Events and art in Kalasatama
In order to add to the comfort of the local residents, environmental art will be implemented in Kalasatama. The environmental art can be permanent (70%), temporary (15%) or in the form of various events (15%).
The environmental art project is directed by the City of Helsinki Executive Office in cooperation with the Urban Environment Division and the Culture and Leisure Division. The environmental art will be financed by a fee collected from developers: €10 per floor square metre.
Video about the Kalasatama environmental art project
The video presents some of Kalasatama’s permanent and temporary environmental artworks as well as 2019 art events.
Permanent art: Early One Morning, Eternity Sculpture
Artist: Jacob Dahlgren
Description of the work: The steel sculpture is ten metres in diameter and roughly four metres tall. According to the Swedish artist, the work is like the game where you draw a single line without lifting the pen from the paper.
Jacob Dahlgren wants to create urban spaces that provide the opportunity to take a break and play. Early One Morning, Eternity Sculpture can be considered a meeting place, inviting people to sit on its lower levels, although climbing is not allowed.
The work was completed in 2019.
Address: Capellanaukio 1
Permanent art: Line Drawn on Water
Artist: Timo Heino
Description of the work: The twelve-metre-tall sculpture consists of a coal-black kayak and a steel bar that winds down to earth from it. Artist Timo Heino’s work was inspired by the surroundings of the artwork: its maritime location and the residential community. The artwork forms a visual “chord” with the surrounding buildings, the wedge-shaped courtyard, and the street space.
The form of a kayak refers to an ancient maritime vehicle, which over the centuries has become streamlined and is now made of hi-tech materials, thus being updated to the era of speed and flying. The flowing form of the steel bar reflects light, and symbolises a line left behind by a kayak – a line drawn on water.
The work was completed in spring 2014.
Address: Capellan puistotie 3
Permanent art: Siberian Jay
Artist: Villu Jaanisoo
Description of the work: Siberian Jay is a colourful sculpture that stands close to six metres tall. The outer surface of the work is made of roughly 4,000 kilos of Durat recycled plastic. The sculpture is supported by a steel frame, and the beak and legs are made of stainless steel. The legs include ball valves that were originally used in industry.
The work was inspired by the special features ascribed to the Siberian jay in Finnish folklore. The Siberian jay, also known as the “soul bird”, was considered a friend and protector of people in forests. Various profound meanings have been assigned to the bird, or just catching a glimpse of it. ×
The work was completed in spring 2016.
Address: Junonkatu 2
Permanent art: Seat sculptures
Artist: Marjukka Korhonen
Description of the work: 14-piece spatial artwork ‘Seat sculptures’. The inspiration for the three different groups of chairs were chair models in the 20th-century working-class homes in the districts near Kalasatama. They bring to the public shore of the district under construction a reminder of the past of the area. The chairs are a unique combination of the intimate atmosphere of private homes and the open public space.
Unlike conventional sculptures, Seat sculptures are designed not just to be viewed but also for use. However, their placement differs from that of customary public furniture.
The Seat sculptures are made of acid-proof steel, as spatial art intended for use requires special durability. The metal surfaces of the work have been polished and partly painted. People sitting on chairs and the marks they leave become part of the work.
The work was completed in stages in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Address: Parrulaituri pier and Capellanaukio square
Permanent art: Compass and Stars
Artist: Riikka Puronen
Description of the work: According to artist Riikka Puronen, two different world views meet in her work. The compass represents a mathematical view of the world where things can be measured and verified. Two containers are balanced in the middle axis of the compass: their contents are not known and cannot be named. The work rises as a landmark of Toukolan rantapuisto park in the green area between Kyläsaarenkuja, Roomankatu and the sea. The location of the work also combines different elements of living and urban structure. It is located in the middle of a recreational area by the sea and surrounded by residential buildings and educational institutions.
The seven-metre-tall sculpture is constructed of steel and aluminium treated to different colours.
The work was completed in May 2018.
Address: Toukolan rantapuisto park
Permanent art: Big Be-Hide
Artist: Alicja Kwade:
Description of the work: Big Be-Hide, located on Parrulaituri pier, consists of a natural rock and a metallic copy thereof that are symmetrically placed on both sides of a two-sided mirror. Depending on how you approach it, the mirror either reflects or creates an illusion of transparency; it both hides and supplements. The environment reflected in the mirror creates a portal from one landscape and reality to another.
