Pärnu FotoFest 2026
TEARS IN RAIN
12.03.2026-24.05.2026Tears in Rain is an exhibition that explores, through mobile photography, the ephemerality of the image, memory, and what we actually preserve when we take a phone out of our pocket to make a picture. The mobile phone is now the most handy device for capturing moments: the same tool both reflects the world and records it. The camera is no longer a separate “instrument”—using it is an everyday movement, sometimes almost a reflex. In this way, the image becomes both personal and public: it is created in intimate closeness, yet it continues to live in the cloud and in the feed.
A distinctive feature of the mobile photo is that some decisions are made on our behalf. The device focuses, corrects, smooths, compresses, and highlights. Authorship is shared: the human gaze and the machine’s automation work together, and this changes the character of the image. The exhibition does not treat this as a flaw, but as an inevitability of the era—this is how contemporary memory is made.
Rain is the exhibition’s central metaphor: constant rinsing and flowing, where one moment dissolves into the next. The mobile photo is usually made quickly, reaches the cloud without much thought, and sinks down the feed. Even if the file remains, it disappears from our sight—the rhythm of updates washes over it. For this reason, the exhibition does not pursue technical perfection. It looks for presence: photographs that are not only evidence (“I was here”), but that also carry experience. The authors in the exhibition try, through the use of the mobile camera, to move beyond thoughtlessness, automatism, and chance.
The exhibition features works by the Lithuanian art historian and photo artist Virginijus Kinčinaitis and by photography students of the Pallas University of Applied Sciences.
The title refers to Ridley Scott’s cult film Blade Runner (1982), where identity and humanity depend on memory, experience, and compassion, not on origin. Roy Batty’s monologue ends with the line: “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” It contains the paradox of the mobile age: there are more images than ever before, yet precisely for that reason they are easily lost. Tears in Rain lifts some of them out of the flow for a moment and gives them space, time, and weight.
Authors: Virginijus Kinčinaitis, photography students of the Pallas University of Applied Sciences: Teele Saag, Merilin Trummal, Samuel Tamm, Maria Grünberg, Kerttu Heljula, Mona Broznov, Anette-Jasmin Ansip, Martin Männa, Xenia Kvitko, Andres Vesso, Rasmus Jaanimägi, Egle Žukov
Curator: Andres Adamson
PÄRNU COUNTY - WHAT LAND IS THIS?
21 February 2026 – 13 September 2026
The panel exhibition 'Pärnu County – What Land Is This?', opening in the new KUUT gallery, offers insight into the historical formation of Pärnu County and invites visitors to reflect on the origins of our regional identity. Opening alongside the museum’s new permanent exhibition, it marks the beginning of a broader exhibition series that will explore the parishes and regions of Pärnu County in greater depth.
A parish (kihelkond) is a historical ecclesiastical and administrative unit whose roots extend back to the territorial organisation of ancient Estonia. Over the centuries, a parish system developed that followed natural boundaries and road networks, shaping everyday life, patterns of movement, and people’s sense of belonging. The present-day territory of Pärnu County has belonged to various political and administrative entities — from the Livonian Order and the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek to the Swedish and Russian imperial periods, as well as the administrative reforms of the 20th century.
The exhibition panels introduce fourteen historical parishes of Pärnu County within the framework of today’s administrative structure, highlighting their development and distinctive features. The exhibition also addresses the administrative reforms of the 20th century and the county’s symbols — its flag, coat of arms, and emblem. Through these perspectives, visitors gain a deeper understanding of how historical borders and affiliations have shaped Pärnu County as we know it today.
Exhibition authored by: Svea Volmer-Galland, Urmas Kase
With contributions by: Katrin Suu, Kaja Velmet, Heiki Mägi
Graphics by: Jaakko Matsalu
The exhibition was created by Pärnu Museum in collaboration with the Association of Municipalities of Pärnu County.