Stress Stations

STRESS STATIONS
are aimed to help
all of those who are troubled and distressed

The Chain of Stress Stations spreads all over Tallinn
From June 20th until September 30th completely new type of devices can be seen in the city space of Tallinn.

From the outside they all remind of the ordinary ’card-eaters’ or other mechanical and automatic organizers such as parking and banking terminals, traffic lights, pay phones, loudspeakers and mailboxes.

But BE ALERT – this time the machines are not meant to constrain you, they do not even want your money. This time the machines are here to help you!

From now on you DO NOT have to buy self-help books or pay ’hard money’ for a visit to a ’good listener’– you can simply pick up the handset of the Confession Phone, pour your worries into it and the machine will give you good advice. Or you can entrust your troubles to the Trouble Bank cash dispenser.

You DO NOT have to spend money on relaxation after a dreadful business meeting as the Small Poetry Ambulance automat sooths you instantly and without any charge. The same happens when you adjust yourself in the wave-length of LokaalRaadio.

You DO NOT have to slip your writings into your drawer anymore. Instead, write everything that comes to mind – whether it is a poem or a concern – on a piece of paper and pop it into the Trouble Mailbox.

You DO NOT have to worry that the traffic lights will push your life into a rut. On the contrary, you can simply gaze the soft lights that do not want anything from you.

And you WILL NOT have to communicate with the machines at all if you are not in the mood for it. You can just take a break under the big sign of the Stress Station to calm down and reflect on your inner thoughts.

You can recognise the friendly machines by the M-letter. Why M? Simply because ‘worry/trouble’ means ‘Mure’ in Estonian. There are seven different kinds of devices in the chain of Stress Stations: the Small Poetry Ambulance automat, Zen Traffic Lights, the Trouble Bank terminal, Confession Phone booths, LokaalRaadio megaphones, Trouble Mailbox, and the big illuminated M-sign. The machines are located all over the city as different clusters that form the Chain of Stress Stations.

All in all, it is a network that fights (economic) depression. And even when we forget about the recent depression, the workload of the machines is still big. As a whole, they all fight against Worrying that is widely spread in our cultural space where we constantly worry about everything – money, things, kids etc. Worry is our fiercest enemy.

“It must be mentioned straightaway that the beauty of the game very largely depends on the initiative of the citizens – they have to push the buttons to make the machines work. And – what is also important – the machines are not loud or noisy and therefore do not disturb the city life. Our aim is simply to stop the everyday rush for a moment and clear away the troubling thoughts of the citizens,” explain Liina Keevallik and Katrin Essenson, initiators of the project.

Opening of the Chain of Stress Stations takes place gradually. The first devices and machines were opened on the seashore in the close vicinity of the City Hall and the Fish Market and temporarily on the Big Guild Square. On June 20th, all the other Stress Stations will be opened and they remain in the city space until September 30th.

Generators and executors of the Chain of Stress Stations: Liina Keevallik, Katrin Essenson, Martin Pütsep, Allan Kukk, Ants Vaalma, Andrus Aaslaid, Kalle Pruuden, Märt Vaidla, Tõnis Tammisaar, Martin Sookail.

General management: MTÜ Kirbutsirkus.

Special thanks to: Anu Anniko, Silja Saarepuu, Taave Tuutma, Kristjan Sisa, Teresa Põldnurk, Klaire Kolmann.

The project is part of the program of the European Capital of Culture – Tallinn 2011 and is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Contact: Katrin Essenson
E-mail: kirbutsirkus@gmail.com
Phone:  +372 5635 2993

We wish you new eye-opening discoveries!

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