Kankaanpää has been celebrating the cultural spring since mid-April. The event has included a wide range of concerts, plays, exhibitions, art and culture. The cultural spring is now immersing itself in the spirit of art week.
For many locals, the word art week is associated with the North Satakunta Art Week, which is held in the summer. This event was revamped last year, as a result of which the city's calendar now includes a new event, Kankaanpää's Cultural Spring, which combines art and culture, and an event week that will be renamed Hörhiäisviiko, which will take place at the end of August.
City and art school in collaboration
The birth of the Spring Art Week came from the desire to get the Kankaanpää Art School, or SAMK Fine Arts Kankaanpää unit, more involved in organizing the art week.
– Kankaanpää is an art city in line with its strategy and we wanted to make the art school's activities more visible to both locals and visitors, says the city's marketing and communications manager Johanna Luotolinna.
According to Luotolinna, the Cultural Spring idea also brings together the city's own cultural and art offerings in a new way.
The idea of organizing an art week was enthusiastically received at the art school.
– Spring is a very active time for us, when students finish their courses and produce various art events. The goal is of course to bring them closer to the rest of the community, says the project researcher Saija Mustaniemi SAMK Fine Arts in Kankaanpää.
According to Mustaniemi, the planning for the art week started in the autumn and it was integrated into the teaching activities. The program is extensive and spread across different locations. In addition to public events, the art school has also wanted to take into account the local community, from babies to toddlers, by producing content for groups in serviced housing and daycare centers.
Art School Art Week
It's worth going out and exploring what Art Week has to offer. In fact, the events have already started on May 2.5nd, when art school students visited brick-and-mortar stores (including Kankaanpää Kemikalio and Combi Kuntokeskus) as part of an observational painting course. The artists will also be at work during week 19 (May 7th-9.5th) and during Art Week itself, May 14th-16.5th.
Art Week is therefore week 20 and it starts on Monday 14.5 May, when you can see the working of peat sculptures from the environmental and community art course at Mullitori in front of the art school (Paasikivenkatu 24). In addition, you can see and try out the Log Drum, a traditional drum made by an Indian artist. Suvadeep Das prepared during the spring. These are from May 14th to 17.5th from 9 am to 16 pm.
On Wednesday, May 16.5th from 13–16 pm and Thursday, May 17.5th from 10–13 pm, an art gallery of the future will be on display at the premises of the Northern Satakuntan Regional Network (PSSV) on the edge of the market square. Art student Aku Koskinen conjures up virtual reality there.
On Thursday 17.5. at 15 pm, the SCHOOLSOUT mini-festival will start at the art school. All young people from Kankaanpää are welcome! Performing will include a band called Tibet, artist and musician Kalamanteri, and the Pumppu club's performance ensemble Spring Spectacle.
On Friday, May 18.5th, from 12-15pm, the art week will continue with the KÄSITYS – open seminar on art and science. Speaking in the art school auditorium will be, among others, urban designer Päivi Raivio The topic is urban art and urban farming, as well as visual artists who stimulate the dialogue between art and science. Mia Mäkelä and Antti Laitinen.
During Art Week, the first art tour of the year will also take place, hosted by the Kankaanpää Art Association. Marita Frigard. Departure on Thursday 17.5. at 18 pm from Café Postelli (Keskuskatu 51).
There's something happening at the museum too
Art Week also coincides with International Museum Week, within the framework of which events will be organised at the Kankaanpää City Museum (Museokatu 10, 38840 Niinisalo). On Friday 18.5 May, from 18pm to 22pm, there will be a night of museums, when the city museum's new exhibition "THE OBJECT OF VIEW: YOU, ME, HE" will open. In line with the theme of the exhibition, which focuses on portraits, the evening's programme includes, among others, a selfie workshop and a visual arts student Laura Sillanpaa is taking quick portraits of the audience.
On Saturday, May 19.5th at 13 pm, the museum week program includes a listening walk, where you can experience the surroundings of the city museum with the help of a visual artist. Kirsi Jaakkolan Admission to the museum is free all weekend.
The program for Art Week and the entire Kankaanpää cultural spring can be found at:
Additional information
Johanna Luotolinna, Marketing and Communications Manager, City of Kankaanpää
044 577 2212, [email protected]
Saija Mustaniemi, project researcher, SAMK Fine Arts Kankaanpää
+050 5342798 [email protected]