu permanent exhibition Landscapes of Identity: Estonian Art 1700-1945. The permanent exhibition was opened in February 2021 and is focused on the older Estonian art as a part of the country’s multinational history, where the Baltic German, Russian and Estonian traditions are intertwined. A special emphasis is put on the role of art in society and its impact on the self-image of the various communities.
Every year, the government of Estonia gives out three State Cultural Achievement Awards in order to acknowledge exceptional long-term creative activities, as well as five awards for remarkable cultural accomplishments that have reached the wider populace during the previous calendar year.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2021
Science Award in the Publication Category
The award was granted to the exhibition catalogue Universe of the Farmyard: Creators of Southern Estonia, compiled by curator Liis Pählapuu and published by Art Museum of Estonia. „The catalogue of the exhibition by the same name has become a research on the cultural history of Southern Estonia from an entirely new perspective. /…/ In conclusion, a new Southern Estonian phenomenon is created in our art history of which everyone was seemingly aware, yet had never quite pieced together completely,“ the award jury commented.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
State Cultural Lifetime Achievement Award, 2021
A curator of Kumu Art Museum, art historian Eha Komissarov received the State Cultural Lifetime Achievement Award. The laureate has worked in the Art Museum of Estonia since 1973, being in this century one of the creators and masterminds behind the Kumu Art Museum’s exhibition programme. She has been a teacher and instructor for many local artists and curators of the younger generation, as well as actively supported both the Tallinn Print Triennial and other important events and undertakings of the Estonian art scene. According to the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art, she can be considered as the mother of Estonian contemporary art. The way we are used to seeing art and what we consider as art here in Estonia has, by their words, been largely shaped and influenced by Eha Komissarov.
The State Cultural Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest acknowledgement through which the Estonian government expresses gratitude and recognises people for their remarkable long-term creative achievements in the field of culture.
Annual Prize of the Estonian Society of Art Historians and Curators, 2020
The prize was granted to the legendary art historian Eha Komissarov, a curator and programme manager of Kumu Art Museum, for her long-time outstanding curatorial work and for curating the exhibition „Open Collections: The Artist Takes the Floor“ (Kumu Art Museum, 05.07-10.11.2019).
The Estonian Society of Art Historians and Curators is a voluntary and independent professional union of individuals active in the areas of art theory, art history, art criticism and curatorship.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2019
Conservation Work of the Year
The award was gained by the long-time restauration project of the sculptures of Estonian artist Maire Männik for the exhibition „Maire Männik. Estonian Legend in Paris“ in Kumu Art Museum (23.08.2019 – 05.01.2020). The project was carried out by the sculptor restaurators of Art Museum of Estonia, Isabel Aaso-Zahradnikova and Ales Zahradnik. The more than 100 statues by the Estonian sculptor Maire Männik (1922–2003), who had lived and worked in Paris for a long time, were given as a gift to the Republic of Estonia in 2004 by the sculptor’s son Erki Männik. It took 10 years to restore the plaster sculptures made in an untraditional technique, partially in a very large format and some of which were very severly damaged, as well as her portrait artworks and medal designs.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
Eerik Haamer Art Award, 2019
The award was gained by Juta Kivimäe, the director of the sculpture collection of the Art Museum of Estonia, and conservator Isabel Aaso-Zahradnikova in connection with the exhibition „Maire Männik: Estonian Legend in Paris“ (Kumu Art Museum, August 23, 2019 – January 5, 2020) for saving and making visible the creations of Maire Männik, one of the most important Estonian refugee artists.
The award, founded by the Kuressaare City Council in Saaremaa, is aimed to recognise outstanding achievements in the field of art in the memory of the well-known Estonian painter Eerik Haamer (17 February 1908 – 4 November 1994, born in Kuressaare).
Best Designed Estonian Books of 2019
The book „Short Term Eternity“ was selected as one of the 25 best designed Estonian books of the year. The book was published as a collaboration between Lugemik and the Art Museum of Estonia in connection with the exhibition „Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect. Anu Vahtra: Completion Through Removal“ in Kumu Art Museum (February 22 – June 8, 2019, graphic design by Indrek Sirkel).
