Timo Kelaranta: Strange love – 1.2.–29.4.2012
This spring’s major exhibition focuses on photographic artist Timo Kelaranta’s (b. 1951) long involvement with photography. As a photographer Kelaranta is a poet, a master of the abstract apprehension and of minimalism, for whom the most important thing in a picture is its form. The content of the picture is also generated by the form. The light moulds the surface, scale and space of the objects into serious that was not there before. The material appears immaterial. The pictures also include words: the titles are essential parts of the works.

The exhibition contains works spanning Kelaranta’s entire career, plus totally new, recently complete photographs. To counterbalance the abstract images, and on display is a small numbers of portraits of his friends and family. Kelaranta is not showing his production in chronological order, or even arranged into distinct themes, rather the relative direction of the life is determined by visual considerations. The moment of looking is more important than the moment of photographing. The exhibition coincides with the publication of a book, Outo rakkaus (Strange love 2012), and a small exhibition guide (Finnish Museum of Photography, 2012). Visitors can hear the artists talk about his works (in Finnish) on the Museum’s Kannykkaguide (mobile phone guide).

That magical place is the Academic Bookstore in the middle of Helsinki. Built in the 1960s, the Academic Bookstore is one of the works of the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.  The two-level Academic Bookstore displays books in many languages. One of the Europe’s largest bookstore, it has a satisfying selection of Finnish and foreign authors, English-language books, travel guides, and even high-quality stationery items.

Architect: Alvar Aalto, often credited as the “father of modernism” in Scandinavia
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Date: 1962 to 1969
Building Type: retail, bookstore and offices
Construction System: copper-clad curtain wall with white marble inset
Context: urban
Style: Modern

All 58 air-conditioned stylish guestrooms at Hotel Haven are elegantly decorated in a contemporary Scandinavian style. Gloriously large rooms are the largest in the city and create an added level of comfort together with comfy sofas in attractive fabrics and individual objects of art. The result is an interesting reinterpretation of classic contemporary styling improved by well-chosen works of art. Each guest room includes a minibar, a lavish spa bathroom, LCD TV with cable and satellite channels, complimentary wireless Internet access and a multimedia entertainment system from Bang & Olufsen. All guestrooms at Hotel Haven are non-smoking.

Guests enjoy free access to the hotel’ modern gym, while a variety of skincare and extravagant spa facilities and body treatments can be booked at well-equipped Siluetti Spa. This 5-star boutique hotel also has 3 high class restaurants and a lounge bar with fireplace. Additional amenities include a rooftop terrace, multilingual staff, and laundry facilities.

This August the 8th annual Flow Festival will taking place in Helsinki Suvilahti (12. – 14.8.2011). In my opinion, the Flow Festival is one of the most urban and unique music festival held in Finland, if not in the whole Scandinavia….!The Suvilahti festival area is located near by the centre of Helsinki, in the area of Sornainen. The festival area is approximately 3 hectare and takes 16.000 capacity of audience.

Suvilahti is a former energy production area that has over 100-year history and the area it self brings new vibes to the venue. It is a true melting pot during the four day and brings together colorful people and urban rhythms.

This year the festival program is truly impressive! The diverse cast of Flow artists thus far includes Kanye West, the king of new pop music. Q-Tip, the legendary MC from the pioneering hiphop group A Tribe Called Quest, makes his first appearance in Finland, the Swedish songstress Lykke Li and the “Nordic Daft Punk”, Royksopp, display their party-starting electro akin to last year’s successful release “Senior”.

The list of performers is killer. The urban beats will flow from electronic music via indie rock and jazz to world music. Overall the festival’s musical scope is broad. This year, Flow will feature not only great music, but also design, live radio, plus more extensive selection of festival cuisine than ever before. In all these aspects of the festival, Flow’s partners play an important role. In late May and early June, Flow Festival will also take things onto Helsinki city streets. We recommend that you keep your eyes open for special features for example at central tram stops.

The ticket sales have started already and every year the tickets have been sold out quite early so if you want to be attend – book your tickets early!Flow Festival 3-day tickets will be available at Tiketti outlets and in Stupido Shop. Three day ticket price 115 € + service fee from 1,30 € / ticket.

In Helsinki, there is a mainson with a fascinating history and the botanical garden surrounding it. The garden has been entirely renewed and it was opened to the public in 2009. The Kumpula Mansion has been one of the largest mansions in 19th century Helsinki. Yellow buildings existing today are from early 19th century. How ever the first marks about this place are from early 15th century, before Helsinki was even founded! Kumpula Mansion’s history is vivid and the place is an important part of Helsinki´s history.

