EGBERT
SCHR AM
Crossing cultures
Page 6
HELSINKI
CELEBR ATES
City of happenings
Page 17
MIXED MARTIAL
ARTS
ÅL AND
A home of islands
Page 12
Uncaged in Finland
Page 10
Issue 6/2014 www.6d.fi
26.06.2014? 27.08.2014
Anonymous and free of charge
walk-in
The flavours of
summer in Helsinki
HIV
testing
IRU HWKQLF PLQRULWLHV
Teurastamo.com / Maria Miklas
AUGUST
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at 14.00 - 18.00
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A wide range of tastes and free events
are on offer at The Abbatoir.
Beautiful monuments for culinary moments
In Helsinki the traditional market squares and market halls are still going strong. The market halls
are beautiful monuments built in brick according to a style typical of the time of their construction
and purpose. The recent reopening of Helsinki?s Old Market Hall in the centre has meant that for
the first time in many years, all three market halls in the city have their doors open at the same time.
Offering visitors a taste of authentic Helsinki food culture in a nostalgic setting, a variety of flavours
can also be found in the halls at Hakaniemi and Hietalahti.
The most centrally located market square is the bustling outdoor Market Square (Kauppatori) that
offers fresh Finnish food, agricultural products and outdoor cafés. In total there are eight market
squares in Helsinki on offer, as well as the Hietalahti flea market for those looking for a bargain.
New life in Tori Quarters
Other changes are afoot on the local food scene. Located right next to the sea, between the Market
Square and Senate Square, the historical buildings of Tori Quarters have been converted.
Formally used for administration offices for over 40 years, nowadays you can find a growing number
of cafés, restaurants, design boutiques, craft shops, creative sector companies and renewed public
space. Altogether there are 17 different places to grab a snack, lunch, dinner or just a drink or coffee, and the hugely popular Streat Food Helsinki event was also held here earlier this year.
Helsinki Night Market
Helsinki Night Market is just one of the nearly 50
free-of-charge food events taking place at a former
slaughterhouse, the Abattoir (Teurastamo in Finnish). Also, check out Streat Food Thursday being
held here once a month, and visit the restaurants,
shops and the Abattoir yard for grilling and chilling.
The Old Market Hall has
opened its doors once again.
Koulutuksia
maahanmuuttajille.
Valmistava koulutus, MAVA
? suomen kielen opiskelua, tietoa ammateista
ja koulutuksista, tutustumista suomalaiseen
työelämään ? kesto yksi vuosi ? haku päättyy
25.7., täytä hakemus osoitteessa opintopolku.fi
Kotitalousopetus, talouskoulu
See what tastes you can find!
www.torikorttelit.fi/en ? www.teurastamo.com/en
Maija Astikainen
? suomen kielen opiskelua ? kodinhoitoa
? arkielämän taitoja ? kesto viisi kuukautta
? täytä hakemus heti osoitteessa opintopolku.fi
OpsoTreeni
? alle 25-vuotias nuori, puuttuuko tutkinto? ?
? opiskelet puoli vuotta ? kokeilet erilaisia
työtehtäviä ? tavoitteena löytää sopiva
opiskelupaikka tai oppisopimuspaikka ? täytä
sähköinen hakulomake www.hdo.fi/hakijalle
Hakuklinikka
? Jos haun tekeminen on vaikeaa, hakuapua
tarjolla 23.7. klo 9?12 luokka 41. Tervetuloa!
Koulutukset alkavat elokuussa 2014. Opetuskieli on suomi.
The space of Tori Quarters has been redeveloped as a foodie haven, along with a number of different
shops and spaces.
www.hel.fi
www.hdo.fi
Starters
4
Issue 6 2014
Top 5
things on our
mind this month...
Finland is summer theatre country
From the impressive Pyynikki facility in Tampere to
the tiniest makeshift stages in small villages, summer
theatres can be very entertaining, customarily producing light-hearted content for holiday makers. OK,
the language may be tough for non-Finnish speakers, but you?ll enjoy the atmosphere all the same.
Finnish summer myths and truths
As far as we know, mosquitos have never actually
sucked any human being empty of blood in Finland. It is not for their lack of effort though. One
time someone witnessed a young fellow sit still
shirtless at night, waiting for mosquitos to find him.
In but a few minutes, his back was basically all covered with insects of the said variety, and apparently
it did hurt?
Benefits of cool summer weather
Fewer heart attacks, fewer shirts drenched in sweat,
less thirst, less envy for holiday makers, better sleep
at night, fewer forest fires (factoring in the related
precipitation), less panic brought about by compulsive ideas of turning the season into something special? but then, perhaps it would have been easier
to make the glass half-empty on this one.
Ahjo-Grilli still thrives in Jyväskylä!
When one of the big freight haulers relocated their
depot, this was obviously going to hurt the business of Ahjo-Grilli, a Finnish-style fast food joint in
Seppälä, Jyväskylä ? but the customers keep on
coming in, 24 hours a day, even the truckers after
finishing their shifts many times at ungodly hours.
The islands of Helsinki can become your summer dream
Anyone in the Finnish capital should catch the ferry
to Suomenlinna, a group of islands off the coast of
downtown Helsinki. And there are many others as
well, including the pretty Pihlajasaari that is served
by a ferry from Kaivopuisto. Also, the island Lonna
has been recently opened to the public.
Mika Oksanen
Spicing up our palates
Life?s menu includes everything from protecting urban pollinators
to Hungarian sausage for this urban ecologist.
Tijana Stolic
A
s an urban ecologist who worked as a postdoc researcher at
the University of Helsinki after completing his PhD in Hungary, Ferenc Vilisics? range of interests has taken him from
the field of biology to that of cooking, and back.
After finishing another chapter of his academic life, Ferenc decided to put his theoretical knowledge into practice. He recently took
a job at an urban greening company, and is currently experiencing
life on the other side of the theoretical. ?I have spoken at a conference about how to protect urban pollinators and therefore bees,? he
explains. ?But not many people from universities approach gardeners to teach them what the best practices would be if we want to
accomplish this.?
Experiencing this, Ferenc has made it his goal to encourage the
company he works for to keep some of the bushes and green spaces
instead of cutting them for the sake of pretty flowers, in an attempt
to preserve these biodiversity hotspots.
Ferenc also has a keen interest in sausage-making. Prompted
by his experience of a Restaurant Day in Helsinki, when he and a
friend made over 15 kg of fresh sausages and sold them all, Ferenc
has organised sausage-making courses, as well as Hungarian cooking classes. During one of their classes, Ferenc?s newly-acquired
manual meat-mincer broke, so he bought an electric one with five
of his friends. Now the group calls themselves ?The Broken Mincers?, and they get together several times per year to make sausages
? unfortunately at this stage they only make enough to fulfil their
own, as Ferenc put it, wolfish desires.
Where is the best place to spend
summer?
Aino
In the archipelago near Turku. I have an old,
wooden boat and I always visit islands there with
it. And generally just enjoy life without the Internet.
Juha
At the summer cottage. I enjoy the simple life you
can lead there. Specifically after moving to Helsinki,
I feel like visiting the cottage balances your life
out nicely. I go to sauna, swimming, boating and
sometimes fishing ? the whole clichéd Finnish
summer cottage thing.
