The city at night is like a sweater turned inside out. Familiar places create new meanings and possibilities. On seemingly empty streets one can encounter city dwellers of other kinds. Weasels, mice and hedgehogs are leaving their nests. Owls, bats and cats are heading out for a nightly hunt. Slimy lines on asphalt mark the journey of a slug. Conflicts, love stories and collaboration emerge on the streets.

How we perceive, remember and interpret encounters in the night with animals is a cultural phenomenon since they are  unexpected and mystical. Animals we’ve just seen transform into distorted shadows on our smartphone screens and continue their lives in social media and news. Bigger wild animals seem out of place in cityscapes where human designed infrastructure doesn’t provide shelter.

But at the end of the day, animals strolling in the city are more than just  vague shapes on screens. The exhibition steps closer to the experience of other-than-human animals. How are nighttime streets, parked cars and dark backyards perceived by foxes, cats, hedgehogs or centipedes? How are bright street lights experienced by moths?
 

The exhibition distorts the usual human perspective on urban space by comparing human and non-human perception. As a result, the borders between humans and non-humans fade. Urban areas are expanding with the cost of natural habitats and encounters with wildlife. Are we  ready for interspecies collaboration to create safer space for creatures of any species in the urban night. Are we ready for interspecies collaboration to create shared multispecies spaces in the urban environment?

Curators: Hildegard Reimann, Liina Lember
Authors: Hildegard Reimann, Liina Lember, Mona Tärk, Renato Perotto, Jakob Mass

Thank you to Hardi Heinvere, Aleks Käämer, Ilja Magin, Paulina Vitušcanka, Anne-Mari Anderson, Isabel Jezierska, Lisanna Lajal, Maria Ivanova, Mia Ruus, Vaim Sarv, Nelly Mäekivi, Andrew Creighton, Kaarin Hein, Oliver Kalda, Christel Bachmann, Gunnar Zupsmann, Andre Uibos, Hannes Laar, Anne-Kai Toht, Villu Soon, Aare Lindt, Carlotta Põdra, Madis Kreevan, ööliblikate luuletuste autorid Vitali Gladkov, Christiana, Kalle-Arvo Kurg, Triin Soomets, Hasso Krull, Denis Petrov, Annaliis Madli Sükijainen, Eesti Rahva Muuseum, Tartu Nefa Rühm, Liisi Kõuhkna (Valge Kuup), Mikk Lahesalu (Eesti Kaasaegse Kunsti Keskus), Tartu Ülikooli Delta keskus, Eesti Loodusmuuseum, Loodusfestival, Tartu elanikud