Summer Artist

Hyrylä

Model-making workshops

Monion Monttu, Pataljoonantie 6, Tuusula
Tue 23 June at 5 pm, workshop for young people and adults (15+)
Wed 24 June at 5 pm, workshop for young people and adults (15+)
Thu 25 June at 1 pm, workshop for children (8+)

Interview

Friday 3 July at 2 pm, Tuusula Main Library (Laura meeting room), Autoasemankatu 2, Tuusula

Jokela

Model-making workshops

Tiilitehdas, Nukarintie 5, Jokela
Tue 30 June at 5 pm, workshop for teenagers and adults (15+)
Wed 1 July 2 July at 1 pm, workshop for children (8+)
Thu 2 July at 5 pm, workshop for young people and adults (15+)

Interview

Friday 10 July at 4 pm, Jokela House (Köksä), Keskustie 20, Jokela

Kellokoski

Model-making workshops

Ruukin Verstas (Kellokosken Ruukki), Vanha Valtatie 190, Kellokoski
Tue 7 July at 1 pm, workshop for children (8+)
Wed 8 July at 5 pm, workshop for teenagers and adults (15+)
Thu 9 July at 5 pm, workshop for teenagers and adults (15+)

Interview

Friday 26 June at 1 pm, Kellokosken Nuorkka, Kuntotaival 2c, Kellokoski

Onerva Luoma, a costume designer and artist from Helsinki, has been selected as Tuusula’s Artist-in-Residence for the summer of 2025. Luoma trained as a designer and is currently studying writing at the School of Creative Writing. Since graduating as a designer, she has worked in costume design, mainly in the theatre.

Over the summer, the summer artist will be running a range of workshops on textile painting, using old clothes donated by local residents as a base. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to create their own painted garments and to take part in the creation of a collaborative textile artwork. In addition, each participant will be invited to write a love letter to their favourite item of clothing.

Maaret “Manta” Näkkäläjärvi, a circus artist and teacher from Jokela, has been selected as Tuusula’s Summer Artist for 2024. Twenty-nine artists from various disciplines applied for the role. During her tenure, Näkkäläjärvi created a new fire performance and performed and ran workshops across Tuusula.

Manta Näkkäläjärvi, a circus professional and teacher, has qualified as a drama instructor. She has worked at the Linnanmäki and Pukinmäki circus schools, as well as at Sirkus Magenta, as an instructor for hobby groups.

– I’m really excited about this job. Tuusula has been my home since I was a child, and it’s great to be able to showcase my art and bring it to the attention of local residents, Näkkäläjärvi commented in spring 2024.

Over the summer, Näkkäläjärvi worked on a new fire art performance, which was staged on 9 August 2024 during Tuusula’s Night of the Arts in Kotorannanpuisto Park. She also organised juggling workshops at children’s park picnics, at the MONI ON ICON event for young musicians on 8 June 2024, and on Tuusula Day on 22 July 2024. The summer artist also performed at nurseries and care homes, meaning that residents of Tuusula had numerous opportunities to get involved in the summer artist’s work.

Matti Sampela, a media artist from Espoo, has been selected as Tuusula’s Artist-in-Residence for the summer of 2023. Forty-eight representatives from various art fields applied for the position. During the summer, Sampela created video portraits using an AI model that generates images from text.

Matti Sampela graduated as a visual artist from Tampere University of Applied Sciences and studied drawing and painting at the Edinburgh College of Art. Sampela is a visual artist, graphic designer and photographer who combines drawing and painting techniques with digital 3D graphics and photography in his work.

– I became interested in 3D graphics as part of my artistic practice a few years ago. Little by little, I learnt new software and imaging techniques, eventually turning to AI software. I see artificial intelligence as a rich treasure trove and a dazzling new tool for making art, Matti Sampela said in spring 2023.

Residents of Tuusula were able to take part in the summer artist’s work using AI models created from their own facial features. Using AI, Sampela combined the participants’ wishes and dreams with portraits created based on their facial features.

– AI that creates images is a relatively new tool in contemporary art. I want to bring AI and contemporary art closer to art enthusiasts by involving them in the creative process. By taking part in the creation of their AI portraits, residents of Tuusula also have a great opportunity to learn something new about image-generating AI, Sampela said.

Tuusula hired its first summer artist in 2022; Sampela was the second summer artist in Tuusula. The role of the summer artist is to encourage individuals at the start of their artistic careers to pursue their artistic work and realise the art project they proposed during the application process.

The summer artist worked with the Tuusula municipal council’s team of cultural producers during June and July 2023. They also took part in the events of Tuusula Week, held from 17 to 23 July 2023.

Katariina Sarja, a 28-year-old poet, producer and literature student from Oulu, served as Tuusula’s first summer artist. Ten representatives from different artistic fields applied for the position. Sarja ran participatory creative writing workshops, which resulted in audio poetry trails. Katariina Sarja’s proposal for Tuusula Poetry Summer 2022 fitted in with the ‘I Live!’ anniversary year, which Tuusula and Nurmijärvi are celebrating together in honour of Aleksis Kivi. At the turn of the year on 31 December 2022, it marked 150 years since the death of Aleksis Kivi, and the anniversary year was celebrated with a focus on promoting mental health.

– The benefits of writing for mental health are undeniable. Writing is thinking, and through writing, a person is able not only to express their feelings and thoughts, but also to process them further. Things become strangely clearer in one’s own mind once they have been organised on paper – whether the end result is a poem, a diary entry or simply a stream of consciousness, said Katariina Sarja.

During June, Sarja organised creative writing workshops where residents of Tuusula had the chance to write poems in places that were important to them and publish them on the Citynomadi website. The project culminated on Poetry and Summer Day on 6 July 2022, when the participants’ poems were published along poetry trails. Anyone can walk the trails and listen to the poems as they go.

Listen and walk whilst listening to poetry

Katariina Sarja’s ‘Poetry Trail’, part of the Tuusula Poetry Summer project, remains open to anyone enjoying the outdoors in the Rantatie area.

You can enjoy the poems created in the workshops by downloading them to your mobile device via the Citynomadi website. Type “Tuusulan runopolku” into the search field and open the Communities tab. You’ll find the Tuusulan Runopolku route on this tab. The app’s map shows the locations where the poems can be found. You can also explore the poetry trail using the map below.