Anu
Summer cottage. The best thing there is to just lie
on the pier and relax. I have cats and they love it too,
as it?s the only time of the year for them when they
can play and run outside freely.
Mirva
In parks here in Helsinki. I have kids so I go often to
different parks with them. Sometimes I go to events
too, mainly those free of charge.
The Broken Mincers put the squeeze on Hungarian sausage-making.
Integrate with
Luckan
Word on the
street
As for the ingredients, the meat is important because nothing
but 100 per cent meaty goodness goes into this product, while the
spices are essential and must be measured with precision. There is
no room for improvisation here. Fat is key because it carries spicy
flavours and since the capsaicine molecule that paprika contains is
fat-soluble, it plays a significant role. Most of the usual ingredients
such as salt and garlic can be found in Helsinki, but good paprika
is brought in from Hungary.
Sausage-making is a long process, Ferenc reminds, involving
many steps and several hours of preparation. Given the tasty flavours on offer, I would say it?s worth the effort!
D
o you feel you have done everything you can to find work
in Finland? Have the negative responses from employers left
you feeling you are facing an impossible challenge, leaving
you feeling frustrated and isolated? If so then Luckan?s peer group
for unemployed immigrants may be just what you need to help you
reflect on your situation and find a more empowered and positive
path to employment.
Luckan Integration recently ran a pilot programme which offered
immigrants in the Capital Region an opportunity to participate in
a peer group for unemployed immigrants. The pilot was a great
success and feedback gathered from participants
indicated that they became empowered and found
new energy and optimism. Therefore the peer
group is set to be expanded and extended and will
run again at beginning on September.
Once again the Luckan Integration peer group
for unemployed immigrants will offer participants the possibility to come together with others
who share similar circumstances and experiences
and address the challenges of unemployment as
a group. A number of themes will be explored,
including alternative pathways to work, the utilisation of informal skills and traditional pathways
to employment. The group meetings will also include the opportunity to learn from experts in the
fields of employment and well-being.
Perhaps most importantly, the group will be
facilitated and led by an immigrant who has
lived, worked and studied in Finland for the
past 15 years and has experienced first-hand the
challenges and frustrations of being an unemployed, immigrant
job hunter in Finland. In this context the group leader will act
as an invaluable resource for participants, offering experiencebased advice and guidance.
The peer group commences again from 1 September. The group
will run for seven weeks and will meet every Monday between
14:30-16.30.
To apply for a place send your application to integration@luckan.
fi and briefly introduce yourself, the amount of time unemployed,
the area you live in, education, and so forth.
Finnish After Dark
Learning the Finnish they don?t teach in school
BL E
VAIL A TED
A
W
NO
TR A
ILLUS
N
A
K ! es
S
A
r
R BAC
PAPE jor booksto
d
a
/fa
rom m
.6d.fi
Buy f line: www
or on
Finnish: Silmäpeli
English Equivalent: Eye Games (literal)
There are not many sports you can play in a crowded bar, but Silmäpeli is one that requires little equipment ? although it definitely
requires a lot of skill! In a country where eye contact can be interpreted as a sign of insanity it takes a bold man to make eye contact
with anyone; but on the other hand, it can come across as less obviously foreign than actually speaking to a stranger!
?
?
?
Oliks mitään hyviä muijia eilen baarissa?
Ei mitään tosi hyviä. Mut oli vähän silmäpeliä yhden mallin kanssa.
Et uskaltanu ees mennä jutteleen? Noloo!
?
?
?
Were there any cute chicks in the bar last night?
No one amazing. But I did play a few eye games with one model.
But you didn?t dare to actually go and talk to her? That?s embarrassing!
Compiled by Mari Storpellinen
David Brown and Mimmu Takalo
SixDegrees
Starters
5
SixDegrees
Decoding the culture
Tell me about your city...
?
Atlanta
CultureDude is an online platform that provides
cultural tips and tricks to avoid awkward
intercultural encounters.
Tijana Stolic
I
magine this scenario: you are in Peru, and
you?ve been invited to a friend?s house for dinner. Do you bring wine or something non-alcoholic? Once you have arrived, should you offer
a hug, a handshake, or a peck on the cheek? Or
perhaps you?re in Australia. Is it culturally appropriate to enjoy a relaxing moment in the sauna
naked? Well, avoid unnecessary embarrassment
(and possible arrest), as unlike in Finland, the
answer is no, you should always wear an item
of clothing when you visit a public sauna Down
Under.
CultureDude is an online platform consisting of
more than 6,000 cultural scenarios for over 100
countries worldwide. After registering online,
you can use the tool ? which is, conveniently, in
the form of a game ? to learn practical scenarios
you might come across while traveling. Although
it does not provide extensive cultural training, it
will provide you with tips about common cultural conventions that will help you to avoid awkward moments, and help you to better cope with
intercultural communication.
A moment of silent inspiration
The company, a startup based in Helsinki, was
founded by Siva Kumar, an entrepreneur from
India who has been living in Finland for many
years and holds a degree in engineering from
Aalto University. As an immigrant
in Finland, Siva?s inspiration for
developing CultureDude stemmed
from his experiences on the Helsinki metro. ?You sit on the metro,
and no one makes eye contact, no
one talks, so you begin to think
that they don?t like foreigners,? he
recalls. But Siva soon understood
that Finns appreciate silence, privacy and one?s own space, which
made him think that it would be
good to have a service that could
teach people about cultural differences between many other countries as well.
Since the goal of CultureDude is to cover as
many countries as possible, Siva compiled a team
of people from all continents to help with the
task. The international team includes the Russian-born Natalia Koryakina, who is in charge of
business development, as well as cultural expert
and Nigeria native, Ablodun Adabi.
The platform took two-and-a-half years to
develop, and the process of acquiring cultural
scenarios and information involves in-depth research, fact-checking and focus group research
that serves to provide information about changing cultures and ensure that the cultural scenarios are up-to-date.
The platform also collects metrics on the
data by asking the users whether the information provided was useful or not, and the
team adjusts the game accordingly. The CultureDude website also includes a so-called
Cultural Perception Dashboard. This service
was envisioned as a tool that companies can
use to increase cultural awareness. It measures the cultural knowledge of each user regarding a specific country or culture, and provides useful data on the cultural pitfalls of the
company.
So next time you travel, play the game first and
learn what you can about the culture you are
about to immerse yourself into.
www.culturedude.com
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW
FESTIVALS IN FINNISH?
1
1. music
2
2. beer
3
3. movie
4
4. tent
5. barbecue
5
6. tourist
6
7. sun
7
8. concert
9. rucksack
8
9
Test your knowledge of Finnish vocabulary by using the
local equivalent.
Puzzle by Eva Peltonen. Solutions on page 21.
Chris Watson
A
t l a n t a ,
Georgia is not
an obvious city.
Your store-bought guidebook is useless. Most
likely the person behind the desk at your hotel
is too. You are going to need a guide. Hi, I?m a
38-year-old native and I want you to love this
city as much as I do. But first, a brief history.
