Similarly to Vabamu’s permanent exhibition Freedom Without Borders, the temporary exhibition places people’s personal stories at its heart, told through personal objects, photographs, texts, and video testimonies.

One of the most visually striking objects on display is Linda Erika Kääramees’ national costume, which she made for herself at the age of 17 in the Republic of Estonia. The costume travelled with her across decades and continents – from a refugee camp in Germany to England, then on to Canada – before eventually returning with Linda to Estonia and, after her death, becoming part of Vabamu’s collection. Linda’s skirt also inspired exhibition designer Kristi Kongi, whose colour palette for the entire exhibition grew directly out of this remarkable garment.

The exhibition is closely connected to the history of Vabamu itself and to the museum’s founder, Olga Kistler-Ritso, who was born in Kyiv and later lived in the United States. Her father was deported to Siberia in the 1920s, when the family attempted to move from Kyiv to the newly independent Republic of Estonia. Both of their stories are represented in the exhibition, linking personal family histories to the wider narrative of Estonian displacement and migration.

Preparatory work for the exhibition began as early as 2024. As is often the case with exhibitions of this scale, extensive archival research was required, drawing on collections from other museums as well as Vabamu’s own holdings. Hundreds of stories of flight and deportation were also read and researched. Many of these stories are reflected in the exhibition’s interactive world map, where visitors are invited to add their own, or their family members’, migration stories. This growing, story-filled map of the world is intended to become even richer over time and may later travel beyond Vabamu to Estonian Houses and embassies around the world.

The creation of the exhibition was supported by the Estonian Research Council, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, and the National Archives of Estonia.