Annantalo is an arts centre for children and young people, providing children’s cultural services for Helsinki children, young people and their families. Annantalo’s art education services will be reformed from autumn 2023 onwards. The aim is to make the activities more accessible so that more Helsinki children and young people can have the opportunity to explore and practice art in Annantalo.
Art teaching during school days to continue, evening course activities reformed
Annantalo offers multidisciplinary art education to Helsinki schoolchildren as part of the school day and evening courses and workshops on leisure time and workshop days. Art education during the school day will continue, as it responds well to the needs of art education in schools.
Annantalo’s evening course activities and leisure time workshops will be reformed to allow more children and young people to participate. As of the autumn term of 2023, the evening course activities will be shorter in duration and include short courses enabling experimentation. The idea is that children and young people can try out the art form they are interested in before committing to a longer-lasting hobby. It means that long-term recreational activities continuing from one year to the next are replaced by different courses. The situation of children and young people in need of special support will be considered separately, as they may not have the opportunity for long-term hobbies elsewhere.
“The need for a change has existed for a long time because the demand for Annantalo’s evening courses has been high. Every year, dozens, if not hundreds, of families are excluded from registration. Accessibility and the widest possible participation are the guiding principles of the Annantalo art education reform. The reform of the evening course activities aims to enable a wider and more diverse group of Helsinki children and young people to enjoy the activities at Annantalo,” says Pirjetta Mulari, Director of Annantalo.
The reform also aims to support the ecosystem of art education in Helsinki. There are over 40 institutes offering basic education in arts in Helsinki. They provide children and young people with longer-duration art education.
Twelve new art educator posts to be established
Annantalo has annually employed approximately 40 temporary art educators in fixed-term employment with varying part-time percentages. The reform means that Annantalo will offer art education services all year round. It requires Annantalo to employ permanent full-time art educators. The 12 new art educator posts will be filled with permanent full-time employees by internal recruitment targeted at art educators working in Annantalo in spring 2023.
More information
Pirjetta Mulari, Director of Annantalo
pirjetta.mulari@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program), tel. +358 9 3103 7174