The Best Designed Estonian Books contest is an annual award competition for the 25 most well-designed books and 5 most well-designed children’s books of the year, given out by The Estonian Publishers’ Association, the National Library of Estonia, the Estonian Graphic Designers’ Association and the Association of Estonian Printing and Packaging Industry with the aim to acknowledge publications most notable in graphic design and print technical realisation as a phenomenon of intellectual culture.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2018
Museum Rat
The Museum Rat award for the best temporary exhibition was granted to the exhibition „Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe“, held in Kumu Art Museum (08.06–16.09.2018) and curated by Greta Koppel (Kadriorg Art Museum) and John Oliver Hand (Washington National Gallery of Art). The exhibiton introduced the painter of Estonian heritage, Michel Sittow (app. 1469–1525), who was a highly valued portrait artist in the courts of Europe in the 15th and 16th century. 500 years later, for the first time the personal exhibition brought together all of his paintings that have survived and allowed people to see it in the artist’s hometown, Tallinn. The exhibition was extremely successful, being visited by a record number of 65 000 people. The same exhibition was also on display in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, USA (28.01-13.05.2018).
Science Award in the Events Category
The title of the best science event of the year went to the international symposium “Stories of Michel Sittow’s Life and Art. Facts and Fables” held in Kumu Art Museum (14.–15.09.2018). The main organiser of the symposium was Greta Koppel (Kadriorg Art Museum). The symposium was carried out in English and accompanied the exhibition „Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance“ (Kumu Art Museum, 08.06–16.09.2018).
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2015
Science Award in the Events Category
The title of the best science event went to Kumu Art Museum’s autumn conference „Shared Practices: The Intertwinement of the Arts in the Culture of Socialist Eastern Europe“, headed by Kumu curator Anu Allas and dedicated to post-World War II art in the Eastern European context.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
Curator awards by the Cultural Endowment, 2015
The Cultural Endowment of Estonia recognises Eha Komissarov, a curator in Kumu Art Museum, with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her decades of outstanding curatorial work in the field of Estonian art and museums.
2013 Best Innovator of Foreign Language Instruction, 2013
The prize was awarded to the Art Museum of Estonia for its „Komm herein“ language immersion project. The main purpose of this acknowledgement of European language instruction is to recognise and popularise initiatives related to linguistic innovation, updating language instruction and raising the quality of teaching. Initiatives that innovatively teach foreign languages, and value and introduce other languages and cultures are recognised.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2012
Museum Rat
The award for the best exhibition project of the year was granted to the curators Eha Komissarov and Berit Teeäär from Kumu Art Museum for the exhibition „Fashion and the Cold War“ (13.09.2012–20.01.2013). The exhibition researched fashion and related phenomenons in Estonia in the 1950s-1970s, giving a fascinating view into the life of the Soviet Estonian woman, as well as the dialogue with Western fashion. The exhibition was accompanied by a book of the same name.
Science Award in the Publication Category
The title was gained by Elnara Taidre, a Curator of the Graphic Art Collection, for the publication „Tõnis Vint and his Aesthetic Universe“. The publication received praise for being a multi-faceted research of the ouevre and theoretical concepts of Tõnis Vint (b. 1942), one of the classics in 20th century Estonian Art. The book was published adjoining an exhibition of the same name.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
Letter of Thanks from the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research
The grand prize in the 2012 national competition for educational materials in the category of applied didactics was given to a team of educators from the Kumu Art Museum for the art educational study material „Ready! Set! ART!“, compiled by Kristi Laanemäe, Anu Lüsi, Anu Purre, Elena Chekulayeva and Ingrid Putk. The competition was held by the Estonian Research Council.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2011
Estonian Museum Memento Award (EMMA), Second Prize
The award was granted to the product „Kumu brooch“ by Kumu Art Museum for the multifunctionality of the item as well as clever design innovation that ideally fitted the museum’s theme. The exclusive item of jewellery of Art Museum of Estonia (author: Katrin Amos) was related to the exhibition „Geometrical Man: the Group of Estonian Artists and Art Innovation in the 1920s and 1930s“ very well, and although the material is of high quality, the idea is extremely symbolic of the era, using QR-code as its motive.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
Best Designed Estonian Books of 2011
„Urmas Ploomipuu’s White House“, Kumu Art Museum
The book “Urmas Ploomipuu’s White House”, written by the artist Tõnis Saadoja and designed by Indrek Sirkel, was selected as one of the 25 most well-designed books of 2011. The book was published by Art Museum of Estonia to accompany an exhibition of the same name in the Kumu Art Museum (13.4.–23.10.2011). The book included schematic drawings by Tõnis Saadoja and was praised by the jury for being „an intelligent and discreet recording of an extraordinary art project characterised by an excellent and compact use of various types of paper“.