The work leads you to reflect on similarity and difference as well as the possibilities of parallel worlds. According to artist Alicja Kwade, who was born in Poland but currently works in Germany, our daily world is based on social contracts that we create out of our observations. Our understanding of reality and things that we consider to be absolute truths is flawed, as it is built upon the limitations of our senses.
The work was displayed in Vallisaari in summer 2021 as part of the Helsinki Biennale. It was relocated to Kalasatama in 2022.
Address: Parrulaituri pier at Kalasatamanpuisto park
Permanent art: Pars pro Toto
Artist: Alicja Kwade:
Description of the work: Pars pro Toto consists of eight stone spheres resembling planets. For the Helsinki edition of her work, the artist chose primarily Nordic types of rock. The stones show the ancient process that formed them, their age and the passage of time. The Latin name of the work, ‘Pars pro Toto’ ‘a part for the whole’, expresses one of the dimensions of the work: from the tiniest atoms to solar systems, the structures of the universe keep repeating. The existence of individuals is contrasted with the massive scales of time and matter.
The work was displayed in Vallisaari in summer 2021 as part of the Helsinki Biennale. It was relocated to Kalasatama in 2022.
Address: Capellanranta, shore stairs
Permanent art: Flattened Fool
Artist: Pekka Kauhanen
Description: Sculptor Pekka Kauhanen’s (1954–2020) work consists of a figure cast in stainless steel, standing by the canal fence surrounded by a flock of winged creatures. The work was installed by sculptor Matti Peltokangas, casting artist Arto Hyyryläinen and visual artist Outi Pienimäki.
The work was completed in 2024.
Address: Vinsentinaukio 1
Permanent art: Washed Ashore by a Thought
Artist: Heini Aho
Description: The work spread out among the small pier platforms surrounding Sompasaari consists of five sculptures and the poetic prompts related to them that suggest different ways to engage with the landscape. This way, the viewer’s own actions and observations also become part of the work. The sculptures do not stand out from the streetscape, but they are revealed to the viewer both suddenly and gradually.
The work was completed in 2024.
Address: Sompasaari
Permanent art: Mare mare
Artist: Kirsi Kaulanen
Description: Mare mare (‘Sea, sea’ in English) forms a sculptural space which you can enter in Loviseholminpuisto Park. The work consists of stainless steel elements, which have been laser-cut into spiral shapes that resemble plants and their roots, with acrylic glass-covered light elements at the top. The inside of the sculpture is an imaginary submarine or subterranean space. The sculpture’s rootlike elements rise as high as three metres, with the above-ground parts of the steel plants growing on the elements.
The work was completed in 2023.
Address: Loviseholminpuisto Park
Permanent art: Pica pica
Artist: Maija Luutonen and Olli Keränen
Description: The work consists of coins that have been spread out and set in the paving stones of the Aallonhalkoja street square. The coins are spread out in a fan shape, as if they had rolled down the square; some of the coins are in clusters and some stand out individually. The work’s central idea is to make the city’s strata and the passage of time visible. The locations of the coins seem to be accidental in the same way as pugmarks or sole marks left in wet asphalt over time.
The work was completed in 2023.
Address: Aallonhalkoja 10
Temporary art: Made-up Past
Artist: Raimo Saarinen
Description of the work: The work ‘Made-up Past’ at the Englantilaisaukio square next to Redi depicts the sculptural ruins taken over by vegetation. Various species of plants from different continents grow on the work. The living plants change, bringing to the work temporal dimensions of growing, flourishing and wilting. Thus, not just the architecture of the work, but also the plants experience the present, the future and the past. The structures, which look like they have been run down by the course of time, are made of plastered and painted cinder blocks. The form and bright colours of the work were inspired by Mexico, where the artist was setting up an exhibition when he started designing the work. When he was exploring the Kalasatama area and cultural history, he encountered the same colour palette in the bright, peeling paintwork of old boats.
The work was completed in June 2020 and was also on display in summer 2021.
