Hullunud Tartu festival explores forms across the arts

The 17th Hullunud Tartu festival, bringing together literature, music and visual art, will run from November 5 to 7 in Tartu, a UNESCO City of Literature, ERR reports. This year’s theme, “Forms,” spans literary styles and dialogue between art forms, as well as the relationship between form and content.

The festival opens on November 5 with a screening of poetry films titled “Juuksepõimik” at the Raekoja hall, a venue at Elektriteater. The programme will include works by Estonian and international creators, followed by a discussion of how poetry films bring together artists working in different forms. Sirel Heinloo will also present her 2026 film “Juuksepõimik,” recently selected for Mexico’s Fotogenia poetry and art film festival and screened in several locations across North and South America.

The main programme takes place on November 6 and 7 at Tartu Literature House and the Salong cultural club. Participants include Bob Beagrie of the United Kingdom; Finnish artists Rauhatäti, Juissi Vainiola, Helvi Rantala, Ohto Airio and Mariette Oksanen; and Ale Oseguera, the literary city’s current resident, from Mexico and Spain. Estonian contributors include Indrek Hargla, Katrin Ruus, Piret Jaaks, Kiwa and Riste Sofie Käär, among others.

The Vedelik art collective will open an exhibition titled “Forms” at Salong. The MUBA new music ensemble will perform a programme called “What is this, then?” and +koor will present Rebeca Vilpuu’s composition “Vormituna,” with lyrics by Jaan Malin. Writer Kaspar Jassa will give a lecture on lifestyle forms, “Dandies, decadents and gentlemen.”

Two books will also be presented: Aapo Ilves’s prose collection “Sulatõtt ja teisi jutte: ilu-, kole- ja ajakirjanduslikke lugusid” and Jellen Pelt’s book “Mis te tahte must?”, presented by Peeter Volkonski. All festival events are free to attend.