A short-lived video games museum opens in Tallinn

The Gallery of the National Archives (Rahvusarhiivi galerii) offers you to discover the world of video games. The interactive exhibition, entitled “Infinite lives“, allows the visitors to play several video games from different periods. This project is conducted by Mr. Camille Laurelli, a French professor working at the Estonian Academy of Arts, and his students of the Department of Graphic Design.

The video game culture started in Estonia at the end of the 1980s. Nowadays, it continues to influence technological innovation and ways of entertainment, leading to the creation of popular subcultures. The history of video game in Eastern European countries is somewhat particular due to the historical context and the geopolitical situation. Residing in Estonia, Camille Laurelli explores the subculture of video games and focuses on the unique features of the video game culture in Eastern Europe.

Thanks to Camille Laurelli and his students, this exhibition presents a variety of gaming consoles and video games dating back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as the first Estonian computer game “Cosmonaute” and some Estonian contemporary games for mobile phones.

Accompanied by evening debates (in Estonian) on the multiple aspects of video game and its popular subcultures, the exhibition will be concluded with an awards ceremony.

Exhibition program:

10/05 at 18:00 – Opening of the Video Games Museum
14/05 at 18:00 – Evening debate “History of the video game and its collection”
16/05 at 18:00 – Evening debate “Video games as a sport”
17/05 at 18:00 – Evening debate “Video games as a business”
19/05 at 18:00-23:00 – Video Games Party!

The Museum of Video Games is open at the Gallery of the National Archives (Maneeži 2, Tallinn):
– from Monday to Thursday, 11:00 to 20:00
– on Saturday 19/05, for the European Night of Museums, 18:00 to 23:00.