Exhibition statistics in Estonia in 2025
The exhibition statistics in Estonia for 2024 provide a comprehensive overview, detailing the total number of exhibitions held nationwide, visits to venues, the most popular exhibitions and venues, payment of artist fees, and the language accessibility of exhibition texts.
On data collection and methodology
The numbers collected in the statistics provide a strong overview of the total number of art exhibitions taking place in Estonia, and their geographical distribution. However, the visitor numbers are speculative to a certain extent. This is because many exhibition venues lack the capability to accurately count visitors. Consequently, data on attendance is missing from 28,3% of the institutions whose exhibitions were analysed. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the total visitor count reflects information from the largest and most frequently visited exhibition venues, allowing us to assert that the vast majority of the total 2025 visitor numbers are still represented in the statistics.
When interpreting attendance data, it is important to note that the visitor numbers collected are based on the exhibition venues’ own counting methods, which may vary from one venue to another. Therefore, the data may not reflect the number of unique visitors, as the same person may visit multiple exhibitions or visit the same exhibition multiple times.
Art exhibitions in Estonia take place in a wide variety of formats and venues. To make the methodology for collecting statistics more consistent, in recent years we have primarily included exhibitions that meet two conditions: a) the organizing institution defines organizing exhibitions as one of its core activities, and b) the institution has a separate space dedicated to exhibitionsThe statistics do not include a number of exhibitions held in theater galleries and libraries that do not have a separate exhibition space for displaying art.
The CCA has been collecting statistics on the art scene since 2016, when we first compiled and analyzed the exhibition activities of as many exhibition institutions as possible that are involved in showcasing professional art. Initially, the collection of statistics was driven by a desire to map gender balance in the Estonian art scene. In subsequent years, the scope of the statistics has gradually expanded to include exhibitions with international participation and audience numbers. Starting in 2024, visitor data has been collected using a methodology that differs somewhat from that of previous years (see the subsection “Changes in Visitor Numbers” for more details). For the second year in a row, we also collected data on the payment of artist fees at exhibitions.
A statistical overview of the art scene provides a basis for analyzing developments and changes in the Estonian art scene and helps to understand how the field functions within the context of cultural policy.
Organising art exhibitions in Estonia
In 2025, art exhibitions took place in 22 different cities, towns, and villages across Estonia. The statistics include data from 97 exhibition venues located in Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, Haapsalu, Jõhvi, Jüri, Kärdla, Kuressaare, Narva, Põltsamaa, Rakvere, Rapla, Türi, Valga, Vaskjala, Viinistu, Viljandi, Varnja, Võru, Viimsi, Kõrgessaare, and Kadarpiku.
In 2025, a total of 918 art exhibitions were held at 97 exhibition venues, which is 35 exhibitions, or 4%, more than in 2024 (883 exhibitions). More than half of these exhibitions took place in Tallinn (501 exhibitions, 54 exhibition venues), followed by Tartu (138 exhibitions, 12 exhibition venues) and Pärnu (51 exhibitions, 3 exhibition venues). Of the 918 exhibitions held in 2025, at least 223 featured foreign artist(s) or curator(s). 771 of the 918 exhibitions or 84% of all exhibitions were free to the public.
The 2025 statistics include several new galleries for the first time: FOKU Gallery in Tallinn, Kett Gallery in Tartu (both opened in the first half of 2025), Viscosa Cultural Center in Hiiumaa, Ants Laikmaa Museum in Kadarpiku, and Evald Okas Museum in Haapsalu. At the same time, a couple of exhibition venues ceased operations: Nelja Nurga Gallery in Kärdla (closed in early January 2025) and HAKI Gallery in Tartu (closed in December 2024).
Changes in visitor numbers
In 2025, the number of visitors to art exhibitions in Estonia rose to 2,281,198 visits, which is 35.7% higher than in 2024 (+600,371). When interpreting these results, it is important to note that visitor data cannot be collected for all exhibitions every year (in 2025, data was missing for 260 exhibitions, or 28.3% of all exhibitions). Therefore, the total number of exhibition visitors is based solely on data from those exhibitions for which visitor information is available. Additionally, as the data collection methodology was specified starting in 2024, partially affecting the total number of exhibition visits, exhibition visit figures are not directly comparable year over year.
Starting in 2024, we also asked exhibition venues for their total number of visitors separately; this figure is shown in the graph alongside the number of exhibition visits for comparison. In 2025, exhibition venues had 1,066,413 visitors, which accounts for 46.7% of the total number of exhibition visits. Overall, each visitor attended an average of 2.1 exhibitions over the year.
