Museums warn research funding shift could jeopardise projects
Friday 16th October 2026 on 05:30 in
Estonia
Estonia’s museums fear important research projects will be put at risk when about 900,000 euros in research and development funding moves from the Ministry of Culture to the Ministry of Education and Research in 2028, ERR reports.
The government’s decision means the Ministry of Culture will no longer hold a call for creative research proposals or have research and development funding in its budget to support museum projects. The change follows a proposal by Education and Research Minister Kristina Kallas to channel ministries’ research funding through the ministry’s strategic studies programme.
The regulation’s explanatory note says the Ministry of Culture will retain its own quota and decision-making authority over funding for strategic goals and research projects in its area of responsibility, including museums. But museums that have relied on the funding say the new arrangement could make it harder to continue their work.
Kadi Polli, director of the Kumu art museum, called the change “incredibly bad news” on social media. She said the funding had been crucial to the Estonian Art Museum in recent years, supporting much of its exhibition and publishing programme. She said museums might have to seek support from universities again and argue that exhibitions and creative research qualify as research.
Mariann Raisma, director of the University of Tartu Museum, said she hoped the decision could still be reversed. She plans to raise the issue at a regular museum council meeting with the culture minister later in the month.
Raisma said museums need smaller grants than those proposed under the new system, which sets a minimum of 150,000 euros a year for each project lasting two to four years. The previous funding allowed smaller projects and helped museums and research institutions work together on topics they otherwise could not afford to pursue, she said.
Viivian Jõemets, a research adviser at the Ministry of Culture, also said the new rules could reduce flexibility and leave some projects without support. She said the required annual budget of 150,000 euros per project was too large for museums: current projects at museums with national research responsibilities and the National Library range from 40,000 to 70,000 euros, depending on their size.