There were a bunch of train tracks that came
together so a city sprang up, but it was quickly
burned to the ground by a guy named Sherman.
(Civil War) Things were tough for a while but we
slowly got back on our feet. There was a long
period of time where we were kind of backwards
but then a local man named Martin started a
revolution that changed not only our city, but
the whole world. (Civil Rights Movement) Not
too long after that we got us an airport. A really,
really big airport. In 1996 we had a huge party
called The Summer Olympics and over the last
15 years, if you liked a song, odds are it was
written by someone who lives here.
These days we are a city of six million people
who live in the middle of a forest with trees, on
trees, on trees. The natives speak slowly and use
lots of colourful words. Y?all won?t understand
them all. But not everyone is native; in fact, most
folks are from somewhere else. They stay for
a reason. In the fall we all fight about football
(American football that is). We drink sweet tea
and have a local beverage called Coca-Cola you
may have heard of. It?s been called ?Hotlanta?
because in the summer it gets hot. Unbelievably
hot. I cannot emphasise the word HOT enough.
But these days it?s ?The ATL?. Or if you don?t have
time to say that, you can call it ?The A?.
So now that you are a little more informed let
me tell you about what we like to do the most. Eat,
drink and throw parties. Yes, I know that a party
is just a bunch of people eating and drinking
but?here are a few places for you to check out.
Where to eat?
The Varsity - The world?s largest fast food
restaurant. It is an institution and you should
order a chilli slaw dog, onion rings and a
chocolate milk.
Buford Highway - This is the international hub
of the city and sports a kitchen from just about
every country in the world. A few highlights
include Ming?s BBQ (Chinese), Nam Phuong
(Vietnamese), El Rey Del Taco (Mexican and
open late), The Atlanta Chinatown Mall Food
Court (I don?t mean to sound ignorant but I
don?t know what these restaurants are. I just
know they are all good).
Canoe - Simply put, the best food in
the city. Upscale dining alongside the
Chattahoochee River. Order the rabbit.
Mary Mac?s Tea Room - Southern food done
right. Pick a meat and three vegetables. That?s
how we do.
The Waffle House - It?s late at night, or early in
the morning. You are hungry. This is your saviour.
The menu is extensive but you only need three
words, ?Scattered, smothered, covered.?
Where to drink?
El Myr - Bikers, skateboarders and rock n? rollers.
Order ?the Griz?. Food ain?t too shabby either.
The Family Dog - Laid-back tavern in one of
Atlanta?s finest neighbourhoods. This is the type
of place people meet after work and tell stories
about their day. Live music on the weekend.
Trader Vic?s - A tiki bar located underneath the
downtown Hilton. Warning! You are going to get
drunk. On Thursdays they have a band that is so
good you it may be the only thing you remember
from the night.
The Clermont Lounge - Enough has been
written about this place lately, so I?m not going to
explain much about it. Google it. You are either
into this kind of thing or you are not. But trust me,
you have not truly been to Atlanta if you have not
had a Pabst Blue Ribbon at this bar.
Where to party (We call them festivals)?
Inman Park Fest - In late April this neighbourhood
blocks off the streets and has a two-day blow out.
The streets are lined with vendors mostly selling
art and food, but behind those vendors are the
most beautiful houses in the city and most of them
are having parties. Go into one of those parties.
Smile. Pour yourself a drink. No one will mind.
Shaky Knees Fest - This is becoming one of
the best music festivals in the whole USA. It?s
in May. You will dance. You will be happy. It was
just this past weekend as I write this. My knees
are still shaking
Tomorrow World - This is the same party
they throw in Belgium each year, known there
as Tomorrow Land. DJs, DJs, DJs!!! Coming
at the tail end of September. From a weather
standpoint, there is no finer time to be in Atlanta.
Once again, get ready to dance.
Atlanta Falcons Football ? Eight times a year,
sometimes more, 70,000 people descend on
The Georgia Dome and get all kinds of rowdy
while ?The Dirty Birds? take on lesser teams
such as the Saints and the Panthers. Black,
white, rich, poor, young and old are perfectly
united for 60 minutes on Sunday mornings. You
will need a Red or Black shirt and some Retro
Air Jordan 3?s if you really want to do it right.
?Welcome to Atlanta where the players play.?
Thanks for coming. Y?all have fun.
Contact james@6d.fi if you want to share the inside
word on your town.
6
We Met
Issue 6 2014
Managing business
culture
We talk to Egbert Schram of ITIM International about
how businesses can define their cultures and use them
as a strategic asset.
We Met
7
SixDegrees
Text David J. Cord, images Tomas Whitehouse.
T
ODAY?S economy is global, but there is more than just a new
market of consumers on the other side of national borders.
As companies become truly international entities, they have
the challenge and opportunity of managing their diversity
and culture.
Enter Egbert Schram, an expert on helping organisations use
culture as a strategic asset. He is the CEO of ITIM International,
a company established in 1985 by Bob Waisfisz and supported by
one of the pioneers in the field of culture and management, Dr.
Geert Hofstede.
Schram was hired by the Finnish software company FeedbackDialog in 2006 to launch their international operations, and he was
asked to become CEO in 2011. When the company acquired ITIM
International he took over the role of leading ITIM as it becomes a
major player in culture and management consultancy.
Can you tell us a bit about your background, and how you
came to Finland?
I was raised on the island of Flevoland, the big piece of reclaimed
land in the middle of the Netherlands, where my parents moved to
as pioneers in the early ?80s, coming from the northern province
of Frisia. After I finished high school [gymnasium] I joined the
Royal Dutch Marine Corps officer school recruitment programme
to become a career officer. However, due to various reasons, I left
the programme.
Working with people and being outside was, and is, quite important for me, and based on these criteria I decided to go to Wageningen University and study forest and nature conservation. My special
focus was on environmental psychology, which is studying people in
the outdoors in order to create better forest and nature area zoning
decisions. This topic is of rather big importance in the Netherlands:
there are lots of people but not so much nature, which equals lots of
chances for conflicts, just like in the office environment.
While studying I was quite active in the national forestry student
association and as such also participated in various IFSA (International Forestry Student Association) activities. During one activity
I met my future wife, who is Finnish, and we started a long distance
relationship. I graduated and started working as a sales consultant
for a market research software company in the Netherlands while
my wife was completing her studies in Finland. After flying back
and forth for some time I decided that I was quite done with my job
in the Netherlands and the Netherlands as such, and looked into
opportunities to move to Finland.
At that time a Finnish company, FeedbackDialog, was looking
into expanding outside Finland and due to my contacts in the
Dutch market research/training industry I was asked to join them,
initially part-time as a market entry consultant. This was in April
2006. While working part-time for FeedbackDialog, I initiated my
PhD in social psychology and studied Finnish quite intensively.
The part-time job grew into a full-time job within one year.
How did you internationalise FeedbackDialog, growing the
customer base to sixteen countries in six years?
I was the first foreigner in the company and already due to that fact
everybody was ?forced? to switch to English. This helped to immediately switch the mind-set from being locally oriented to thinking
internationally, which I think is crucial when you are not just going
to be present internationally, but truly global as a company or organisation. We managed to grow the customer base by finding the
right network partners and by opening a web-shop, which aimed at
breaking the monopoly of a couple of big test publishers.
