Liisa Kruusmägi. Memories from Altai Krai

Memories from Altai Krai is the story of the artist’s ancestors who migrated to Siberia at the end of the 19th century due to land shortage. The dream of a better life led them on a long and exhausting journey to Barnaul County, Altai Krai in Central Asia. After several stops they finally settled in the middle of the open steppe sided by mountains, founding a village named Eesti (Estonia) there together with other families.

Consisting of drawings, paintings and ceramic objects, the exhibition is based on the diary of Liisa Kruusmägi’s grandmother, which contains fragments of memories from the time spent in Estonia village. She has described the time spent there as “life that was full of hard work, but also fun“. It was a time of both joy and human loss.

Sound design: Taavi Tulev