Culture in Kuopio makes an impact in many ways and on many levels

Culture is near and dear to locals in Kuopio, and its many opportunities are explored with enthusiasm. The culture of Kuopio has that special something – even according to those who do not consider themselves culture enthusiasts. When cultural experiences are made as easy to enjoy as possible, it leaves a fascinating aftertaste that you are happy to return to for seconds.

Culture in all its forms is an essential part of life for Kuopio locals, just as ball games and coffee on the Market Square. In Kuopio you have the freedom to live your own kind of life and enjoy the cultural experiences that suit you best.

Feast Your Eyes On Dance

Culinary art is culture at its most delicious, and all forms of culture taste even better in good company. Dance Theatre Minimi has produced successful food theatre performances for several years now. Mikko Makkonen, Artistic and Managing Director of Minimi, says that the performances aim for a direct, dynamic and downright immersive audience experience.

Food theatre in Minimi’s productions goes far beyond the conventional style of watching a show while food is being served. We seek immersion with a threshold that is as low as possible; audiences learn what it feels like to be immersed in a play where dance, speech and music all take place among the audience. The dramaturgy is composed together with the menu, and the form keeps close to the human experience.

Makkonen points out that, despite the huge popularity of food theatre, it is just one of the tools in the toolbox that Minimi uses to try to introduce newcomers to theatre. Courses, training events and various campaigns lower the threshold and make art experiences known to an even wider audience.

Anti Brings Art Into Everyday Lives

Lowering the threshold is also one of the key principles of ANTI, an international contemporary art festival of site-specific works that is held every September in Kuopio.

Managing Director and Lead Curator Elisa Itkonen says that ANTI takes audiences on an alternative journey of wonder and experience to Kuopio. The important thing is to provide a range

Lumit, of art experiences to as many people as possible.

All the events of the festival are free of charge for audiences, and the venues have been purposely chosen to be as accessible as possible. We try to bring art into everyday lives, to familiar places and environments.

Over its 21-year history, ANTI has grown into one of the most significant live art festivals in the world. In addition to the actual festival week, various art workshops and other events are organized throughout the year and vacant spaces are put to use for the purpose of experiencing culture.

Elisa Itkonen emphasizes that the underlying idea of all these activities is to allow as many people as possible to enjoy culture.

We want to promote an inclusive, urban culture and provide versatile settings for various types of wow experiences.

Structural Solutions For Powerful Cultural Experiences

Kuopio invests in the settings for cultural experiences even on a structural level: the use of facilities and, on the other hand, the construction of new facilities, specifically with culture in mind, are some of the city's targets for development.

Mika Strömberg, Principal of Lumit, Kuopio Senior High School of Arts, highlights the importance of facilities built to serve cultural purposes for experiencing culture. This is even more relevant in the studies of young people specializing in the arts and in encouraging them to pursue vocational education and training.

If the facilities have been designed and built to serve the purposes of these particular forms of art, the quality is what it should be and the facilities are safe to use. Created to serve the needs of Lumit, the dance floors with their mirrors and rails, and various music facilities for individual, percussion, band and singing instruction, to name a few, provide excellent opportunities to discover insights into one’s field of study.

There is truly more to Lumit than meets the eye. In addition to its purpose-built classrooms, the Senior High School of Arts has various magnificent pieces of art on display, a lobby with a high ceiling and many other impressive details. The school cafeteria has a peaceful atmosphere, despite 300 high school students all enjoying their meals there at the same time.

THE MORE YOU PLAN, THE BIGGER THE IMPACT

Photography is a form of culture that makes an undeniable impact.

Photographer Marc Sabat from Kuopio confirms that the best pho- tographs truly are worth more than a thousand words. Ideally, planning a photograph starts with thinking about the impact you are trying to make.

ANTI, an international contemporary art festival, allow as many people as possible to enjoy culture throughout the year.

Landscape photography is a good example of an effective way to spread awareness about all the things that, say, Kuopio has to offer and what is happening here. At the same time, photographs can evoke strong emotions and leave a lasting impression.

When talk turns to one of Sabat’s specialties, food photography, and its ways of influencing people, the conversation gets even more intense. A delicious-looking final shot that makes a powerful impact is made up of carefully crafted details, but everything starts off with understanding the big picture.

It is important to direct the viewer’s gaze to the right points in the photograph. By adjusting the lighting, colours and background, you can create a huge variety of impressions. How the overall arrangement is composed also has a big impact.

Sabat believes that the first priority when it comes to food is to make it look natural and good. The best impact a photograph can make on the viewer is to make them feel a tinge of hunger when they see the photo.

Culture in Kuopio is a matter close to locals’ hearts, and it makes an impact in many ways and on many levels. Whether it be Marc Sabat’s hamburger makeup, Minimi’s

“Independence Day Ball” food theatre performance, the ANTI festival week or structural solutions such as Lumit, everything aims towards making a powerful impact with a cultural experience while also making it easier to enjoy such experiences. Cultural experiences can lift you up high, and Kuopio knows how to keep the threshold for enjoying them as low as possible.

KUOPIO MUSIC CENTRE – The house of experiences invites you to enjoy – encounters in everyday life and at parties. Come to listen to the world's top musicians and enjoy musical experiences www.kuopionmusiikkikeskus.fi vb-valokuvakeskus.fi www.kuvakukko.fi

VB PHOTOGRAPHY CENTER – We are the Finland’s first regional photography center that organizes national and international photography exhibitions throughout the year.

KINO KUVAKUKKO – municipal Art house-style cinema. A cinema independent of mass streams.