Journey in Juri Lotman’s Semiosphere

Friday, 28. jan 2022

4.02–20.04.2022

February 2022 marks 100 years since the birth of semiotician Yuri Lotman. To mark this anniversary, the exhibition “Journey in Juri Lotman’s Semiosphere” is open at the Estonian National Museum from the beginning of February to the end of April.

The exhibition introduces Juri Lotman, a professor of the University of Tartu, world-renowned semiotician, literary theorist and cultural historian, who dedicated himself to the study of culture, art and the workings of human consciousness. He was an extraordinary man who held the doors of his home and the world of his ideas open to people in the closed society.
The exhibition design is centred around Juri Lotman’s apartment in Burdenko (now Veski) street in Tartu. Over decades, this is was the meeting place of researchers, students and cultural figures. It was a spacious and creative environment, the birthplace of high-flying ideas that made the city of Tartu a world-famous centre for semiotics. The exhibition portrays the many sides of Juri Lotman – a generous host, a dedicated grandfather, a versatile thinker and an intellectual of conscience.

The content and design concept of the exhibition was created by film art director Katrin Sipelgas and director Jaak Kilmi in cooperation with the Estonian Semiotics Association. The exhibition was realised with the contribution and support of the University of Tartu, Tallinn University’s Juri Lotman Semiotics Repository, Estonian National Museum, Ministry of Culture, Estonian Cultural Endowment and UNESCO.

Over the year 2022, the exhibition will be displayed in several European countries. It is part of the events marking the centenary of the birth of Juri Lotman. See full programme.

The exhibition will be open from 4 February to 20 April 2022.