Soviet Hippies is a research based exhibition viewing the Soviet society from the hippie point of view. The exhibition reveals the parallel universe during the Soviet stagnation; the hippie movement within Brezhnev’s regime and repressive measure. This hidden world that even Estonian people don’t know much about, gives the impression of the timeless sense of freedom that breaks the rules and crosses boundaries.
The exhibition curators KIWA and Terje Toomistu conducted in-depth anthropological study and recorded interviews with fifteen individuals from the hippie generation in Estonia, the so-called Soviet West which was distinguished by its unique scene of rock music and bohemian vibe. The curators combined ethnological approaches with the study of popular culture and the use of video, text and various illustrative artifacts.
Expect rich archive photography of the Soviet hippie movement and film screenings consisting of interviews with people from the hippie generation of Soviet Estonia.
Private View on Friday the 2nd of September from 7pm- 11pm. Look forward to our Special Guest Speakers and dissident rock music from the Soviet Union.By invitation only. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/soviet-hippies-preview-tickets-27090375041?aff=es2
2nd September timetable:
7.30- 8.15pm – Dr Juliane Fuerst (DE), University of Bristol – “Summers of Love and Winters of Survival: Explorations in the Soviet Hippie-land.”
Juliane Fuerst is a senior lecturer of modern history in the University of Bristol, a social and cultural historian of the Soviet Union with a particular interest in late socialism, counterculture, youth and dissidence.
8.30-9.15pm – Writer and Philosopher, the kingpin of 1970’s Estonian hippie underground – Vladimir Wiedemann (EE) – “New Age culture in USSR.”
Vladimir is an Estonian Mystic and the Author of 7 bestselling books in East Europe. He has worked at the Scientific Methodist at the Estonian Ministry of High Education, was a correspondent of the BBC (Russian Service) in Berlin, Germany and a Director of BRIC Service (Consulting & Management) in London, UK, As well as the Founder-member of European Russian Alliance (ERA, HQ in Brussels, Belgium).
9.15pm – Closing – Cultural Icon and multidisciplinary artist Kiwa (EE) will be performing an audio-sound performance. Expect dissident rock music of Estonian counterculture made in the Soviet Union 1960- 1988, a time when cultural production was under state control, avant-garde art was forbidden and rock music was repressed.
