TYPA

Hier kommt ein toller Bericht unserer Freiwilligen Juhi. Sie ist in Estland bei einem wirklich ganz außergewöhnlichen Projekt. Juhi lebt zwar in Deutschland, aber ihre Muttersprache ist nicht Deutsch. Sie hat den Bericht deshalb auf Englisch verfasst. In dem Freiwilligendienst-Projekt arbeitet sie bei TYPA: Ein Druck- und Papierkunstmuseum!
Ziemlich coole Angelegenheit: https://typa.ee
Aber lest selbst:

It is a centre specialising in letterpress and paper art that was founded in 2010 in the University Town of Tartu, Estonia.
Apart from being a working museum, it houses an education centre for schools, an art gallery, an artist-in-residence programme, TYPA Stationery, and a studio for letterpress and intaglio techniques.
It is led by a passionate and dedicated team of staff and volunteers where the power is decentralized as opposed to a traditional museum, which I believe makes it so great.
The museum is a bottom-up, community-led center situated at the intersection of art, heritage and sustainability.

When I first arrived in December, work was slow due to the Christmas break and the museum saw limited visitors given the travel restrictions due to Covid.
Just as things began picking up in January and February, the coronavirus situation here got worse and we’ve been under a lockdown since the start of March.
However, I have been able to go to work quite regularly as there are enough tasks that need to be done on account of TYPA being a working museum.
The work timings are highly flexible and I have the privilege of organizing my days and setting goals for myself as I please, in consultation with my tutor.
My colleagues are generally very supportive of the initiatives I propose and are always open to all kinds of crazy ideas.

Since my arrival, I have written grants for the museum, helped organize exhibitions in the gallery, picked up traditional printing techniques and bookbinding skills which are getting lost with time, learned how to make paper from scraps and operate printing presses from the 19th century, and met volunteers, students, and artists from across the world. Additionally, I have also put together a pilot project of photo album-making workshops as a crucial part of the research for my Master’s thesis.

Tartu houses the oldest university in Estonia, which means that there is a large student body around and it is easier to meet people, especially since there are a lot of students from the university who come to volunteer at TYPA part-time.
Other than that, the Erasmus Student Network as well as the International House in Tartu host plenty of events outdoors or in local bars (they are being held online at present) which are open to the general public so socializing is quite easy. Although Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia it feels more like a small town, especially if you come from a metropolitan city like I do. Life here is relatively slow and peaceful, and a park or forest can never be too far away if you need to take a break and rejuvenate.