Kopli says culture is Estonia’s only way to make an impression abroad

Estonia is best promoted abroad through culture, former cultural adviser in Germany Merit Kopli told ERR’s Ringvaade programme. Kopli, who has joined the supervisory board of Estonia’s public broadcaster, said Estonia is less well known in Germany’s federal states than Estonians often assume.

Kopli spent 10 years introducing Estonian culture in Germany. She highlighted an art exhibition in Dresden last year marking composer Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday as one of the highlights of her work. She said it was the largest Estonian-German art exhibition in history and began after the director of a museum visited Estonia.

During the visit, Kopli took the director on a bog hike and to the Arvo Pärt Centre. The director had expected to arrive in a city resembling Tallinn’s Lasnamäe district but was surprised from the moment he left the airport, Kopli said. He was so impressed that he decided Estonia deserved to be introduced to a wider German audience through the exhibition.

Kopli said it was difficult to fit Estonia into Germany’s already large and active cultural scene. Because Germany is divided into federal states, she had to visit each one separately and build contacts. Her work involved promoting Estonia and its artists, explaining them to German audiences and finding ways to secure invitations and funding.

“In principle, you are like a marketer or a salesperson,” Kopli said.

She said Arvo Pärt was an irreplaceable figure in promoting Estonia. Although his name may mean little to people with no particular interest in music, those familiar with music know him, she said.

“Selling Estonia through culture is the only way,” Kopli said, adding that people asked which Estonian films they had seen, performances they had attended or music they had heard.

She said the most effective approach was bringing German cultural figures to Estonia for festivals, concerts and museum visits so they could experience the country themselves.