Urban Festival UIT
Urban Festival UIT (derived from the Estonian word “uitama” – to wander), taking place on 16-18 of August 2023 is a site-specific art festival which aims to discover the urban space of its host town Tartu from new and exciting angles. Festival has been happening since 2013. UIT wants to explore the ways people interact with and feel about the urban space that surrounds them. The festival cooperates with local and foreign artists working in interdisciplinary mediums to give the festival audience a chance to see their hometown from a new and refreshing perspective. UIT encourages people to use and enjoy public spaces and to contemplate about different ways we ourselves could make our towns and cities cosier and more 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. In previous years UIT has had the pleasure of hosting artists from countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Brazil, Russia, USA and the Baltic States.
The ephemeral charm of UIT is embodied in the way the festival gives new life to long forgotten and abandoned places of Tartu – deserted buildings and overgrown gardens which have not stood the test of time. The temporary revival of those sites allows Tartu to expand in abstract dimensions and encourages our audience to dream.