Renovated Vaasanpuistikko to be celebrated on the Night of the Arts

The Kurvi working group will hold an opening ceremony for Vaasanpuistikko on the Night of the Arts on 15 August at 15.00–18.00. The square is located by entrance A of Sörnäinen Metro Station. Deputy Mayor Anni Sinnemäki will deliver a greeting from the City during the festivities. The artwork set, entitled Torille! (‘To the Market Square!’) and designed by Komugi Ando and Teemu Salonen, will be unveiled by Museum Director Arja Miller from HAM Helsinki Art Museum.

In addition to celebratory speeches, the event programme will feature music, coffee and cake for the first 200 arrivals, a dreaming workshop, free haircuts and other enjoyable shared activities.

Over the course of the evening, attendees will have an opportunity to meet local residents and the Kurvi working group, which features representatives of operators such as the City of Helsinki, the police, local organisations and businesses. The objective of the working group is to foster community spirit in the area and improve the pleasantness and safety of the area through volunteer work, café events and joint meetings.  

Renovation of Vaasanpuistikko now complete

The renovation project involved repaving the square and the surrounding Pengerpolku and Vaasanpolku with natural stone slates.  The flat pavement area enables operators to build terraces and use various mobile sales points. In the future, the area will serve as a summer event venue.

The area now features new benches placed in groups in different parts of the square. Low-growing vegetation has been planted around the oak trees of the park.  The square also features new bicycle racks, as well as solar-powered smart waste bins. The new hanging lights of the area will be completed in late August. The new lighting will improve visibility in the area.

The objective of the planning work was to improve the urban landscape, pleasantness and safety of the park and the paths. 

Working towards a safe and pleasant urban space

Tuula Jurmu lives in Sörnäinen and has been a member of the Kurvi working group since the very beginning. She is happy to see that Vaasanpuistikko has been made into a more pleasant urban space where everyone can spend time.

“In the autumn of 2022, we began to think about how the area could be developed together with local residents and operators. We established the Kurvi working group and organised volunteer cleaning events, which enabled people to get to know each other better. When planning the renovation of Vaasanpuistikko, it was important to us to make the area safe and pleasant,” Jurmu recollects.

“The overhauled Vaasanpuistikko is much better. I love seeing different kinds of people sitting down on the park benches to take a break and see the bustle of the city. We’re also planning to hold small-scale events in the area.”