Country(ies):

Finland

KassandraArts programme for female artists with an immigrant background

Partners:Kassandra Association

Funding Bodies:City of Helsinki, Finnish Ministry of Education, RAY (Finnish Slot Machine Association)

Project Description:Kassandra is an art association set up in 2000 by Ritva Siikala, one of the leading figures of the Finnish experimental theatre. In her Kassandra 2000 project, Siikala explored the female "otherness" as related to immigrant and ethnic "otherness". The project turned into the Kassandra Association. It aims to reduce the prejudices between new Finns and native Finns from different language groups. It uses both artistic and research projects to promote a multicultural Finnish identity that is capable of renewing itself in a changing world. Kassandra provides opportunities for artists mainly from immigrant communities to present not only their artistic skills but also their cultural background. The Kassandra art programme features artists from a great variety of cultures around the world, e.g. a Japanese buto dancers, dancers and drummers from West-Africa, Indian classic and Bollywood style singers and dancers, Tamil dancers and African story-tellers. It also offers artistic activities for children and adults in various fields, e.g. a multicultural choir, dance, art and writing workshops or lectures, e.g. on art as a path to cultural understanding. Poems, stories and pictures by the artists involved are published on the Kassandra web site. The arts programme and the artistic courses are organised mainly by women artists who have moved to Finland from other countries. In 2005, almost four thousand women, girls and children participated in these events and courses.The Kassandra Association administers MONITA (Artists from Many Cultures), a project sponsored by the EQUAL Programme of the European Social Fund. The MONITA project provides training and collaboration opportunities for women and women artists from immigrant communities and builds networks between native Finnish and ethnic minority artists.

Lessons to be Learned:The "Kassandra 2000 Project" was originally part of Helsinki's year as European Capital of Culture. It proved to be so successful that it could be transformed into a permanent sustainable institution. The Kassandra Association now provides a public space for artists from immigrant communities for creative expression and presentation of their work to the local community. It is also a place where women and children with an immigrant background and people of Finnish origin can communicate and work together.

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Target Groups:Artists with an immigrant background (especially women), general public

Contact Details:KassandraMuseokatu 3400100 HelsinkiFinlandTel: +358 9 68 41 420Fax: +358 9 68 41 4210Email: kassandra@kassandra.fiWeb: http://www.kassandra.fi

Additional Resources:For more information on the Monita Project, see http://www.kassandra.fi/monita/English.The Kassandra Arts Programme, featuring artists from different immigrant communities, is available from: http://www.kassandra.fi/english/programs_html.A photo gallery featuring the various activities going on at the Kassandra Association is available from: http://www.kassandra.fi/albumi_html (in Finnish only).

Submitted by / Source:Ritva Mitchell, CUPORE, Helsinki; Ilkka Heiskanen, Finn-EKVIT, Helsinki

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