Culture in bloom

Colorful lanterns are dangling over the bridge. They were made in various workshops during the winter months - out of juice cans. Underneath, the Aura River flows through the town and out into the surrounding archipelago. Boats, cruise steamers and restaurant ships are anchored by the shore, while a few young couples enjoy an intimate moment on the riverbank. Not far away, several homeless people get into a quarrel, while a few wooden ducks bob up and down on the gentle ripples, carrying little wooden men on their backs.

According to town guide Anke Michler-Janhunen, this summer offers many events around the city that are easily accessible to the public. Their aim is to bring art closer to the people, rather than try to lure the people to art exhibitions. It is about taking art to places where the public likes to spend time: "outside - in the open air," as Michler-Janhunen puts it. "This is where we want to create a wonderful experience of art that brings a smile to people's faces."

Creating harmony and optimism

She points out that the Finns are a harmony-loving nation. But Turku has lost some of its harmony over the past years. The shipyards, which provided much of the city's jobs in the past, are now not operating at the same scale as before, and unemployment has gone up. In October 2010, 16,000 people were laid off after the launch of the last large ship that was produced there.

The city now wants to inject some extra beauty into the lives of its inhabitants. This is the reason for the wooden ducks, the mini-boats that hang in the trees along the promenade and the giant daisy made of wood and synthetic material that adorns a riverside lawn.

"Culture is good for you!" agrees Saara Malila, spokesperson for the Turku 2011 Foundation, adding that cultural programs also have a positive environmental and economic effect on the city. "That's the deeper meaning of all this."

The European Capital of Culture year, endowed with a budget of 52 million euros ($74.6 million), is aimed at boosting Turku residents' pride in their city and their sense of identity. It includes events as diverse as rolling out a red carpet to the former prison hill and an exhibition on the theme of fire that highlights the city's resilient spirit in the face of the many fires that have destroyed it over the centuries.

Art of the archipelago

There are also open-air concerts, regattas and art projects on the islands of the nearby Archipelago Sea. These art projects are intended to inform about the region and its way of life, according to Lotta Petrinella, one of the two curators of an open-air exhibition. The archipelago comprises around 20,000 islands - of which only those larger than 100 square meters (1,080 square feet) have names. They are inhabited by vacationers in the summer, who happily spend their time in simple wooden huts without electricity or running water - and by the people who live on them all year around.

One permanent community can be found on Utö, the southernmost of the islands. This village of 40 sees itself as a community - a fact confirmed by New York-based South American artist Alfredo Jarr, who has visited Utö several times. One day he needed to cross over to Turku, and the only ferry left at 5:45 am. He asked the captain about this rather unusual departure time, only to hear that it was necessary to get one child to school on time. Jarr was greatly impressed that the local people were prepared to all take a ferry at such an early hour because of one school student.

To raise awareness of this inspiringly strong community spirit, Jarr asked Finnish intellectuals and artists to write letters to the child. These texts now function as an artwork, hanging on large boards along shipping routes all across the archipelago.

Capturing local life

This summer's visitors to the archipelago are sure to come across many other unusual artistic manifestations. One of these is the film produced by Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen together with some of the islanders. It is an offbeat, lightly ironic piece portraying the archipelago in the future: as a pensioner's paradise, home of eco-anarchists and Chinese investment property.

But, according to Kochta-Kalleinen, the movie project is not really about the future, but rather about what is already happening. His films reflect the concerns and fears that the people have today. And they fit in perfectly with the European Capital of Culture's self-representation concept.

The projects connected to the Capital of Culture status have already evoked a lot of interest among the Turku locals. Whether they will increase overall confidence and help create new jobs is something that still remains to be seen.

Author: Silke Bartlick / ew
Editor: Kate Bowen