Saaremaa opens annual exhibition for local artists

Saaremaa has opened its traditional competition exhibition for local artists, featuring work by 30 artists, ERR reported.

The island has maintained the art competition tradition since 1983. In recent years, the event has been held every two years.

“There is sculpture, textile art, ceramics, painting and photography, but painting clearly dominates. Nature is always represented at Saaremaa art exhibitions. Interestingly, the previous exhibition featured many people and family members, while this year we see few of them,” said Helena Keskküla, an art curator at Kuressaare Kultuurivara.

In the past, the municipality also bought the winning work. That practice has been abandoned in recent years, although Saaremaa municipality owns an art collection of more than 100 works.

“When Saaremaa municipality was established, a decision was made to stop buying the works because the prize amount may not always correspond to the price of the work,” Keskküla said.

The winner, audience favourites and recipients of special prizes will be announced on October 23.