KUMU Curator Anders Härm on the Controversial Monument: Those Who Attack Art, Always Attack

KUMU curator and docent of the Estonian Academy of Arts Anders Härm commented on the scandal surrounding the monument to Alma Ostra-Oinaas. According to him, among the critics of the monument he has not noticed a single historian, and this is hardly surprising.

Curator of the KUMU Art Museum and docent of the Estonian Academy of Arts Anders Härm spoke on Kuku radio about the public discussion surrounding the monument to Alma Ostra-Oinaas, which has caused wide resonance in Estonia.

In a conversation with journalist Indrek Vaheoja, Härm noted that among the critics of the monument he has not encountered a single critical comment from historians. In his opinion, this is natural: historians, as a rule, understand in what context Estonian politics of that time were formed.

"Those who attack art, always attack," Härm emphasized, hinting that objections to the monument are often dictated not by historical knowledge, but by other motives. The curator made it clear that such criticism is rather political in nature than cultural or academic.

Alma Ostra-Oinaas is an Estonian public figure and politician of the early twentieth century, whose biography and legacy continue to provoke debate. The monument in her honor became the occasion for a wide-ranging debate about which historical figures should be immortalized in Estonia's public space.