The Kumu Art Museum stands out for having the largest increase in the number of exhibition visits, with attendance rising by 100,142 visits (690,447 visits in 2025, compared to 590,305 visits in 2024). At the same time, Kumu hosted three fewer exhibitions in 2025 than in the previous year—16 and 19 exhibitions, respectively. Thus, total exhibition visits increased despite the smaller number of exhibitions. Numbers of visits also increased significantly at the Niguliste Museum, where exhibition attendance rose by 79,377 visits (193,438 in 2025 and 114,061 in 2024). There was also significant growth at the Estonian Museum of Architecture, where the number of visits increased by 30,445 (62,103 visitors in 2025 and 31,658 in 2024).
TOP 10 most visited exhibitions
The TOP 10 of most-visited exhibitions consist exclusively of exhibitions at the Art Museum of Estonia and the Estonian National Museum. The first and second spots are still held by the permanent exhibitions at the Kumu Art Museum: “Landscapes of Identity: Estonian Art 1700–1945” (162,756 visits) and “Conflicts and Adaptations: Estonian Art of the Soviet Era (1940–1991)” (126,482 visits). Among the permanent exhibitions, the third, fourth, and sixth spots are held, respectively, by the permanent exhibitions at the Niguliste Museum (106,432 visits), the permanent exhibitions at the Kadriorg Art Museum (105,651 visits) and the permanent exhibition at the Kumu Art Museum, “The Future is in One Hour: Estonian Art in the 1990s” (54,345 visits). Among the temporary exhibitions, the most successful was the Estonian National Museum’s exhibition “Olev Subbi: Striving for Perfection,” which attracted 57,549 visitors and ranked 5th overall. It was followed by the Kadriorg Art Museum’s “Garden of Delights. The Seventeenth Century in Bloom” (7th place, 51,054 visitors), the Niguliste Museum’s “Estonian Book 500: Relics” (8th place, 46,308 visitors), the Kumu Art Museum’s “Longing for Lost Space. Sirja-Liisa Eelma” (9th place, 45,451 visitors) and the Estonian National Museum’s “Still Lifes on National Motifs. Jaanus Samma” (10th place, 42,081 visitors).
In 2025, 35% of all exhibition visits were concentrated among the ten most-visited exhibitions, even though these accounted for only about 1% of all exhibitions held.
TOP 10 exhibition venues
From 2024, we have been collecting data on exhibition venue attendance differently. Previously, we analysed venue attendance based on exhibition visits. However, this year, we separately asked the venues for the total number of people who visited the venue. The difference between the two methods is significant: venues with multiple exhibitions open simultaneously received a higher attendance number with the previous method than venues with only one exhibition open at a time, because attendance was counted separately for each exhibition.
According to the new methodology, the TOP 10 list of exhibition venues only includes exhibition institutions where it is possible to accurately assess the number of visitors to the venue (whether based on ticket sales or when only one exhibition is open in the institution at a time). Furthermore, any exhibition institutions that organise other types of exhibitions in addition to art exhibitions have been excluded from the TOP 10 list of exhibition venues.
The Kumu Art Museum is in first place with the largest number of exhibition venue visitors (149,052 visitors), followed by Fotografiska in second place (106,909 visitors). Niguliste Museum takes third place (106,432 visitors), the Kadriorg Art Museum is fourth (105,651 visitors), and PoCo is in fifth place (35,000 visitors). Rounding out the top ten are: the Estonian Museum of Architecture in sixth place (20,922 visitors), the Tartu Art House in seventh place (19,336 visitors), the Adamson-Eric Museum in eighth place (15,096 visitors), the Tallinn Art Hall in ninth place (14,654 visitors) and the Museum of Photography in tenth place (14,524 visitors).
Payment of artist fees for exhibitions
We asked about the payment of artists’ fees at exhibitions to raise awareness of the issue and gather background information within the field; the data presented here is generalized for analytical purposes. We asked for information on the payment of artists’ fees without specifying amounts, using a yes/no question.
In total, we analyzed 918 exhibitions, of which the permanent exhibitions (16 exhibitions) were excluded from the analysis of artist fees. Therefore, the following analysis is based on 902 exhibitions. Of these, artist fees were paid at 224 exhibitions (24.8%), while no artist fees were paid at 546 exhibitions (60.5%). For 132 exhibitions (14.6%), there was no information available regarding the payment of artist fees.
Language accessibility
From the exhibitions held in 2025, we received information on 798 exhibitions for the analysis of language accessibility. The remaining exhibition venues did not provide information on the languages of the exhibition texts. Of the 798 exhibitions analyzed, 27% were available only in Estonian, and 73% were available in at least Estonian and English. The exhibitions with the greatest linguistic accessibility are still those at Fotografiska, where the texts for all exhibitions are available in Finnish and Russian in addition to Estonian and English. Among the exhibition venues with the widest language coverage are the Tallinn Art Hall, the Tallinn City Gallery, the Narva Museum Art Gallery, and the Narva Art Residency, whose exhibitions are primarily available in Estonian, English, and Russian. Almost all exhibitions at the Gallery of Tampere House and the Kondas Centre are available in Estonian, English, and Finnish.