Culture Factory
	Madis Mikkor

	"A dark forsaken industrial area on the edge of the city centre. Shadowy figures moving in an unknown direction. The metal door of the huge grey building is occasionally flung open, hurling an armful of warmth, light and sounds into the night, and then closes again." - anonymous internet comment after the concert of the band Jää-äär in the culture factory Polymer in 2004. During its three years of existence, a new phenomenon in the Estonian cultural space - the Culture Factory - has produced varied emotions, from odes to sarcasm and political sweet-talk. Maybe this is exactly the guarantee for the success of a crazy idea: a living cultural centre uniting coarse post-Soviet industrialism with sensitive creative work?
	The Tallinn culture factory Polymer is not the first place where culturally oriented people have taken over a former production complex without being embarrassed at drawing parallels with the semiotics of the sacred place of the proletariat. Since the 1960s, a number of abandoned factories have been taken over in Western Europe, and the cultural squatters' message has been clear - an initiative arising from need cannot be replaced by any official cultural-political means. As a counterbalance to the academic nature of royal operas, state theatres and national galleries, new dance, music and modern art were conducted in the street, underground clubs and cheap rented studios. Over the years, the negotiating skills of such commune-type groups improved, public opinion became positive, and a chance was given to the first self-sufficient and artistically independent culture factories, which operated on municipal property. The best known culture factories include Melkweg (Amsterdam, Holland) - the oldest of its kind in Europe, emerging as a protest of subcultures against the establishment in the 1960s. Melkweg opened in 1970 and quickly became what most contemporary culture factories identify with - a place for blending different cultures and nationalities, expressed via music, dance, theatre, film, figurative art and performance. In the 1970s the equipment was made up of whatever was available, and everybody was a volunteer, whereas the 30-year experience of Melkweg has resulted in a situation where the repeatedly renovated building possesses the best technical means and a paid professional staff. True, ideologues have complained that institutionalisation leads to a distancing from the initial principle of protest and independence, but Melkweg's leaders believe that they have not lost their acute 'streetwise' spirit.
	House of Workshops and Culture (WUK - Werkstätten- und Kulturhaus) operates in the former locomotive works in Vienna, where the city government had planned a green belt with an underground car park or an area of apartment houses. Simultaneously with the municipal negotiations, people organised meetings, press conferences and protest actions in the building, distributed newspapers in town and, in the focus of public attention, the political battle with the city government was won. The Luxembourg Kulturfabrik (Esch-Sur-Alzette) is located in a former slaughterhouse. After the Culture Factory had functioned for over ten years on a voluntary basis and without any official financial support, it defended its existence by occupying the town theatre and blocking the main street. It held demonstrations in front and inside the city government building, and the authorities finally commissioned an expert panel to convince themselves that people had indeed accepted and approved of the Culture Factory.
	Huset (Arhus) and Badhuset (Odense, both in Denmark) operate in, respectively, the former art museum and the town sauna, focusing on the work of amateurs and offering artists-artisans a chance to exhibit their work. Ufa-fabrik (Berlin) works in an old cinema quarter, where, besides a diverse cultural experience, the visitor can enjoy the sight of chickens wandering around the streets lush with greenery, or see how electricity is produced or water recycled or how bread is made at the local bakery. As for Eastern Europe, mention should be made of Toaca Cultural Foundation (Bucharest, Romania), located in a neorenaissance villa, which almost every month hosts theatre groups from all over the world. The supporting pillars of that bridge, however, became rather unstable last spring when the local city government, under pressure from property developers, tried to terminate the lease with the theatre organisation and find a more profitable tenant. The whole thing culminated in a trial. Due to international pressure and the interference of the European Union commissar and the Romanian minister of culture, Toaca will continue to introduce contemporary European art for the next fifteen years with a much stronger backing.
	The principles of activity of the Tallinn culture factory Polymer correspond to the concept of culture factories of the late 1960s in Europe: Independence - a culture factory is not a playground of cultural policy or sponsorship money. Its decisions rely on social interests that last longer than those of a single company or political power; Embracing many diverse areas of activity - besides multi-disciplinarity in the arts, there is social responsibility, a sustainable way of life etc. Operating in a building with an industrial heritage - most culture factories operate in former production buildings, although former military, commercial, cultural etc spaces are also used. The Tallinn culture public and circles of creative people have adopted the culture factory. As the first sign of approval, the Tallinn city government gave the former Tallinn boiler-house to the factory last summer. The latter's chimney, towering over the harbour, has been a town landmark for over sixty years. This is a unique milieu. Its location between the harbour and the old town, its limestone walls, nooks and crannies and cosy little streets have all the essentials for a lively cultural life, from underground to high culture. Culture factory Polymer is an independent urban cultural centre welcoming activities from all fields. Contact: Kultuuritehas Polymer Ülase 16/Madara 22 Tallinn, 10613 Estonia Madis Mikkor responsible for PR and different cultural projects at the Culture Factory. See www.kultuuritehas.ee
	| Estonian Art 2/05 (17) | Published by the Estonian Institute 2005 | ISSN 1406-5711 (Online) | ISSN 1406-3549 (Printed version) | einst@einst.ee | tel: (372) 631 43 55 | fax: (372) 631 43 56 |