Coming from lunch at Telliskivi Creative City, I always look towards the Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre to see if a new exhibition has been set up. I often return to view the same exhibition a second time. You can’t walk past them without stopping!

Having observed the centre’s activities over its operating period, I am filled with tremendous gratitude for all they have accomplished with its modest means. The numerous excellent exhibitions and collaborative projects, inspiring meetings, and discussions.

The centre plays a vital role in the landscape of visual culture by valuing photographic heritage, introducing the works of both classic and young photographers, and developing international contacts. By enriching our memory through diverse reflections of life, the selected exhibitions, photos, and meetings highlight humane values, a positive attitude towards life, tolerance, and an intolerance of violence during challenging times.

Using the contemporary photo lab set up by Documentary Photo Centre also provides a unique opportunity. This lab helps rediscover the secrets of analogue photography in the digital age and creates new values in today’s context.

Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre has been instrumental in the evolution of Estonian photography, particularly in promoting photo-documentary. A decade or more ago, only a few photographers in Estonia were dedicated to long-term, in-depth documentary projects. Today, their numbers are growing, thanks in significant part to the efforts of the Documentary Photo Centre. From its inception, the centre has aimed to elevate the profile of documentary photography. It has not only introduced local audiences to internationally renowned artists but has also organised group exhibitions for Estonian photographers, fostering new and emerging voices in the field.

Each visit to this small yet powerful photo centre has significantly broadened my worldview. The dedication, discerning taste, meticulousness, and passion of its creators, who personally share their discoveries during curator-led tours, substantially enrich Tallinn’s and Estonia’s cultural landscapes. Notably, the legacy of Juhan Kuus is preserved not just through a memorial plaque or online articles but through a vibrant living centre. It provides visitors with precious moments to reflect, understand, explore, admire, and marvel—celebrating the photographers who freeze time for us while offering a platform for documentary photographers to exhibit their work. This, I believe, is vital.

I am thrilled to have discovered the Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre. Each exhibition there is an event in itself, enriching my daily life and work. As a writer searching for moving stories, I find that documentary photography offers a wealth of inspiration. Additionally, I lead a children’s creative writing circle at the Estonian Children’s Literature Center, where we often visit exhibitions. These outings inspire the children to craft stories that seem to emerge effortlessly. Such moments are memorable for the children, helping them learn to perceive the stories around them. Every visit to Dokfoto Keskus feels personalized; their warm and friendly reception makes it seem like they’ve been expecting you that day.

It is always a pleasure to step into the Documentary Photo Centre, where an enthusiastic team welcomes me in a cosy setting dedicated to maintaining a focus on documentary photography.

Kristel and Toomas enchant both creators and visitors alike with their vibrant energy. I value the centre’s broad approach to addressing diverse topics and its innovative use of artistic and technical solutions to present works. Over the years, I have gained all this and more from the Documentary Photo Centre, and I eagerly anticipate their upcoming projects.

The exhibitions, meetings, and discussions at the Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre offer immense value to photographers by broadening their horizons and inspiring them. In a world where everything is available, selecting what is important and bringing it into focus is crucial. Documentary Photo Centre excels in this, pushing photographers to recognize their global standing, a crucial step in boosting their confidence and motivating them to strive for excellence. All a photographer needs to do is show up and engage to be part of this vibrant community.

The Documentary Photo Centre has become a mecca for art and photography and collaboration among artists, institutions, countries, and artistic expressions. It is led by dedicated individuals who make culture their ambition and art a necessity. It has transformed into more than just a place— a space of possibilities. It transcends individual ownership, belonging instead to a collective consciousness that something greater than ourselves will emerge from our combined efforts. The Documentary Photo Centre represents a human adventure and a journey of thought, continually inspiring all who engage with it.

Each exhibition is executed with a spirit. You can feel it immediately when you are in the centre. The entire atmosphere is thought out for each new exhibition, including minor details. Visiting some of your exhibitions has a therapeutic effect due to their poetic quality. Excellent explanatory texts accompany the pictures. The time spent with you is always incredibly eye-opening and significant. Thank you for bringing home excellent exhibitions and world names and enriching the viewer’s everyday life with them!

Although photo-documentary has never been the primary focus of my attention, the activities at the Documentary Photo Centre have compelled me to reconsider many viewpoints and have inspired me from unexpected angles.

The support and appreciation for photographic art at the Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre has been very dear to us, personally and professionally. We believe it has also inspired numerous other photographers and visual artists. The centre’s devotion, creativity, and high artistic standards make its presence felt beyond the confines of the Telliskivi area and Tallinn and extend its influence internationally. Its remarkable ability to connect diverse cultures and countries in a cultural dialogue is vital to Tallinn and Estonia. The Documentary Photo Centre is always a welcoming place to visit, offering a friendly and warm atmosphere.

New York in Tallinn

What do you say when a friend returns from Berlin and laments about Estonian culture, sighing, “We live in a remote, marginal country where the village store only stocks the bare necessities, and even those are scarce”?

Over time, I’ve crafted a heartfelt response to such feelings of disillusionment: “I’ve found the exact opposite to be true. When I seek a profound, vibrant experience from visual art, I head to Telliskivi Creative City, start my weekend at Fotografiska to take in all the exhibitions, and then unwind with a cup of tea and rest my eyes. After that, I take fifty steps across the square to the Juhan Kuus Documentary Centre. In their exhibition hall, I truly feel the wealth of our culture enveloping me; in those moments, I feel like a New Yorker.”

This richness doesn’t just happen. It is nurtured and sustained by Kristel and Toomas, the creators and caretakers of Documentary Photo Centre, who have dedicated the past seven years to enriching our cultural landscape.