Sibelius Academy sets up a new residency programme with Paloheimo foundation funding
The Leonora and Yrjö Paloheimo Foundation has awarded a grant of EUR 60,220 to Uniarts Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy for organising a residency programme named Third Spaces at Kallio-Kuninkala in the City of Järvenpää.
Third Spaces is a seven-day community project organised by the Sibelius Academy’s Degree Programme in Global Music in 2026 and 2028. The first residency will take place at the Kallio-Kuninkala centre in October 2026. It will bring together doctoral and other students as well as artists from different cultural backgrounds, including Australian Aborigines, Native Americans, Maori and Sámi people. The main goal of the programme is to develop new forms of intercultural artistic cooperation. The project is led by Professor of Global Music Nathan Riki Thomson.
“In 2026, our project’s theme has become even more important: we are observing a continued rise in division and polarisation worldwide, alongside serious societal and environmental challenges. That is why artists, teachers and researchers must constantly reassess their roles and responsibilities. We are very grateful to the Leonora and Yrjö Paloheimo Foundation for supporting this work,” says Thomson.
The residency programme consists of a series of artistic residencies to be organised every two years. They are planned to take place at Kallio-Kuninkala in Järvenpää and in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Support from foundations enables intercultural cooperation across continents
The Leonora and Yrjö Paloheimo Foundation and the US-based Paloheimo Foundation have teamed up to support the Third Spaces residency programme, which will be carried out in 2026 in Finland and planned for 2028 in the United States.
The Leonora and Yrjö Paloheimo Foundation promotes the growth of young artists and education in the arts. Uniarts Helsinki and the foundation have close cooperation at Kallio-Kuninkala, which serves as Uniarts Helsinki’s course centre in Järvenpää. The foundation provides the Kallio-Kuninkala facilities for Uniarts Helsinki and supports its operations. The foundation also supports the funding of international master classes organised by Uniarts Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy and promotes cultural work between Finland and the United States through targeted grants. The foundation does not have a public grant application process.
During the first two years of operation, the Third Spaces residency activities will be linked to community work with indigenous peoples. The work is part of the four-year Voice and Justice initiative, funded by Uniarts Helsinki and the Erkko Foundation, which explores how music, musical heritage and music performance can promote cultural understanding and dialogue. The initiative entails four international artistic collaboration projects, teaching visits and a four-year research project.
Further information
- Professor Nathan Riki Thomson (nathan.thomson@uniarts.fi)
- Leonora and Yrjö Paloheimo Foundation, Chair of the Board Lauri Paloheimo, lauri.paloheimo@kuninkala.fi, tel. 040 777 8990