NoorKunst.com – the voice of young Estonian culture in Europe
For the past three years, the online magazine Noor Kunst has been published regularly. Its founder and originator, Kristel Kaljund, writes here about how the magazine came into being and shares her thoughts on the younger creative generation.
In 2026, the online magazine Noor Kunst begins its third year of publication. To mark this small milestone, the editorial team proudly congratulates itself on a job well done.
So, why Noor Kunst (“Young Art”)? Seen from Europe, almost the entire Estonian cultural scene appears young. The publisher of Noor Kunst, Die Blaue Brücke e.V., is based in Munich, and from the perspective of this large Western European city – filled with grand museums filled to the brim with the classics – both the Estonian state and Estonian culture appear youthful, fascinating and attractive. We have set ourselves the goal of covering young people approaching or already in upper secondary school age, as well as creative professionals and cultural contributors in their twenties and thirties across Europe, while leaving artists who are already in the later stages of their creative journeys and more firmly established in the spotlight to other publications.
Our wish is to serve as a platform through which younger generations of Estonian creatives active across Europe can discover one another and learn more about each other. That is why our sections focus not only on creative beginnings and artistic exploration, but also on life itself and on Estonians as people. The everyday realities and relationships of creative individuals, applications and studies, experiences gained and cultural identities – all of this ultimately finds its way into the creative work that we may collectively call younger Estonian culture in Europe. One could say that we are interested in the margins: young creators with Estonian roots who are not always easy to define, and our mission is to provide a voice for those who are not yet shining from the front pages of the press.
Going back to the beginning, it is worth mentioning the idea that emerged among Estonian friends in Germany during the pandemic years: why not establish an association to coordinate our activities as ambassadors of Estonian culture? No, the idea was not born in a sauna or over shots of vodka. Although, during the founding process, it became clear to me that it might just as well have been, because establishing (and running) an association in Germany is rather labour-intensive. The name Die Blaue Brücke e.V. (“The Blue Bridge”) was chosen because around a hundred years ago, shortly before the First World War, Bavaria was home to the avant-garde artists’ movement Der Blaue Reiter – perhaps the most famous artistic legacy this region has to offer. Our aim was, and still is, to build a cultural bridge. Besides, the colours blue, black and white naturally warm our hearts.
The idea of founding a non-profit association has by now proven itself worthwhile and has enabled the creation and realisation of a number of interesting projects. Among our main long-term projects, I would highlight two in particular: the Estonian Film Series in Munich, organised in cooperation with Gasteig / Munich City Library – Europe’s largest cultural centre – and the online magazine Noor Kunst. Alongside these, we have also organised art workshop series, Estonian literary events and concerts.
Our digital world is small, and nowadays it can seem as though the diaspora hardly needs a diaspora any more – Estonia is within arm’s reach, Estonian news feeds run non-stop on our phones, and social media connects us not only with family and school friends, but also with former neighbours, training partners and even nursery school friends. Yet in my view – and cultural studies support this – the diaspora still has much to offer one another. We share similar experiences, a similar point of departure for our identities (as well as many opportunities to define those identities for ourselves!), and we have much to learn from each other.
With all our Estonian cultural events, we constantly reflect on sustainability, and in our opinion, there are two key factors: involving young people, and cultural outreach and networking within the diaspora. Noor Kunst focuses specifically on younger generations of Estonian creatives in Europe and approaches these topics from the perspective of young people themselves. The project is driven mainly by young volunteers from Germany, Finland and Estonia, but in our search for contributors we have also reached out to young people in Italy, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, England, Austria and beyond. Guided by our ongoing desire to evolve and grow, our motto is to strive ever further and reach ever more young Estonians living abroad.
P.S. Of course, it also has to be fun!
At this point, heartfelt thanks go to all our companions along the way, both in Estonia and elsewhere across Europe!