Now you are the CEO of ITIM International. How do you
describe your work? What do you like the most, and what do
you like the least?
My work involves a lot of communication: commercial, lobbying,
motivating employees and network members, and challenging the
silo approach most professional associations have. My main task
is to grow our organisation. The ability to combine that with loving the topic ? making people understand one another better and
building business on that is great. I love the people part and to see
the sparkle in people?s eyes when what you say or ask hits the mark.
Then there is business development (new products, new markets)
and there is the usual paperwork and financial work. The least fun
part is the administrative work such as financial planning.
What are the most common mistakes you see when
companies manage their culture?
When they think they know their own culture, without having
measured it. Or when they think they have only one culture. The
way a cleaner relates to his or her work and colleagues differs a lot
from the way a CEO looks at it, although it is the same organisation. Trying to create a uniform culture kills off any chance to get
the most out of what drives people and only creates disenchantment. People no longer care about what they can contribute to the
organisation, what the organisation can contribute to them, and
what both can add to the world.
Another mistake is to think they are global while speaking the local
language. If you are global, you speak English because it is the global
business language, especially on the management team and board
level. Yet, at the same time if your board consists of people who have
all studied more or less the same subjects ? such as law, finance or
business ? and who all speak the same language, you also cannot say
you?re truly global. You are not using the added value of diversity out
of fear of the discomfort a diverse team initially brings.
Can you give an example of how you have helped one of your
clients?
I?ll give two. One is a Switzerland-based ventilation equipment
company with less than 30 employees, which has tensions between
the head office ? including administrative staff ? and field employees ? the mechanics. They were talking completely different languages, which resulted in misunderstanding, frustration and sickleaves. After visualising that work meant something different for
each group, the increased understanding made them deliver higher
quality work to clients and take less sick-leave internally. This was a
job on organisational cultural differences.
Another project was on a Finnish healthcare technology provider,
which has outsourced quite a bit of its R&D to India. The Indian
team members felt excluded due to the fact that the Finnish R&D
people only talked about and focused on the work and didn?t share
any personal details. This caused them to feel disenchanted and demotivated. Our work was training and some consulting on how to
better include people who work remotely in location and culture,
in this case by organising a weekly ?virtual coffee? to start the week.
This job was mainly on national cultural differences.
How does the national culture and company culture interact
in international companies?
National culture determines partly the type of organisational culture. Cultural differences between nations are especially found on
the deepest level, or, in other words, on the level of values. Values
refer to such preferences as freedom over equality or equality over
freedom, and are difficult to catch in numbers and even more difficult to change. In comparison cultural differences among organisations located within the same national culture are especially identified on the level of practices, like what behaviour does a company
consider acceptable and what is not acceptable. Practices are much
easier to catch in numbers and are easier to change.
In international companies, you can typically identify the company?s country of origin. Anglo-Saxon multinationals will typically
have more focus on performance compared to Finnish multinationals, where work-life is considered more important by both Finnish
management and employees. Asian multinationals will typically
have more focus on loyalty ? the company is your life ? and more
focus on hierarchy compared to Anglo-Saxon multinationals.
Depending on the organisational culture the level of influence
these national cultures have can vary, for example, in how much
space local offices have to do their own thing. The challenge for
organisations is to find enough commonalities for employees to
identify with, yet give enough freedom to incorporate locally acceptable practices.
Have you noticed a difference between Dutch working culture
and how it is in Finland?
The biggest differences between Dutch working culture and Finnish working culture from the perspective of a foreigner is that the
Dutch bring more private life into their job, which typically means
it is easier to bond with colleagues compared to in Finland: work is
more than just work, it is also socialising. In Finland, work is work
and private time is private time. This can be difficult to cope with;
I certainly needed some time to feel at home. And it?s not about
me or others being foreign, I also noticed that among typical Finns
people normally don?t mingle that much with colleagues outside
work.
In general I like the work ethos of Finns and some more socialising would lighten up the spirit and help people to cope better in
life. Work is about more than work ? of course, that would be my
Dutch bias.
I also think that organisations can do more in helping managers to manage people by letting them first and foremost manage
people and not be an expert. For the typical manager in Finland,
their main priority is being an expert in their particular area and
not managing people.
Another aspect is that Dutch are more accepting that people are
different (as they are) and therefore leaving some ?grey space? is a
way of dealing with these differences. In my opinion, Finns tend to
confuse ?being different? with ?being less equal?. This makes Finnish
working culture rather ?black and white?, which is a pity, although
it is understandable given the structure of the Finnish national culture.
The Finnish national culture drives people and organisations to
structure life as much as possible via rules and institutions in order
to avoid ambiguity. Life is stressful, so having things like institutions and rules help to guide people and prevent stress. Another
such example is Japan. It is a pity, because being truly global and
being able to profit from the financial and social wealth it brings
requires more acceptance of the uneasiness diversity brings.
What kind of advice would you give to a foreign company
expanding to Finland and who is interested in Finnish working
culture?
Hire us for guidance!
The first advice for foreign companies coming to Finland, and
also for Finnish companies going abroad, is to know your own organisational culture so that you can see if it is a place that is welcoming for different opinions. This will allow you to get the most
out of the genius and work ethos present here in Finland.
Secondly it is to realise that Finnish people in general appreciate
their relative freedom in terms of ?this is my area of expertise, leave
me alone?. Control, which is something quite common in AngloSaxon, Chinese, French and most of the world, has a big demotivating effect.
?T
he challenge for
organisations
is to find enough
commonalities
for employees to
identify with, yet give
enough freedom
to incorporate
locally acceptable
practices.?
How would you describe your own working values?
Keep perspective, give everything you have, learn and adapt fast, be
critical but in a constructive way, go for the win-win.
What are you most excited about for ITIM?s future?
The world of work is only becoming more international, meaning
more people will have the opportunity to explore working with
people from different cultures and more companies will need to recruit from abroad in order to be able to sustain their growth. Young
people will become managers, meaning they have experienced the
value of cultural knowledge, therefore making the business world a
world that takes people management more seriously.
Given our presence in 32 countries with local experts, our name
and fame by being linked to Prof. Geert Hofstede, our technological knowledge in how we can make cultural knowledge available
online in a cost-affordable way, and our young and driven team of
eight nationalities in Finland, we are ready for take-off.
Is there anything else you want to add?
Have a look at how cultural values impact your own behaviour at:
http://geert-hofstede.com/cultural-survey.html
Born: Naarden, the Netherlands, 1981.
Education: Master of Science in Forestry from Wageningen
University.
Family: Wife, two kids (4 and 3).
When I was a child I wanted to be: a veterinarian / soldier.
In the future I hope? to continue to enjoy life with family
and friends, grow our business so that culture becomes as
important for companies as strategy is today, to keep learning.
The one thing that would most improve the world would be? to
look at differences as an opportunity to improve ? yourself, your
organisation, your life.
I admire? entrepreneurs
SixSociety
Degrees
8
Issue 6 2014
Column
Out
of
town
Thank God for
Finland!?
