Uniarts Fest fills the Sörnäinen campus with art on Saturday, 17 September

Uniarts Fest is Uniarts Helsinki’s very own festival where the audience gets to enjoy today’s most interesting art and a fantastic series of discussions. The arts festival will be organised for the first time on the Sörnäinen campus in autumn 2022.

Uniarts Fest will offer a versatile cross-section of students’, teachers’ and alumni’s talent on Saturday, 17 September, on the university’s recently-completed Sörnäinen campus. Entry is free to all events of the festival programme, which starts at 11 in the morning and lasts until late in the evening.

Various fields are represented in the event, ranging from music to fine arts, theatre and dance. The discussion portion of the festival brings interesting speakers from different sectors to reflect on the theme legacy: what kind of legacy have we inherited from past generations, and what do we want to leave behind us? 

Speakers in the series of five dialogues are Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs Mika Aaltola with writer-visual artist Rosa Liksom, vaccinologist Hanna Nohynek with activist Ujuni Ahmed, actor-dancer Jani Toivola with activist Kaisla Ovaska, musician Vilma Jää with Miritza Lundberg and visual artist Artor Jesus Inkeröwith theatre director Juho Mantere. 

Open house on the new campus

Uniarts Fest will be organised on Uniarts Helsinki’s new Sörnäinen campus for the first time this year. Completed in autumn 2021, the campus consists of two architecturally and historically interesting buildings: The Theatre Academy’s main building Kookos and the new facilities named Mylly built for the Academy of Fine Arts.  

During the day-long festival, the public can visit a pop-up café at the rooftop terrace on the fifth floor of the Mylly Building and participate in guided tours that grant access to campus facilities that are usually not open for general visitors.

A programme filled with today’s most interesting art

The festival’s performances will take place in campus lobbies and studios and even on a rooftop terrace. No tickets need to be reserved – the audience can just drop in and enjoy the performances.

The Kuva/Tila gallery, located on street level of Mylly, will host a BFA Ehibition showcasing students’ art. Visitors can also choose to take a musical perspective on the art on display: during the day, Sibelius Academy musicians will select pieces from the exhibition and react to them through improvisation. Top floors of Mylly will serve as a venue for an art sale featuring art by students of the Academy of Fine Arts.

The music portion of Uniarts Fest covers everything from classical to pop as well as folk inspired by music from various parts of the world. The especially kid-friendly music performance Muovipullopostia (Message in a Plastic Bottle) is one of the first performances of the festival, and it deals with the issue of plastic waste ending up in the world’s oceans. The performance is suitable for anyone over 4 years of age, and it reminds the audience that messages in plastic bottles do not belong in the ocean. In addition to concerts, the programme also includes dance, theatre and performance pieces as well as video and sound art.

>> READ THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

The fourth Uniarts Helsinki arts festival

Uniarts Helsinki’s arts festival was organised for the first time at the Helsinki Music Centre in June 2019 under the name Feel Helsinki, and it attracted over 5,500 visitors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the events took place at the Helsinki Music Centre, while some content was made available virtually. This year, the festival will be organised for the first time on Uniarts Helsinki’s Sörnäinen campus, and the name is changed to Uniarts Fest.