Summer artist

As the name suggests, the clothing painting workshop involves painting old clothes. The aim is to let go of criticism and preconceived ideas about the end result, surrendering to surprises and playfulness.

No previous experience in painting or working with textiles is required. All necessary materials are available at the workshop. Participants may bring their own clothing to paint if they wish. Clothing must be washed and made of cellulose-based material (e.g. linen, cotton or viscose).

• Wed 18 June at 5 p.m.
• Thu 19 June at 5 p.m.
• Wed 9 July at 1 p.m.
• Thu 10 July at 1 p.m.
• Wed 16 July at 1 p.m.
• Thu 17 July at 1 p.m.

Clothing painting workshops last 2.5 hours and require advance registration.

The workshops will be held at Tuuskodon Venny, and those who register will receive detailed arrival instructions separately by email. Each workshop can accommodate eight participants. The workshop is suitable for all ages, but participants must be 12 years of age or older. Registration is binding.

The clothing items created in the workshop will be displayed in an exhibition at the Tuusula Day event at Kulttuuritalo Monio on 22 July.

Clothes carry countless meanings. In this workshop, we will reflect on the meanings associated with clothes that are dear to us and the layers of stories that have accumulated in them. Based on these thoughts, we will write a love letter to our favourite item of clothing.

Love letters to favourite clothes can be written at all municipal centres in Tuusula. Summer artist Onerva Luoma will guide participants in the workshop. All materials needed for the workshop will be available on site. Participants can bring their own favourite clothes or wear them to the workshop.

• Tuesday, 10 June, 5–6.30 p.m. Laura Hall, Tuusula Main Library, Autoasemankatu 2, Tuusula
• Thursday, 12 June, 5–6.30 p.m. Jokela Library, Keskustie 20, Jokela
• Wednesday, 2 July, 1:00–2:30 p.m. Kellokoski Library, Kuntotaival 2B, Kellokoski
• Thursday, 3 July, 1:00–2:30 p.m. Laura Hall, Tuusula Main Library, Autoasemankatu 2, Tuusula

The workshop lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes. The workshop is suitable for people over the age of 15, and no advance registration is required.

The texts produced in the workshop will be included in an exhibition on display at the Tuusula Day event at Kulttuuritalo Monio on 22 July.

Anything can be a stamp. The aim of this non-stop workshop is to print patches using stamps found in the local environment. Summer artist Onerva Luoma will compile the resulting patches into one large textile artwork. The workshops will be held in connection with park picnics and are well suited for children.

All necessary materials are available at the workshop. The scraps are made from old clothes donated by residents of Tuusula. A summer artist guides the young artists at the workshop. Free admission.

• Tue 24 June, 12:00–13:30 Kellokoski Björkenheim Park Kellokoski workshop cancelled due to rain.
• Wed 25 June, 12:00–13:30 Jokela Notkopuisto Park
• Wed 23 July, 12:00–13:30 Tuusulanjärvi School
• Thursday, 24 July, 12:00–13:30 Kellokoski Björkenheim Park

Weather forecast.

All workshops operate on a non-stop basis, meaning you can join in at any time!

Free admission!

Maaret “Manta” Näkkäläjärvi, a circus artist and teacher from Jokela, was selected as Tuusula’s summer artist for 2024. Twenty-nine representatives from various fields of art applied for the position. During her tenure, Näkkäläjärvi created a new fire performance and performed and held workshops in various parts of Tuusula.

Circus professional and circus teacher Manta Näkkäläjärvi is a qualified theatre expression instructor. She has worked at the circus schools in Linnanmäki and Pukinmäki, as well as at Circus Magenta as an instructor for hobby groups.

“I am excited about this job. Tuusula has been my home since I was a child, and it is wonderful to be able to showcase my art and bring it to the attention of the local community,” Näkkäläjärvi commented in spring 2024.

During the summer, Näkkäläjärvi worked on a new fire art performance, which was shown on 9 August 2024 at the Tuusula Arts Night in Kotorannanpuisto Park. He also organised juggling workshops at children’s park lunches, 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 daycare centres and service homes, giving the residents of Tuusula several opportunities to participate in the summer artist’s work.

Media artist Matti Sampela from Espoo was selected as Tuusula’s summer artist for 2023. Forty-eight representatives from various fields of art applied for the position. During the summer, Sampela created video portraits using an artificial intelligence 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 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 art.

“I became interested in 3D graphics as part of my artistic work a few years ago. I gradually lea ed new software and imaging techniques, eventually ending up with artificial intelligence software. I see artificial intelligence as a rich treasure trove and a dazzling new tool for creating art, Matti Sampela said in the spring of 2023.

The residents of Tuusula were able to participate in the summer artist’s work with the help of artificial intelligence models made in their own likeness. Sampela used artificial intelligence to combine the participants’ wishes and dreams in his art with portraits created based on their facial features.

– Image-creating artificial intelligence is a relatively new tool in contemporary art. I want to bring artificial intelligence and contemporary art closer to art lovers by involving them in the process of creating art. By participating in the creation of their own artificial intelligence portraits, the residents of Tuusula also have a great opportunity to lea new things about artificial intelligence that creates images, Sampela said.

Tuusula hired its first summer artist in 2022, and Sampela was the second summer artist in Tuusula. The purpose of the summer artist programme is to encourage artists at the beginning of their careers to pursue their artistic work and implement the art projects they presented in their applications.

The summer artist worked in June and July 2023 in the municipality of Tuusula as part of a team of cultural producers. He also participated in the events of Tuusula Week from 17 to 23 July 2023.

Katariina Sarja, 28, a poet, producer and literature student from Oulu, was Tuusula’s first summer artist. Ten representatives from different fields of art applied for the position. Sarja held participatory word art workshops, which resulted in audio poetry trails. Katariina Sarja’s proposal for Tuusula Poetry Summer 2022 was in line with the Minä elän! (I live!) anniversary year, which Tuusula and Nurmijärvi are celebrating together in honour of Aleksis Kivi. At the tu of the year on 31 December 2022, it will be 150 years since the death of Aleksis Kivi, and the anniversary year will be celebrated with the theme of promoting mental health.

The benefits of writing in promoting mental health are undeniable. Writing is thinking, and by writing, people are able to not only express their feelings and thoughts, but also process them further. Things become strangely clear in your own mind when you have structured them on paper – whether the end result is a poem, a diary entry or just a stream of consciousness, said Katariina Sarja.

During June, Sarja organised creative writing workshops where residents of Tuusula could write poems in places that were important to them and read them on the Citynomadi website. The project culminated on Poetry and Summer Day on 6 July 2022, when the participants’ poems were published on poetry trails. Anyone can walk the trails and listen to the poems at the same time.

Listen and walk while listening to poems

Katariina Sarjan’s Tuusula Poetry Summer project, Runopolku, is still open to everyone enjoying the outdoors in the Rantatie area.

You can enjoy the poems created in the workshops by downloading them to your mobile device from the Citynomadi website. Type “Tuusulan runopolku” in the search field and open the Communities/Community tab. The Tuusulan Runopolku route can be found on the 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.