Coming from a developed Western country, it is sometimes
easy to take Finland?s many pleasures for granted. Sure, it?s
safe. But safety is relative, and if the cities we come from
aren?t exactly death zones, we aren?t likely to really give a
lot of thought to the topic. Yes, it?s clean. But then so are
Singapore, Oslo and Edinburgh.
But every so often I come into contact with people who
have moved here from far less salubrious places, and their
impressions of Finland tend to be radically different from
my own.
The other day I talked to a young woman who had moved to
Finland from Bulgaria, and some of her comments served
to remind me of quite how lucky we are to live here. ?Every
day,? she told me, ?I thank God for this country.? Her reasoning was hard to fault: as a child at school she had been
physically assaulted by teachers; when her mother was hospitalised with cancer she was forced to buy not only medicines but medical equipment for use in the operation; and
she had once been fired after disagreeing with her (male)
manager.
?W
e are lucky to be safe
and free in a world where
many, many people are not.?
Moving from the
city to the sticks
In her new life, she feels not only safe, but free. Her son can
walk to school along Espoo?s quiet footpaths without being
bothered by either wild dogs or wild teenagers. Her workmates respect her skills and her neighbours her privacy. It is,
she told me, all she ever really wanted.
6D chats to three who have
changed their life.
A Colombian friend told me another story. She had once
gone on a date with her guy who had showed her his handgun over the dinner table. ?That?s Colombian men for you,?
she sniffed. After that I understood a little more the qualities she admired in her current, Finnish husband.
Hearing these stories has shown me a new side of this
country, and that is Finland?s ability to provide us with safe
haven. We are free to live and work wherever we want and
with whomever we want, to worship at whatever church we
choose, and to do all of these things in peace. We are not
cajoled, threatened or oppressed when we disagree with local habits. We can express ourselves and continue our own
cultural norms essentially without compromise.
Furthermore, Finns aren?t generally the ones to force
their own cultural traditions down our throats ? hence we
are not forced to eat mämmi, to think Moomin dolls are
cute or even to watch ice hockey. We aren?t forced to join
the Lutheran Church or to attend mass rallies supporting
local politicians.
Best of all, we aren?t forced to deal with corruption, violence or prejudice on a daily basis. Yes, there can be instances of racism, just as there can be in every country, and certainly the laws on homosexuality here are a decade behind
most Western countries. By and large, though, we live here
in peace.
So this summer while we are hiking in the forests, sunbathing at Aurinkolahti or sailing in the Turku Archipelago, let
us also keep in mind that we are lucky to be here. We are
lucky to be safe and free in a world where many, many people are not.
Enjoy the summer.
David Brown is a language consultant and journalist, regularly
covering stories in Africa, Asia & the Middle East. He has lived
in Finland for over 10 years.
Tania Nathan
N
ew York has her five boroughs, London its inner city districts, with the Thames bisecting the city into two. Paris has
her 20 arrondisements circling the city, divided into historical neighbourhoods, with history dating back to Roman times. So
what does the city of Helsinki have to boast about? What does she
call the various neighbourhoods and districts within her borders?
Welcome to kantakaupungki, or the districts of Helsinki. But if one
were to delve into this term a little deeper, the strict understanding
of the term diverges. Most understand living in the area considered
to be the kantakaupungki of Helsinki to be the areas connected
by the network of trams that rumble through the city streets. The
terms historically, however, came about in 1946 with the combining of municipalities and redrawing of official borders. As the city
rebuilt itself after the ravages of war, blocks of apartment buildings
went up to replace the bombed-out buildings and houses. And, unsurprisingly, up went the housing prices with it.
With the high demand for studio and two-bedroom apartments
in the neighbourhoods close to the city centre, prices per square
metre have never been higher. Yet, there is still a certain glamour
to living within the nearby neighbourhoods of Helsinki city, but at
prices that are becoming eye-wateringly expensive. It?s no surprise
then that many foreigners are moving out of the city to live in suburbia. But what are these neighbourhoods like, and why would we
want to live there?
A saving move
Annywl Hughes, a British-Finn, made the move from living in
Sörnainen to the leafy neighbourhood of Pitäjänmäki. When asked
what motivated the move, Hughes is forthcoming enough: ?I made
the move away from the city centre to save money.? Yet despite the
fact that Pitäjänmäki, which sits on the border of Helsinki-Espoo,
has a train line running through it, Hughes lives far away enough
from the train station for it to be inconvenient, not to mention annoying. ?I find that where I live is a bit impractical when it comes
to public transportation. So yeah, I?m saving money but wasting
time!? Yet, Pitäjänmäki
does have its charms.
There is the sea nearby,
and green areas plus a
golf course and tennis
courts.
So is living in Pitäjänmäki all bad? Not always.
?What I like about
my area is that you can
clearly see old Helsinki
here. Old houses with
big gardens, old apple
Filomena Nurmela and Ke?ahi
trees and garden sheds.?
It?s certainly quieter than
the party-all-the-time atmosphere of Kallio and Sörkka, which
Hughes used to call home. But with all this space, Pitäjänmäki
lacks a centralised hub with dedicated shops and places to socialise. Hughes did note that while there is cultural representation in
her neighbourhood, Pitäjänmäki is still ?not a multicultural area, I
guess that?s because a lot of people live here or work here but they
don?t hang out here. There?s a lack of nice restaurants and cafes and
small businesses.?
Claire Rytkönen, a Scot married to a Finn, has made the Vantaa
suburb of Korso her home now for many years. She readily admits that Korso, (incidentally the subject of yet another depressing
Finnish movie, creatively called Korso, out this year in cinemas)
isn?t a paradise. ?There?s nothing here. One main street, a couple of
shops, a kebab-pizzeria and two churches. That?s it!?
So, why did she move out there with her husband and two sons
then? Simply the fact that in Korso, living in a home with a little
garden was not a financial impossibility. ?Here, you can have two to
three bedrooms for what you would be paying for much less space
in the centre of Helsinki.? But Korso is quite a journey to and from
Helsinki, where Rytkönen works as a language trainer, isn?t it? ?Living right by the train means that it takes about 30 minutes per trip
Society
9
SixDegrees
to the city, that?s not too bad. I might have to plan a little better sure,
there?s no nipping back home for anything if I forget!?
When asked if there were other cultures in Korso, Rytkönen
laughs. ?Sure. But it?s not as if we hang out together here.? Korso
also has the nickname ?Little Russia?, with a large population of
Russian and Estonians living in the area. But, does Korso deserve
its grim reputation? Rytkönen doesn?t think so. ?It?s quiet really, a
bit wilder close to the train station, but otherwise I?ve never had
problems.? Another good selling point for Korso is that getting
there takes a normal regional train ticket. All this doesn?t seem to
help improve the grim reputation it has of being a crime-riddled
suburb, however, whether this repute is deserved or not. Korso just
doesn?t seem like the cheeriest of places to live.
Moving for space
Transversely, Filomena Nurmela and her family moved out of the
city because they tired of the faceless hustle and bustle of Helsinki.
The American-Finn mother of one explained it thus: ?When we
found out we were going to have a baby, we decided to move out of
Helsinki.? Needing more space and a more child-friendly environment, they chose Espoo.
