The Night of the Arts at cultural centres
Helsinki's cultural centres offer free-of-charge events for people of all ages on the Night of the Arts. The urban festival Malmi Summer of Events features performances by Vilma Jää and Josén Pimeä Puoli. Participants can also look forward to a summer market and a range of workshops for adults and children alike. The Middle East Jam Festival brings performances, top artists, workshops, food stalls and much more to Cultural Centre Stoa on the Night of the Arts.
Cultural Centre Caisa is opening the Outsider Art Festival, which will take over the entire Elanto Bread Factory block and the House of Text. The festival features an exhibition of outsider art, an installation combining ceramic sculptures and noise, and musical performances. At Sitratori Square next to Kanneltalo, the Night of the Arts is celebrated in a world of music and stories. The children's music orchestra INDABA will perform at the square, and you can also take part in Finnish and Arabic storytelling sessions or create forest arrangements at the Hupsansaa workshops.
At Maunula-talo, you can try improvisational theatre, write poems in the Black Out Poetry workshop or sing along to your favourite summer songs on the Night of the Arts. The evening also includes a performance by Ogeli Big Band. At Vuotalo, you can participate in the Jättimuskari music playschool event, the opening of an art exhibition or the event square of multicultural family organisations on the Night of the Arts. During the evening, you can also experience the dance and music performance by Delado International that takes inspiration from a waterfall.
At Annantalo, the dedicated arts centre for children and young people, the Night of the Arts is celebrated with a programme for the whole family. During the evening, you can participate in non-stop workshops, the popular AnnanHouse disco and the opening of a new gallery exhibition.
Ánnámáret and Kimmo Pohjonen on the Espa Stage
On the Night of the Arts, the Espa Stage serves as the venue for the closing concert of the Etno-Espa festival, featuring a performance by the ensemble Ánnámáret, which draws from the Sámi cultural tradition. The concert combines Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman's Sámi joik singing with Ilkka Heinonen's bowed lyre, Turkka Inkilä's electronic music and Marja Viitahuhta's video art. On the Night of the Arts, the world-renowned accordionist and composer Kimmo Pohjonen will also perform on the Espa Stage. The Espa Stage concerts are free of charge.
The Worker’s Museum opens on the Night of the Arts
The opening of the Worker’s Museum is celebrated on the Night of the Arts from 11:00 to 20:00. The mood will be set by Dj Old Crank, who will be playing shellac gramophone records on a hand-cranked gramophone starting from 17:00. The Worker’s Museum is located in Alppila, right next to Linnanmäki. The address is Kirstinkuja 4.
From the opening of the Worker’s Museum, it is easy to head to the city centre to continue the evening. The Glamour and Curtsy exhibition in Villa Hakasalmi offers free admission from 17:00 to 22:00. Musicians of Suomen Kamarimusiikkiseura, the Finnish chamber music society, will be holding small concerts on every hour starting from 17:00, playing 19th-century music perfectly suited to the manor milieu.
In Kruununhaka, you can enjoy a bilingual concert for the entire family in the yard of the Burgher’s House, featuring old children’s songs and stories about domestic animals from bygone days. The children’s music group Tellurei of the Opera Tellus collective will perform at 18:00 and 19:00. You can visit the museum between 17:00 and 20:00.
The City Museum will be screening Helsinki and trash-themed short films and commercials using an old-fashioned analogue 35 mm film projector in the Falkman courtyard from 19:00 to 22:30. Participants can also check out the projector room from 19:00 onwards in Falkman’s studio. The doors are open until 23:00.
Celebrate the Night of the Arts early with sports
At the Helsinki Swimming Stadium, the Night of the Arts will kick off early on Wednesday 13 August with Jerobeam Salakyttä Team’s traditional and ridiculously wet clown diving show starting at 18:00. Tickets to the clown show cost €5 per person (children under 3 free). Advance tickets can be bought at the Swimming Stadium and Kumpula outdoor swimming pool ticket offices.
On the day of the clown diving show, 13 August, advance tickets holders may enter the Swimming Stadium stands starting from 16:00. Any remaining tickets are sold at the stadium from 17:00 onwards on the day of the show.
The Night of the Arts at libraries
Libraries around Helsinki will be hosting a wide range of interesting events and activities on the Night of the Arts. Kontula Library is organising a Night of the Arts street party at Kontula square. Starting at 14:00, the party features old-timey street dancing, face painting, a children's activity table and a pop-up café.
At Kannelmäki Library, you can take a book walk through the landscapes of Kannelmäki and see what the area looks like in literature. Departure is at 16:00 from the stairs of Cultural Centre Kanneltalo. At Kallio Library, you can craft your own mask from recycled materials or participate in a literary-therapeutic poetry workshop from 17:00 to 19:00. Rikhardinkatu Library is hosting two reading sessions in English for schoolchildren aged around 6–10. The sessions start at 18:00 and 19:00.
Myllypuro Library is holding a showing of the documentary film Haaveiden kääntöraide followed by a discussion on the thoughts raised by the film with director Janne Koivula.
Oodi is hosting a discussion about Kalevala on the Night of the Arts from 17:00 to 18:30, featuring author and theatre director Juha Hurme, author-researcher Tiina Piilola, artist Lotta Esko, recreational Kalevala researcher Kalervo Pääkkö and Kalevalian (woman) Helena Rossi. They will be interviewed by Niina Hämäläinen, executive director of the Kalevala Society.
You can find all the Night of the Arts events of libraries at helmet.fi/events.
