On October 27, Victoria Olt Gallery in the Old Town of Tallinn opened its group exhibition Art Collection Starter, designed to encourage visitors to begin building their own personal art collections. The exhibition featured a diverse selection of small-format artworks in various techniques, offered at affordable prices. These works came from talented artists, many of whom were just starting their artistic journeys.

"We organized this exhibition for art lovers who were interested in starting their own collections," explained gallerist and artist Victoria Olt. "A novice collector could choose their first piece of art from this exhibition and experience firsthand how much owning and displaying art in their personal space can enrich their lives."

The exhibition showcased the work of 18 different young artists, including three international participants: Ksenia Sulaeva, a Ukrainian artist living in Estonia; Tomasz Mro, a Polish artist who had recently held his first solo exhibition at the gallery; and Elena Rossato, an Italian artist whose distinctive style had garnered special attention from the gallery.

Victoria Olt presented a remarkable six-meter water marbling series titled 7.753, a reference to the world’s population of 7.7 billion people. Olt noted that water marbling, as a technique, offers limited control over the final result, meaning each piece was completely unique and unrepeatable—just like every individual. "Visitors could identify with one piece more than others and select the one that felt ‘theirs’. In doing so, they symbolically laid the cornerstone of their collection, making it easier to build upon with future artworks," Olt added.

Other notable techniques on display included magnetotype, sumi-e, mezzotinto, anamorphosis, and alcohol ink, alongside more traditional methods like acrylic and oil painting, watercolor, and drawing. Among the local artists highlighted was Liisa-Aleksandra Volmer, who had won the Young Artist Award at the Estonian Academy of Arts the previous year, and Marita Liivak, who was set to have her own solo exhibition at the gallery in the spring.

International artists included Ukrainian-born Ksenia Sulaeva, who had studied at Luhansk and Lviv National Art Universities before moving to Estonia, as well as Italian artist Elena Rossato and Polish digital artist Tomasz Mro. Mro's printed works were available exclusively at the Victoria Olt Gallery outside of the UK.

Participating artists: Elena Rossato, Tomasz Mro, Marita Liivak, Ana Kurist, Margus Kontus, Talia, Liisi Gordejev, Eliis Kuusk, Victoria Olt, Saadu Lyn, Ksenia Sulaeva, Anu Muiste, Lily & Yash, Karl Hendrik Rattus, Liisa-Aleksandra Volmer, Katariina Purru, Helena Tääker, Santa Zukker.

This exhibition was also more widely covered by different new outlets: