Kanut Centre, which has had different names over time, has been active for over thirty years. In 1986, the predecessor of Kanut, the National Restoration Centre, was established on the basis of the Estonian Open Air Museum, the National Museum of Art, and conservators of the National Library of Estonia. In 1989, the centre was named as Conservation Centre Kanut.
In 2014, the Estonian Open Air Museum and Conservation Centre Kanut joined and formed one foundation, using the name Conservation and Digitisation Centre Kanut since then.
Irrespective of its name, Kanut has been active in one field – objects of cultural value. During the years, the skills and services of Kanut have been used the most by museums in Estonia. However, other institutions and individuals have found their way to Kanut as well. Our experts have restored the original value of thousands of objects, big or small, making their beauty visible or stopping the destruction process.
As from 2006, the services offered by Kanut include the digitisation of photos, negatives, printed matter, documents, paintings, and other items. Tens of thousands of digital files created in Kanut make it possible to study and valuable items without taking them out of the circulation or damaging them in any way.
The doors of Kanut are open to everybody who needs help with arranging or digitizing objects of cultural or emotional value. Kanut is a lot more than just conservation, restoration and digitising. For further information about the activities of Kanut, the services it offers and how to find us, please view the menu on the left.
Kalev Uustalu
Conservation Director