?The more we live in Espoo, the more we realise how practical
it is. It?s easier to let your child explore their surroundings when
you?re not surrounded by busy streets with trams, metros, buses
and so on.?
How has Ke?ahi, her toddler of almost two years, found life in
Espoo? Mum smiles and says, ?People in general aren?t so busy or
rushed, so there?s the friendly acknowledgement as you pass by,
maybe even a little conversation. And I would want Ke?ahi to grow
up being friendly and polite to everyone, not too busy with technology or other stuff. I want him to show decency and respect that
any human deserves.? That makes Espoo sound like the place to
live ? but what about multiculturalism and access to extra services?
?Well I see more cultural differences in Espoo; lots of people from
different backgrounds. That probably has to do with the cost of living too ? and you really see multiculturalism in certain areas of Espoo.? Family Nurmela has also been very happy with the pre-natal
care and healthcare services in Espoo, not to mention the numerous green areas, such as Nuuksio National Park that is accessible by
bus from Espoo Centre, and the various shopping centres, which
makes the weekly shop easy.
The truth of the matter is that while Helsinki is expensive, in
comparison to London or New York prices are still manageable and
the excellent public transport system connects all areas with great
efficiency. That means even if you lived in the outer reaches of the
city, or in Espoo, or even in Vantaa, your daily commute would
only expand to an hour daily. Living in suburbia is not as big a deal
as it used to be but just a matter of mind over matter. While it is
luxurious to cycle your bike to work, is it worth the extra 200 euros
in rent? As they say, ?You get what you ask for.?
Writing you this from the suburbs of all suburbs, Kauniainen, I
have to say, the city is all right for the kids, but if you want to live?
Suburbia, that?s where it is.
Minority Report
We take a look at the ethnic
minorities here in Finland.
The Spanish
Pilar Díaz
T
he Spanish community in Finland is quite large, active
and united. Juan José is part of it. He has been living in
Finland for 24 years and what he misses the most of his
home country is his family and the Mediterranean Sea, which is
always missed by those who have grown up close to it.
José is one of the 1,638 Spaniards that are currently living in
Finland. The Spanish Embassy has a record of them, but not everyone is registered. ?If they don?t have any plans to stay in Finland
in the long term, such as those who are doing an exchange, they
don?t even come to the Embassy to register themselves,? explains
Manuel del Rosario Vela, Secretary of Consular Affairs.
?Spaniards feel safe in Finland, so they don?t see the point of
being registered at the Embassy even if they should definitely
do it,? Vela continues.
Most Spaniards that are currently living here came at first to
study at a university through an Erasmus programme. At the
universities in Helsinki alone there are currently 348 Spanish
students. Not all of them are on exchange, but there are also
bachelor?s and master?s students.
Some exchange students decide to stay after their Erasmus
stay because they had started a relationship with a Finn, or they
return here because they wanted to study a master?s degree, in
order to obtain a PhD, or because they found a good job opportunity. In the working scene Finland seems like a promised
Legal Immigrants
6D gets to know what it?s like to be an everyday ?new local? in Finland.
Leafoto
arrive on time, they arrive one minute early. It?s also a very bureaucratically functional country.
And there seems to be lots of built in unspoken rules that serve
to make things flow smoothly. Like standing on the right side of
escalator to allow people to pass if they want. Little things that I
notice when travelling that don?t happen elsewhere.
Andy Kruse
M
ary Banda is a Canadian who spreads good energy
wherever she goes. And this is exactly what she is doing
here in Finland leading the youth in a positive direction
as a grade school teacher.
What do you do here in Finland?
I?m a classroom teacher at Vantaa International School. Currently with 3rd grade, next year with 4th.
When and how did you end up here?
In 2006 I met an Italian man on the Camino de Santiago, walking from France to Spain. He became my long distance boyfriend for about a year until he got an engineering job in Finland. Then we moved here together in 2007. Now we?re married.
What do you like about Finland?
The ease and simplicity of life here. My work contract was a single page. It was very bureaucratically easy to buy an apartment.
I haven?t needed to own a car for the last six years. I didn?t even
need one in the remote north of Lapland where I could still take
a public bus around.
I also really like the education system that I work in. I have
so much autonomy as a teacher. The kids have a fun variety of
subjects that give them a chance to become very well rounded.
And there?s a focus on arts and crafts, which very much helps
with creative brain development.
Annywl Hughes made the move from living in Sörnainen to the leafy
neighbourhood of Pitäjänmäki.
land to Spanish people, since nowadays it?s almost a miracle to
find a job in their home country.
Coming from a country where it?s mostly sunny throughout
the year, dark and snowy winters are something exotic that
most Spaniards enjoy at first. After spending some winters in
Finland, the weather and darkness don?t seem that enjoyable
though. Silence, honesty and safety make it up for this, however.
Nonetheless, there is something that Spanish people always enjoy: gathering with friends and family and celebrating. It doesn?t
really matter what the occasion is. They have adapted Finnish celebrations into their own lifestyle. For Christmas they organised
their first ?Spanish pikkujoulu? in Helsinki, with Spaniards coming
from all over the country for dinner and an after party. After that
they met up for Vappu and have also celebrated Juhannus.
The ?Spaniards in Finland? Facebook group is a proof of how
active the Spanish community is here. In this group, which has
more than 3,000 members, people who are planning to move to
Finland ask for help before they arrive and also once they have
already arrived in the country.
There are also two Finnish-Spanish kindergartens in Helsinki,
the perfect choice for those who married a Finn and want their
children to learn both languages. Furthermore, once the children get a bit older, they also have the option of attending Käpyla Comprehensive School, a bilingual Spanish-Finnish school.
What attracts you about the Finnish culture?
Their punctuality and efficiency. Two things I was forced to
evolve in myself, because I wasn?t before. The Finns don?t just
What culture shocks did you experience when coming to
Finland?
Alcoholism. And the fact that it turns the city into a giant toilet
after midnight. People become savages and relieve themselves
anywhere.
Also there?s a general silence here. It?s really quiet. The other
day I was in a fully packed tram and it was like a library. It was
really odd. And it?s quite shocking to be in the middle of a busy
city where no one is talking.
Have you been able to settle and integrate into Finnish
society?
Absolutely. I know this because of the feeling when I arrive back
to the Helsinki airport after a trip. I?m relieved to be back home.
And living in Kallio by the Hakaniemen Halli, the feeling I get
going there. I know the butcher. I speak Italian with the cheese
ladies and French with the fishmonger. They will spend the
time to talk to you and have even given me a recipe. Finnish
customer service is not the best, but that place is exceptional. It
feels like I?m part of a neighbourhood there.
What were/are your worries?
I didn?t have any and I don?t now. It was all new and exciting to
come here and it has all worked out. Before I arrived, my husband actually recruited a girl he saw reading a yoga book in the
park to hang out with me. And now she?s my dearest friend here.
What are your future wishes for your life here?
Just to keep on keeping on.
What is your favourite Finnish word?
Hyvää ruokahalua. For a few reasons. 1. It took me two weeks to
learn how to say it. 2. It sounds ridiculous and feels ridiculous
to say. 3. You actually feel like you are eating your words when
you say it.
