Your Tallinn hit list: the top 5 events – week 18

04 May 2026 – 10 May 2026

Not sure where to be this week? Every week, in partnership with Gamma, we present a hand-picked selection of the five most compelling events taking place in and around Tallinn – it’s time to plan your week with purpose.

“Halo” Dance Performance

Niguliste museum, Tallinn

Tuesday 5 May, Thursday 7 May and Friday 8 May, from 7pm

Halo is a dance performance born from a creative dialogue between choreographer Teet Kask and musician-composer Kristjan Kannukene.

Part of the innovative dance series Elutantsud igavikule – inspired by the timeless message of the famous Dance of Death, created in the workshop of Bernt Notke – the piece takes one of life’s most avoided subjects and looks it directly in the eye. Not with fear, but with quiet curiosity.

What emerges is a meditation on the thin, mysterious line between life and death. The title comes from the ancient Greek word for ring, disc and halo – the inner light that an awareness of mortality has gifted humanity across the ages.

Here, medieval sacred space meets contemporary performance art. History slips into conversation with the present. The audience is invited into an experience that lingers long after the final note.

This is not a story about endings. It is a story about waking up.

For Mom, With Love – A Sip & Paint Experience

Kartul, Kopli 16, Tallinn

Tuesday 5 May, from 7pm

Inspired by Mother’s Day, For Mom, With Love is made for two kinds of people: those who want to spend a genuinely special evening with their mum, and those who want to create something beautiful to give her.

The night centres on painting a soft, delicate floral artwork – the sort of piece that feels like a gift from the first brushstroke. Each painting can be finished with a small personal tag reading “For Mom, With Love” or “For You, With Love”, making it unmistakably yours.

As always, no painting experience is needed. Step-by-step guidance is provided throughout, and a glass of wine – or a non-alcoholic alternative – is included to help set the mood.

TalTech Innovation Festival 2026

TalTech, Tallinn

Wednesday 6 May, from 9am

TalTech Innovation Festival 2026 tackles one of the defining challenges of our time: how to protect societies when the most dangerous attacks are no longer aimed only at systems and infrastructure, but at human perception, decision-making and the institutions people rely on.

Bringing together experts, policymakers and practitioners from Estonia and beyond, the festival examines how hybrid threats are reshaping public life – and what tools, habits and strategies are needed to hold the line.

The programme explores the role of artificial intelligence in information operations, digital verification and crisis communication in an age when technical facts alone no longer guarantee public trust. Expect a sharp mix of presentations, panel discussions and future-facing debate.

The event is aimed at policymakers, company and public-sector representatives, and security and communications professionals. Students, alumni and anyone with a serious interest in digital resilience are warmly welcome too.

In short: come curious, leave harder to fool.

Silent Shorts & Live Sounds

Heldeke!, Tööstuse 13, Tallinn

From Friday 8 May, to Sunday, 10 May

Silent cinema? Not quite.

Early Cinema Evenings returns this May with three consecutive nights of strange, beautiful and gloriously unpredictable film – each with its own theme and live musical accompaniment.

On 7 May, the programme steps into the smoky world of cabaret. On 8 May, it wanders into the wonderfully odd realm of early animation. On 9 May, it takes a darker turn and descends into horror.

Each evening is hosted by Brit Kikas-Booth, who guides audiences through a handpicked selection of surreal spectacles and long-forgotten gems from cinema’s earliest decades. Musicians perform live and unrehearsed alongside the films, creating a different soundtrack every night – and making every screening a one-off.

Each event lasts around 90 minutes and is held in English.

Tickets are free, with a generous donation encouraged on the way out – cash and card are both welcome. Alternatively, guests can reserve a table for two with a snack board for €30.

UKUFest Exhibition “The Art of Ukrainian Fashion”

Solaris, Tallinn

From Saturday 9 May, to Thursday 28 May

Fashion with a backbone.

UKUfest 2026 brings together some of the most influential names in contemporary Ukrainian fashion in a single exhibition – and, for the first time, under one roof.

The line-up features Bevza, Dzhus, Kachorovska, Bobkova, Fedir Vozianov, Tetiana Chorna and Nina Doshe: designers who have continued to create with extraordinary clarity, courage and conviction through the most difficult of circumstances.

Expect avant-garde vision alongside refined elegance; garments that speak of freedom, dignity and identity; and an immersive setting shaped by video projections from Ukrainian runways and exclusive glimpses into the designers’ own creative processes.

This is fashion as testimony – and it is not to be missed.

Brought to you in collaboration with Gamma. Want more like this? Get Tallinn’s best events delivered straight to your inbox – three times a week, totally free. Just hit subscribe to join the Gamma newsletter.