Contributing to Cultural Diversity in the Finnish Art and Culture Field

The European Union Migrant Artists Network (EU-MAN) was established in 1997, in Turku, Finland to establish professional migrant artists who live and work in the EU region. Its work concentrates on visual artists. EU-MAN also publishes a quarterly magazine entitled Universal Colours, which focuses upon the work and experiences of professional migrant artists and also highlights the work of one artist in each issue.

The international Cultural Centre Caisa is an international cultural centre established in the core of Helsinki in 1996. It is subject to the City of Helsinki Cultural Office. Its object is to support the development of a diversified city by promoting interaction between people from different countries, encouraging the independant original practice of new ethnic minority cultures whilst integrating them into a finnish society and giving out information on Finland.

The International Cultural Centre Caisa organises and executes concerts, food festivals, exhibitions, seminars, courses, clubs and its own singing competition The Ourvision Singing Contest (ourvision.fi). During the year 2010 the contest changed to a Dance Contest and was called Ourvision Goes Dancing. 

Globe Art Point is an association established in 2016 by Finnish and non-Finnish born artists and culture workers resident in Finland. The founding members of Globe Art Point ry are Circo Criollo, European Theatre collective association ry, Osuuskunta SummArt, Sivuvalo multilingual literature project, Teatteriyhdistys Metamorfoosi ry and Tomi Purovaara. It was created to promote and support the status and working conditions of international artists and cultural actors of different art forms living in Finland.

The KASSANDRA International Art Centre highlights Finland’s internal internationalism, brings together new and native Finnish artists and helps to create a new Finnish identity.THE KASSANDRA THEATRE produces drama performances and art events, arranges training in artistic expression and builds cooperation bridges to other Nordic countries.KASSANDRA EDUCATION offers information about intercultural communication and arranges art workshops for women, children, young people and schoolchildren.THE KASSANDRA PROGRAMME AGENCY produces and arranges art programmes: music, dance, poetry recitals. Artists who work at Kassandra are presented in the website.

The Global Music Centre is an institute with the key task of collating, recording and distributing information about global music culture. The principal aim is to increase the understanding of individual and group values in different types of music, amongst listeners, musicians and researchers, and to expand awareness of the importance of music as a form of communication and as something which strengthens identity. Equality and respect for others form the basis for the ideals on which the institute operates. Global Music Centre produces also the oldest world music festival in Finland, ETNOSOI, which is one of the founding members of The Forum of Worldwide Music Festivals (FWMF).  

Helsinki International Artists’ Association, HIAA, is a registered artists’ association for international artists living in Finland or elsewhere. It aims to promote interaction between artists from different countries, with different background and education. HIAA brings together artists to exchange ideas, to talk about art and artists’ life in Finland and elsewhere, to learn new techniques and to participate in group exhibitions. It is open to all visual artists regardless of formal education or nationality. The association language is English.

PAND – Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament was founded in 1983. It is an independent organization for artists and cultural people wishing to work for disarmament, peace and human rights. Pand arranges events and campaigns to spread the idea of peace, and cooperates with other organizations of artists, peace and human rights as well as supports progress in development counties and cultural exchange. Pand is a member of the international movement for peace, Pand International.

ETC. European Theatre Collective is an association formed in 2007 by professional migrant artists and Finnish artists, who have studied and worked abroad for extended periods. ETC is developing opportunities for multicultural artists in Finland and showcasing immigrant artists in Finland. The ETC produces several performances a year and organizes workshops for different groups. The ETC’s art and educational workshops are characterized by its members’ multicultural background and it is the only one of its kind in Finland at the moment.

Sivuvalo Platform ry is a non-profit association that promotes multilingual literature and linguistic inclusivity in Finland. Sivuvalo aims to improve the visibility, the position and the literary production of authors who are based in Finland and who write in languages other Finnish and Swedish, and works toward providing these authors with the same possibilities and rights as the authors who write in the country’s official languages. The working group has been active since 2013, organizing discussion panels, workshops, exhibitions, experimental literary events and more.

The Strindberg Laboratory‘s mission is to use the unique power of theater to support underserved individuals and communities on their paths of self-discovery, and to create and present powerful plays that connect audiences with their stories. Through this work, we seek to build bridges between people from vastly different backgrounds. The Strindberg Laboratory is a non-profit 501(c)3 tax-deductible organization. We are one of the only theater companies in Los Angeles County to engage formerly incarcerated individuals, and to provide theater workshops inside Los Angeles County Jails and California State Prisons. Our programming provides support, educational credit, job training, and employment opportunities to incarcerated individuals, as well as programming and reentry services upon release.

Founded in 1986, Art School MAA is a private art school with approximately 90 students annually, and is run by its support association and recieves support from the City of Helsinki and the Ministry of Education. The school operates in Suomenlinna Island, in the premises of old army barracks. The activities of the school have also extended to the mainland with an experimental gallery MAA-Tila. In the Art School MAA one can study on the day programme of three years, graduating as a professional free-lance artist, or on the evening courses, which are open for everyone.