Open Call 2025:
PLAYFUL CITY

Urban Festival UIT announces an open call for the 2025 festival installations, themed "Playful City". The open call is mostly aimed at city-loving students of art and architecture, but everyone interested in experimenting with installation in public space is welcome to participate.

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Play is not just for children – it is just as important for adults, positively impacting the body, mind, and social interactions. It brings freshness to urban life, encourages spontaneous encounters, and sparks creativity. At the same time, playfulness in public space is also a critical response to the constant pressure for productivity, inviting people to slow down, enjoy the moment, and rediscover the city in new ways. Through this installation program, we explore how playful interventions shape our relationship with urban space, encourage social interaction, and inspire citizens to co-create a unique and engaging urban environment.

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PLAYFULNESS IN THE CITY

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Philosopher Eik Hermann argues that cities need not only functional but also ambivalent spaces – places without a clear purpose. Such spaces give residents the freedom to define their own meanings and uses, inviting a playful approach. According to Hermann, play is also strongly linked to wandering, as cities allow us to explore, experiment, and create new experiences in a relatively safe environment. (Hermann, 2025) UIT festival invites artists to reflect on this idea and contribute to the playfulness of urban space.

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The challenge for artists is to transform ordinary or overlooked places into playful ones and create opportunities for strangers to meet through play. Participants are free to repurpose existing elements of the city or create entirely new structures. The focus can be on the broader urban population or specific groups such as seniors, neighbors, skateboarders, cyclists, dog walkers, etc. It is also encouraged to draw inspiration from oneself and create something that sparks playfulness.

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ABOUT PARTICIPATING

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The call is primarily aimed at students of architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, installation art, sculpture, and design, but other urban space enthusiasts are also welcome to participate.

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We are looking for works that achieve one or more of the following goals:

• Creating playful situations and objects

• Encouraging interaction between city dwellers

• Encouraging participation through the artwork

• Providing a moment of pause in the daily routine and productivity

• Awakening a sense of childlike wonder in adults
   

The project format is a temporary installation in a public space. The approach is free and can be interdisciplinary, but it must be considered that the work should be exhibited in the public space of Tartu for five festival days (August 13-17, 2025). The installation should engage the audience in some way or invite them to participate. The festival encourages thinking about recycled materials and other environmentally friendly solutions.

 

The festival offers a fee (1500€ per project) and covers production costs (up to 1500€ per project), as well as transportation and accommodation expenses. Projects from both Estonia and Europe are welcome. The festival is supported by the City of Tartu and the Estonian Cultural Endowment.

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Deadline: APRIL 24, 2025

Please send your application and portfolio to: festival@uituituit.ee
 

In your application, please include:

• A description of the idea

• (Preliminary) budget

• Description of technical execution

• Possible location(s) of the artwork in Tartu or a description of the location needed

• Contact details of the author(s) and portfolio/CV
   

The following aspects will be evaluated:

• Interactivity

• Ingenuity

• Fit with the environment

• Feasibility of the idea by the author(s)

• Realistic budget
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URBAN FESTIVAL UIT

Urban Festival UIT is a site-specific interdisciplinary art festival located in Tartu, Estonia. The nineth edition of UIT is taking place from the 13th until the 17th of August 2025. Throughout the years UIT has been interested in the ways people perceive cities and interact with their surroundings. The festival encourages people to use and enjoy public spaces and to contemplate on how we can all contribute to creating cities that are more cosy and diverse. The festival programme includes pieces that are either composed for or derived from the urban space of Tartu: performances, concerts, urban tours and games, including activities for children. ​

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* Raadio Ööülikool. Philosopher Eik Hermann's lecture "Mänguruum ja linnaruum", 2025