Contact james@6d.fi
if you?d like to share your thoughts for a future issue.
Lifestyle
10
Issue 6 2014
Modern day
gladiators
Mixed Martial Arts is shedding its brutal image and is on its way to becoming
a mainstream sport. SixDegrees spoke to practitioners and enthusiasts
about MMA?s rise, appeal and potential future.
Photos by Joonas Poikela -- MixedMartialArts.fi
Mixed Martial Arts is on the rise in Finland: 15 to 20 professional fighting events are now held here annually.
Teemu Henriksson
I
F YOU?VE never been to a Mixed Martial Arts fight, you may picture this scene in your head: in the centre of a hall, surrounded
by up to 3,000 cheering people, is a cage. In it, two men (or women) hit and kick each other and block each other?s strikes using
techniques of various types of martial arts. After a while of fighting
on their feet, the two fighters eventually end up grappling on the
floor until one of them gets the upper hand that ends the match ?
for example, by putting the other fighter in a chokehold after which
he submits or, more rarely, passes out.
For the uninitiated, fighting in a cage with seemingly permissive
rules might seem like a violent, even barbaric activity. MMA fans
would retort that the sport is not, in fact, any more dangerous than
many other types of combat sports. For them, it is the king of martial arts, thanks to its diversity and hard work it takes to succeed,
the fights in the cage (called ?the Octagon? in the sport, because
of its eight sides) being just the most visible part of the life of an
MMA fighter.
Currently, MMA is one of the fastest growing sports, both in
terms of attracting bigger audiences and more practitioners. There
are about 70 MMA clubs in Finland and 3,000?4,000 people practice it actively, according to the Finnish MMA Association, and
youth activities are growing rapidly. Overall, the sport is these days
roughly in the same size category with more ?traditional? martial
arts.
MMA audiences have also grown fast: 15 to 20 professional fighting events are held annually in Finland, each attracting an audience of 1,000-3,000 people. By the MMA Association?s estimate,
that means that more people go to MMA fights than to professional boxing events. The media have also caught on, as MTV Max
broadcasts international MMA fights, while Yle reports on MMA
fight results on a regular basis as part of its sports coverage. In addition, Finnish MMA is also followed by engaged online citizen
media, covering the events and interviewing the fighters.
MMA has, thus, come a long way since its inception. The first
fights were organised by the Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC)
in the early ?90s in the US. The main reason was to pit against each
other fighters of different disciplines to see which type of martial
arts practitioner would win the tournament. There were few rules
? only biting, eye gouging and strikes to the groin were forbidden.
Sport like any other
Over the last 10 years, the sport?s popularity has steadily risen, with
new organisations being founded regularly and UFC, the biggest
one, holding events in Europe, Latin America and Asia in addition
to the US. Rules are more comprehensive now, and there are more
forbidden techniques. For instance, professionals aren?t allowed to
head-butt, kick the opponent in the head when they are down, hit
the opponent in the spine, neck or throat, and so on; for amateurs
and beginners, there are additional restrictions.
In short, MMA is regulated in similar ways to other types of martial arts. What, then, explains its popularity? ?I think MMA is the
most demanding sport there is, as it requires so much speed, stamina, explosive energy, strength, skills in different martial arts disciplines and also mental capacities. For me, it?s the king of sports,?
says Jukka Paananen, the Chairman of the Finnish MMA Association. ?For instance, in running short distances your success comes
pretty much down to whether or not you?re a fast runner. In MMA,
the are a lot of variables that are all important.?
These days, MMA fighters have to be well versed in several
types of martial arts in order to succeed. According to Paananen,
the sport can be divided roughly into five different areas: boxing,
Thai boxing, standing wrestling, wrestling and submission holds.
?These are very different from one another, but important to master. If you?re good at one, but your opponent handles two, it?s easy
for them to take the fight to their comfort zone and win.?
This diversity also means that matches are engaging to watch also
for those people in the audience who just want easy entertainment.
Even among the audiences, there are misconceptions about the
nature the sport. ?It?s true that some people get their kicks out of
aggression and violence. It?s the same guys who follow NHL only
because of the fights. It?s pretty marginal; their share is probably
the same in any sport,? estimates Joonas Poikela from MixedMar-
tialArts.fi, a website dedicated to MMA news. He describes a staple
event that still happens at every MMA fight evening: ?Someone in
the audience always shouts ?Kill him!? at some point. The ?cheer?
is notorious in the sport, and these days I honestly can?t say if it?s
mostly shouted with irony.?
?It?s true that many people in the audience don?t realise the
amount of preparation and practice that the fighters put in before a
match,? Paananen says. ?But I suppose it?s the same thing in professional boxing.?
Day in the MMA life
In order to better understand the reality behind the sport, SixDegrees spoke to an MMA professional: after practising several other
sports and martial arts, Toni Tauru started practising MMA six
years ago. He had his first professional fight in 2011, and in total
has close to 30 MMA fights under his belt.
Why did MMA appeal to Tauru more than other styles of martial arts? ?It may sound weird, but for me MMA is a sport for the
brain,? he explains. ?You need to read the opponent and how the
fight develops all the time and you have to react quickly. You also
have to prepare well for a specific opponent and plan your strategy.?
Tauru says that bulk of his training consists of practicing different
types of martial arts together with visits to the gym. He typically
practises once a day, however the pace picks up significantly one
or two months before a match, the sport pretty much taking over
his life. ?On the other hand, we?re a close group with the other guys
doing MMA, so in a way the gym is where your friends are.?
MMA fights are fought in different weight classes, so just like in
boxing, fighters typically need to lose weight for a weigh-in day
before the fight, the last days often involving quite drastic measures. ?I like to use an infrared sauna blanket, but many use the
traditional sauna to get rid of water weight quickly,? Tauru says.
On the day of the match, the fighters are usually taken to the location a few hours earlier and kill time waiting for their turn: ?We
read magazines, sleep, eat, watch the other fights.? About an hour
before the fight, Tauru starts to warm up. Time can pass slowly: ?In
a way it?s a relief when they come to get you as it means that the
Lifestyle
11
SixDegrees
waiting is over. On the other hand, it?s a lonely walk from the dressing room into the cage. A lot of stuff passes through your mind
during that walk, and for some it can happen that you can?t clear
your mind and be mentally ready for the fight.?
Usually, however, when the cage door closes and the match
starts, everything else but the fight disappears. ?The most important thing is to be awake,? Tauru says. ?It?s the best thing about the
sport, the excitement you get every time you get in the cage. There?s
something addictive about it.?
From safety to where
Tauru says he hasn?t had major injuries (?the worst has probably
been a broken ligament, but I?ve also had some fractures in my face
and broken my nose a few times?). In fact, he doesn?t see MMA as
a particularly dangerous sport, but rather comparing favourably to
some others.
?I would actually say that MMA is safer than ice hockey, for example. But there are so many different ways of looking at safety.
For instance, a lot of injuries happen when amateurs get together
to play football seriously but without practicing.?
Has MMA entered the mainstream by now? At least the public
perception is evolving. ?There?s less and less need to explain that
we don?t fight simply because we enjoy the violence. It?s nice to see
that people have started to understand that this is a real sport, and
a tough one at that,? says Paananen.
