Photo Exhibition “Kreenholm – The Factory of Phantoms” by Tim Bird

02.07.2025

Culture

Narva Town Hall, 18 July – 26 September 2025

From 18 July to 26 September 2025, the Narva Town Hall will host Tim Bird’s photo exhibition “Kreenholm – The Factory of Phantoms,” which presents contemporary views of the historic Kreenholm textile factory buildings.

Kreenholm Manufactory was not merely a factory – it was a world of its own. The industrial giant built on the banks of the Narva River provided work for thousands of people and shaped the identity of the region for more than a century. This microcosm combined modern industrial technology with strict rules of work and life, international capital with the everyday joys and hardships of local people.

Today, the future of Kreenholm lies in Swedish hands: the area belongs to Narva Gate OÜ, a company established in 2007 by two leading Scandinavian investment groups – Gabrielsson Invest AB and CA Fastigheter AB. Their activities in Estonia focus on strategic investments with the potential to shape urban space and support regional development. Kreenholm, too, is seen as an opportunity – not only to revive the industrial glory of the past but to meaningfully develop it further through culture, entrepreneurship, and community life. Thus, the story of Kreenholm continues through a shared vision between the Nordic countries and Estonia.

This photo exhibition invites visitors to step into Kreenholm’s layered historical space and view it with new eyes – not only as a grand factory of the past but as a story that transcends borders and eras. Kreenholm lives on – not only in memories but also in visions that connect the Nordic countries and Estonia in a shared outlook toward the future.

Tim Bird is a photojournalist based in Helsinki, Finland. Born and raised in England, he moved to Finland in 1982 and has written about Finland, Estonia, and the wider Nordic and Baltic region for numerous magazines, online publications, and books. He has received several awards for his travel photography.

The exhibition is a collaboration between photographer Tim Bird, the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Estonia, and Narva Gate OÜ.