Temporary art: Flamigos
Artist: Pasi Rauhala
Description of the work: The work ‘Flamigos’ takes over both the columns below Kulosaari Bridge and the wasteland along the Capellan puistotie. The name of the work is a combination of the words flamingo and amigos (Spanish for friends). The work refers to a flock of flamingos that used to live in Helsinki Zoo just across from Kalasatama. In 2010, two of the flamingos were mauled by a fox who sneaked into the zoo. The rest of the birds died of shock. The fixed part of the work is on the bridge pillars, where Rauhala creates a flock of moving flamingos with the help of steel elements and programmed light. The second part is virtual, and can be viewed via an augmented reality (AR) app Arilyn that can be downloaded on a mobile device free of charge. The application allows you to view a group of animated flamingo characters in the wasteland under the bridge.
The work was completed in autumn 2019.
Temporary art: Light Signal from the Shore
Artist: Tatu Tuominen
Description of the work: The two-part work ‘Light Signal from the Shore’ examined the history of the Kalasatama area from the perspective of seafaring and daily life in the outskirts of the city. The first part of the work was a light work that could be seen at the top windows of the housing company Kalasatama Fiskari by those walking in the surroundings of the Sompasaarenkanava canal. The programmed light work lit up every twenty minutes from 19:00 to 22:00 until the end of February 2020. As the second part of the work, the artist distributed a copy of the non-fiction book ‘Sörkan rysäkeisarit – kalastajia, ajureita ja salakuljettajia’ (Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 2013) by Eero Haapanen to the new flats completed in Sompasaari during the temporary light work. The book discusses the eventful life of the Karlsson fishing family in Vanhankaupunginlahti bay and elsewhere in Helsinki from the late 19th century to the 1960s. Among other things, the book describes the smuggling of moonshine in the area during the prohibition and the ensuing criminal lifestyle. The book also shows how Helsinki and the daily lives of its residents have changed over the last century.
The work was available between October 2019 and February 2020.
Temporary art: Mammoth of Kalasatama
Artist: Riitta Kopra
Description of the work: The Mammoth was a work related to Riitta Kopra’s studies at the Academy of Fine Arts. Built of steel, peat and other natural materials, such as stonecrop and lingonberry twigs, the work was the size of a real mammoth. Here is how Kopra commented on her work: “The oldest peat bog in Finland dates back some 10,000 years. This creates a temporal connection to mammoths; it combines continuity with temporariness: Mammoths roamed the Earth for at least 4 million years, and they died out 10,000 years ago, so in a way, fairly recently. We humans should place ourselves on the timeline of evolution and reconsider whether we really are the centre and end-all of everything.”
Kalasatama was an excellent location for the Mammoth, because it is located right next to the Helsinki Zoo, which aims, among other things, to protect endangered animals. The Mammoth was also appropriate for Kalasatama, because the construction of the area is in itself a mammoth of a project. The Mammoth suffered vandalism over the years, but it was allowed to stand in the southern tip of Kalasatama harbour until construction started in the area.
The work was completed in 2012.
Address: Southeast end of Kalasatama
Temporary art: Kalasatama Christmas tree
Artwork: Kalasatama Christmas tree
Designer: Marjut Kauppinen
Description of the work: Kalasatama Christmas tree delighted the residents of Kalasatama between 2014 and 2016.
Temporary art: Kalasatama Christmas lights 2021
Artwork: Kalasatama Christmas lights
Designer: Marjut Kauppinen
Description of the work: The Christmas lights at the light mast in Kalasatamanpuisto park have delighted Kalasatama residents since 2020. The shade of the light ball on top of the mast changes tone from warm to colder at the turn of the year.
Temporary art: R-Bus
Artist: Laura Beloff
R-Bus by artist Laura Beloff and her working group was a temporary event-based artwork, which brought a self-driving robot bus to the streets of Kalasatama in August 2023. The bus was an active agent that chose its route within a given area based on randomly generated algorithms. The work invited people to think about the experience of letting a robot take control and decide their route. Inside the bus, passengers encountered a strange yet familiar soundscape, which was streamed into the bus in real-time from devices picking up ambient sounds positioned around Kalasatama.
The work was completed in 2023.
Address: Kalasatama