During the years, the mainson has had several owners. One of the most interesting ones is Johannes Forsskal who hosted the mansion in 1730s. He had a son Peter, who was a student of Carl Von Linnen – a man who him self is a father of modern botanical taxonomy! So naturally Peter came one of the greatest botanist in Finland. Peters childhood home is now a large, modern botanical garden – what an odd coincidence!

However, you can’t visit the mainson inside, because it is still used by the Helsinki University. But the fact that the building is surrounded by stunning botanical garden with lakes and streams, and fresh green forest flooded of butterflies and other species. There is also small cafe and shop in annex. And of course a lovely terrace with a peaceful view over the green valley!In the garden – there are five geographic sections where the plants are arranged by the geographic origin.

Seurasaari Island is one of the best thing to do in Helsinki, if you want to run from the urban areas of the city. Seurasaari is also an open air museum: there are 78 old wooden buildings from all over the Finland. The cottages, farmsteads and manors are from the past four centuries. You can get a guided tour if you want to or just walk slowly on your own through the green area. The houses are open only in summertime, but the island is worth of exploring in winter as well.

While hiking through the deep lush forest you will also find many treks leadind to lovely remote beaches. However one of them also for the nudists. You can swim there in wintertime as well (Mind you the water is freezing and you have to jump into the hole on ice! There is no sauna or shower before or after the swim!) If you are hungry or thirsty there is a restaurant, cafe and kiosk. Oh and don’t forget: Bring some nuts to feed the tame squirrels!!

Despite the visitors and the squrrel , the island has a variety of wildlife, especially birds hares. The height of the island’s popularity is at Midsummer, when a huge bonfire  is built on a small isle just off the island’s coast, and ignited by a newly-wed couple. Thousands of people, both tourists and Helsinkians, watch the burning of the bonfire from both Seurasaari itself and from boats anchored near it.

The Seurasaari Open-Air Museum consists of old, mainly wooden buildings transplanted from elsewhere in Finland and placed in the dense forest landscape of the island. Getting there: Seurasaari is only 5 km from the city central. You can take a bus from Lasipalatsi or a boat from the Market Square.

Kid or not – who would not be impressed in front of over 10 meter long dinosaur? I tell you – this is one cool spot to visit in Helsinki! Tyler Brule is one of my favourite journalist and he often flatters Helsinkians with his writings about Helsinki – like he did with his FT-writing – how cozy a place Helsinki is.

Tyler writes actually a lot about the nature in Helsinki. The city, Helsinki (and Finland) is well know as a trendy place to visit because of its nature related things. The trendy restaurants serves organic food, the small boutiques sell nothing but organic food, the design shops sell all those cool design items that has been produced on wood or other recycled materials in order to save the nature. And of course all or many of the shapes and forms in Finnish design items come from the nature!

So overall the nature is the heart of this trendy city and the design related culture of ours. Go to check out the roots of our design culture – part of it can be found on the 3rd floor of the Natural History Museum. In the next hall you can find the cool dinos as well and two other floors of the words treasures.

Situated in the heart of Helsinki, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma presents an easy access to the most interesting and invigorating art of our time. Kiasma is an open forum for the exchange of opinions and a continuous interpretation of artistic and cultural creations.

Kiasma’s programme includes exhibitions offering Finnish and international contemporary art, collection displays, performances in the Kiasma Theatre, workshop, seminars and lectures.

]]> http://www.wayfaring.info/2010/11/22/helsinki-museum-of-contemporary-art/feed/ 0 http://www.wayfaring.info/2009/12/03/snow-castle/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=snow-castle http://www.wayfaring.info/2009/12/03/snow-castle/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:00:24 +0000 misha http://www.wayfaring.info/?p=15463

Every winter the world’s biggest snow castle has been built at Kemi in northern Finland, and every springs it melts away to nothing. Each year it is slightly different. Sometimes it stands 20 m or three stories high, or even 1,000 m long. Whatever is built, the castle attracts tens of thousands of daytime visitors. Many include it in the package of winter activities, such as a trip on an ice-breaking ship or a husky-sled safari.

Colourful lighting makes castle’s architecture stunning and the striking carved ice sculptures dotted around the site. Among its walls, corridors, turrets, and chambers, the building always include a chapel, a restaurant, and a hotel.

The temperature inside is minus five degrees, so guests must dress in serious winter clothing at all the times, even in the restaurant which has ice tables and ice seats covered with reindeer fur. The restaurant offer many specialties like reindeer soup, lappish potatoes, and loganberries. Everything is served in foil to keep them warm.