The Best Designed Estonian Books contest is an annual award competition for the 25 most well-designed books and 5 most well-designed children’s books of the year, given out by The Estonian Publishers’ Association, the National Library of Estonia, the Estonian Graphic Designers’ Association and the Association of Estonian Printing and Packaging Industry with the aim to acknowledge publications most notable in graphic design and print technical realisation as a phenomenon of intellectual culture.
Annual Award of the Estonian Association of Interior Architects
The annual award of the Estonian Association of Interior Architects in the category of Best Exhibition Design went to Kumu Art Museum’s exhibition „Pavel Filonov. The Russian Avant-Garde and Afterwards“ (10.06.–18.09.2011) and its room designer Terje Kallast-Luure.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2010
Advancer of Museum Education
The title of Advance of Museum Education was granted to Jelena Tšekulajeva, the educational curator of Kumu Art Museum, for a contemporary art educational programme carried out with the 4K method.
Estonian Museum Memento Award (EMMA), 2010
The award for the best souvenir by an Estonian museum was presented to the Kumu Art Museum for its retro-style net shopping bag, also known as avoska – one of the most typical items symbolic of the Soviet era.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
Estonian Annual Museum Awards 2009
Large Museum Rat
At the annual Museum Awards competition, the prize for the best exhibition went to the Kumu Art Museum exhibition “Ülo Õun. Artist Interrupted” (19.06-01.11.2009), curated by Juta Kivimäe. The exhibition received praise for thoroughly introducing the creative nature and the oeuvre of the Estonian sculptor Ülo Õun to the public, for its emotionally affecting room design, great educational and movie programmes as well as the high-quality catalogue that accompanied the exhibition.
The Estonian Annual Museum Awards are a series of yearly awards given out by the Museum Council and the Estonian Museum Association in collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Board.
European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA), 2008
The Kumu Art Museum was declared the winner of the European Museum of the Year Award 2008, an award. Of the 140 nominated candidates, thirty-eight candidates from a total of 20 countries were invited to make presentations about their museums at the final event, which took place at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. The award in question has previously been given out to such museums as The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao etc.
The European Museum of the Year Award is an annual award given out by the European Museum Forum, formed by the European Council.
Recognition by the European Copper in Architecture Campaign, 2007
In 2007, The European Copper in Architecture Campaign acknowledged the new building of the Art Museum of Estonia, Kumu Art Museum, for the interesting use of materials and elegant overall design of the Kumu building.
The Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award for Best Global Design, 2007
The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design awarded the Kumu Art Museum as one of the buildings deserving of the award for best global architectural design in the year 2007.
The „Best of 2006“ award by the Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association (EHRL)
The members of the EHRL recognised the completion and opening of Kumu Art Museum, the new headquarters of the Art Museum of Estonia, as deserving of the „Best of 2006“ award.
The Achievement of the Year by the Estonian Union of Persons With Mobility Impairment, 2006
The token of thanks was presented to the Kumu Art Museum for providing a friendly environment for people with reduced mobility.
Nordic Pearl of Light, 2006
The 2006 Nordic Pearl of Light award was awarded to Kumu Art Museum by the Tallinn City Government for the lighting solution in the museum.
Annual Award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, 2006
The recipients of the Annual Award of the Figurative and Applied Arts Foundation included Tiina Abel, a curator of Kumu Art Museum, and the Kumu Education Centre.
Acknowledgement by Estonian Association of Security, 2006
The acknowledgement was given out by the Estonian Association of Security Companies for the security solution in the Kumu building, opened in 2006.
Concrete Structure of the Year, the Special Builder’s Award, 2005
An award given out by the Concrete Association of Estonia. The winners of the 2005 Concrete Structure of the Year Awards were announced at the 6th Concrete Day, held at Kumu Art Musuem. Sixteen projects were submitted to the competition. The construction firm Merko Ehitus was awarded the Special Builder’s Award for the construction of the Kumu building.