TALLINN.- The Council of Tallinn Art Hall Foundation has elected Paul Aguraiuja as the new director of Tallinn Art Hall. Aguraiuja is an experienced leader of creative teams and organisations and, according to the council, his strong foundation in the field of culture, combined his inclusive management experience and a bold vision were decisive in selecting him as the new director.

Paul Aguraiuja will start working as the director of Tallinn Art Hall on 8 June. He has previously led large-scale cultural projects and developed cultural exports, and he has worked as the CEO of Theatre NO99, producer of the TV series Bank and also in the field of marketing in recent years. Thanks to these experiences, he is well acquainted with the functioning of both the public and private sectors and will bring to Tallinn Art Hall a fresh perspective on the communication of contemporary art and the management of an art organisation.

“What became decisive in electing Paul as the new director was his strong foundation in the field of culture, combined with his inclusive management experience, a bold vision and administrative capacity. His inspiring eagerness to apply his previous experience to the benefit of art was not insignificant either,” explained Maria-Kristiina Soomre, Chair of the Council of the Foundation.

“It is a great pleasure and honour to take up the mantle of leading an institution with such symbolic significance in the Estonian cultural landscape. Tallinn Art Hall is in very good shape; the curators have compiled a strong programme and our activities are appreciated by both the artists and the audience. For my part, I hope to bring along the courage to look at things from different angles and to increase international cooperation. I will do my best to create more and more wonderful opportunities for the team and artists,” Aguraiuja said of his plans.

Tallinn Art Hall is a contemporary art institution that was established in 1934, the exhibition programme of which can be seen in three galleries on Tallinn’s central square: Tallinn Art Hall, City Gallery and Art Hall Gallery. Tallinn Art Hall deals with the most burning issues in contemporary art and contemporary society and organises a total of 15–17 exhibitions each year in Estonia and abroad.

As of 15 May, Taaniel Raudsepp, the previous director of Tallinn Art Hall, is working as Undersecretary of the Arts of the Ministry of Culture.