Inside their windowless snow bedrooms, guests stay warm in heavy-duty insulated sleeping bags, although they are advised to wear a ski hat and socks in bed. There are toilets and television in the lounge area, but a shower involves a transfer bus to a more conventional based hotel.

Suomenlinna or Viapori (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands, today within Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The Sea fortress Suomenlinna is a unique architectural monument, a popular recreation area and museum. Although the island is located off the coast of Helsinki, it is part of the city. The Fortress was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1991!

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress was built over 250 years ago and once had a population of 4600, larger than the population of Helsinki at the time. The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism. All the effort didn’t hinder the Russians taking over in 1808. Finally in 1918 the Fortress became Finnish. Nowadays it is a popular park with museums, interesting flora and beaches.

Today, the island is inhabited by 1000 residents and so you will see some kids biking around. There is a big Visitor Center, which has a 25 minute “multi-vision show” and computers about the fortress.

There are plenty of nice spots for a picnic and you can also swim and sunbathe in various locations on the island – be prepared to walk a bit though. The trip to the fortress in Suomenlinna could be carried out by using the inter-island connecting motor boat from the Port in Katajanokanlaituri.

The Verla Groundwood and Board Mill is a well preserved 19th century mill village. Only a handful of such settlements survives to the present day. It’s now a museum and one of the sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Hugo Neuman founded the Verla Groundwood Mill in 1872, but was destroyed by fire in 1876. Wilhelm Dippell having died in 1906, Verla became a limited company called the Verla Groundwood and Board Mill.

Throughout its unbroken 81-year history Verla Mill produced about 150,000 tonnes of board.

The historical machines were preserved in their places, except for several pieces brought from other buildings.

The Hotel Kakslauttanen in Finland is in fact an Igloo Village, at which you can have your pick of 20 unique glass and snow igloos for your stay. They aren’t ice houses, but 31 well-maintained log cabins – built from a very special thermo glass that keeps them warmth and comfortable. Because of that, the temperature inside the Igloos is always a normal room temperature and the igloos inhabitants won’t feel any of the polar cold.

The Igloo Village Kakslauttanen boasts a World’s Largest Snow Restaurant. You can enjoy a drink at the Ice Bar, or visit the Ice Gallery for local art, or try the world’s largest smoke sauna if you get a chance, or throw the most memorable wedding or christening at the Ice Chapel.

The surrounding Finnish Lapland scenery is incredible – it’s a prime spot for marveling at the northern lights throughout the winter. When sleeping in the glass igloos you are able to for viewing the amazing natural phenomena – Aurora Borealis and the millions of stars in the sky. The experience is also unforgettable when there is a snowstorm…

 Wife carrying is a sport in which male competitors race while each carrying female partners. The Wife Carrying World Championship takes place every year in the Finnish province of Sonkajarvi, but similar events have now sprung up around the world. And the prize is … the winning wife’s weight in beer. Prizes are also rewarded for the most entertaining couple, the strongest carrier, and the best costume. The date of this year’s event is July 4, 2009.

The objective is for the male to carry the female teammates through a special obstacle track in as short amount of time as possible. Several carrying strategies can be used, including piggyback and fireman’s carry (over the shoulder) or Estonian-style (the wife hangs upside-down with her legs around the husband’s shoulders, holding onto his waist). If the female partner is dropped, a 15 second penalty is assessed.

Rauma is one of the oldest harbours in Finland. The port has a history of lively commercial relations to other countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. This is one well preserved coherent historical wooden town. There are 600 buildings on area of 28 hectares, the oldest of which date from the 18th century. In 1991 the area was selected for UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. The town is a dream come true for shoppers and gourmets.

Today there is a new form of urban graffiti in the world and it’s extremely interesting and enjoyably – urban knitting. I mean like sweater -wearing tree or all yarn covered corners with some of the best examples of knit/crochet graffiti.

The images display entitled ”tree cozy”. The impressive outfit was made by Carol Hummel and took her 500 hours from start to finish and stood for a 3 years outside clever land heights city hall until just recently.

Top left – a knitted handrail cover near Tullikamarinaukio Square, Finland, by Knit Sea. Top right – a tagged guard chain in Stockholm, left by the prolific Masquerade Crew. Bottom left – a mooring ring tagged in Stockholm, again by the Masquerade Crew. Bottom right – a grateful and warm lampost in Houston, Texas dressed by members of Knitta Please.

The picture display territorial knitting, an unauthorized project by Lauren Marsden. Her aim was to cover the signs of every street on which she has lived in Victoria, British Columbia, with knitted replicas.