On the other hand, it?s easy to mistake the rise in popularity for a
general acceptance. ?People who follow MMA may easily fall into
a kind of a bubble, thinking that the sport is more popular than it
really is,? says Ilkka Outa from Häkkiradio, an online team of journalist who cover MMA events and interview fighters.
Still, the sport is indisputably breaking new ground, as this summer
the first amateurs? world championships will be held in Las Vegas,
with five Finns participating. There is also talk of a major organisation organising a fight event in Finland later this year, which would
go a long way in attracting attention to the sport in the country.
Some even have their hopes up for MMA being eventually accepted
as an Olympic sport, which would be a sort of a homecoming: pankration, which was a combat sport in the ancient Greek Olympics, is
considered a kind of a spiritual predecessor to MMA.
The sport is thus here to stay and stands to grow significantly in
the future years ? and those attitudes are also slowly changing. ?I
used to work as a sports animator, and at one point worked with a
group of pensioners. At the start I didn?t tell them that for my main
occupation I fight other guys in a cage,? Tauru says. ?Little by little
as they got to know me and saw that I?m a regular guy, I told them
about my MMA career ? and they were totally cool with it!?
MMA in a nutshell
Mixed Martial Arts is a combat sport that combines techniques
from other types of martial arts. Originally there were minimal
rules when the first matches were held in the early ?90s, but
since then the sport has become more regulated in order to
make the fights safer and to make the sport acceptable for the
general public.
Modern MMA competitors have to train in several martial arts
disciplines to be balanced, well-rounded fighters, both standing
and on the floor. Striking and grappling techniques are both
allowed. Some of the most important disciplines that MMA
fighters practice include boxing, Thai boxing, and martial arts
with different types of wrestling and submission holds, such as
judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The key to success is the effective
combining of the various techniques.
Most fights take place in a cage with eight sides, called the
Octagon. There are three ways to win: either by a knockout,
submission (the other fighter submits verbally or by tapping out)
or by a decision of judges. Unless there is a knockout or one
combatant submits, fights consist of three rounds, each lasting
five minutes.
Hit the road,
Jack...
The fourth edition in our series of
sports-related hobbies talks about
itinerant fans.
Mika Oksanen
I
f you read this article when
it?s published during the football World Cup in Brazil, you
should find it easy to relate to
what Asko Parkkasaari, 28, told
us about his visit to the previous
such competition four years ago.
?In the 2000s, I studied sports
marketing at the JAMK University of Applied Sciences. The school developed a sports-related
study programme in collaboration with a South African university under the auspices of FIFA, the International Football
Federation, and as part of this programme a group of us were
invited there to carry out research on site.?
So you went there as a student ? going to school does pay
off. What where you actually up to there?
?We flew to Cape Town to conduct interviews with football
fans in one of the Fan Fest areas, which only accommodate so
many visitors, like the stadiums themselves. We interviewed a
good number of people representing a wide variety of nationalities to hear about their experiences. So we got our work in
alright. And as part of the picture we got to see one game at the
stadium ? that was France vs. Uruguay.?
Wow, not quite like school in Another Brick in the Wall ?
probably more like ?another kick at the ball?. How did the
trip affect your perception of such big sports fests?
?Although you know that it?s a truly big event, you really have
to get there to appreciate this in earnest. And on site you really
understand how big a deal it is for the fans of participating nations. We hit the Fan Fest in the morning of the opening day,
when the hosts South Africa played Mexico in Johannesburg,
but also Cape Town was like one big carnival ground all day
long.?
How big a part of ?big-time? is the fact that the World Cup
takes place every four years, not more often?
?I?d say pretty big, not only from the fans? point of view but
also from the athletes? standpoint. The best players live for the
World Cup ? not many of them will turn down an invite to play,
compared to some ice hockey world championships.?
In your opinion, what kinds of fans should take the trip
instead of watching at home?
?Such events will suit all kinds of fans just great, as they tend
to take place where there is loads of other stuff to get excited
about as well ? and the 2018 World Cup will take place right
next door in Russia.?
What a good reminder; how about starting to put money on
the side!
What do you want to read
about in 6D?
?
?
?
?
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?
Trend
other true fans got your back!
Issues that affect you
Tips for settling into life in Finland
Language courses and learning Finnish
What?s great about living here
Events
Restaurants
Let us know!
Contact james@6d.fi
Month
Monitoring and
measuring your
success
James O?Sullivan
A
man?s success was once measured either by the
number in his bank account, or by the quality of people
he surrounds himself with. However, thanks to a wide
variety of apps now available, success can also be measured
by the size of his bicep, his weight and body mass index, and
let?s not forget his blood pressure and heart rate.
Yep, all of this and more is now available at the flick of his
thumb, if he is the sort who likes to keep tabs on their everyday functions, that is.
In fact, given the prominence of apps on the market, this
so-called ?man? is most certainly not alone, as people everywhere are increasingly measuring every aspect of themselves. And so, good health and peak physical condition can
be attained by utilising a range of apps. Feeling like summer
is turning your well-honed muscles to fat? Well, now it?s easier than ever before to keep an eye on the percentage of body
fat you are storing around your person.
But why just stop there? How about keeping tabs on your
total energy consumption and expenditure each day. Who
wouldn?t want to know how much the bored picking of nose
during the day can benefit us? How about the amount of
juice it burns to scrunch that piece of paper into a ball and
hurl a three-pointer into the waste paper basket? Surely all of
this can be revealed also in some capacity.
Given the country?s love of all things technological, it
comes as no surprise that Finland has established a wealth
of measuring programs and services, including Suunto, Polar, First Beat, Myontec and Omegawave. Wondering how
to collate all of this info with some of the bigger names in
the smartphone market? Well, never fear, as Apple recently
launched HealthKit, a health app and data-sharing platform
that brings together info from third-party apps, and Samsung has also unveiled its Simband modular wristband for
health sensors and its SAMI cloud network.
So, still not interested? Has this new trend evoked a yawn,
had you rubbing your eyes and thinking about catching forty
winks? Well, not to worry if you happen to doze off ? a range
of options are on offer to enable you to keep an eye on the
quality of sleep you have, including how many times you
enter into the all important REM stage. Check it all out for
yourself, we all soon will be.
We are open
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Feature
12
Issue 6 2014
Champagne, gambling,
the EU and more
www.visitaland.com
Situated between
mainland Sweden
and Finland, the
Åland Islands offer an
intriguing destination
for those wishing to
discover all corners of
Finland.
www.visitaland.com - Daniel Eriksson
Chipmunkdavis
Åland consists of around 6,500 islands, although the majority of its population lives on one main island.
Alicia Jensen
I
Message in a bottle
Åland has a remarkable story about a historic shipwreck found in
the province. Its bordering sea is the setting for a recent discovery
of the oldest champagne in the world, in a wreckage believed to
have occurred between 1825 and 1830. The shipwreck was
discovered in July 2010, and 168 bottles of champagne were
found, although many were broken or contaminated. Both Veuve
Cliquot and Juglar (now part of Jaquesson) champagnes were
among the bottles found in the wreckage.
The bottles are believed to be from the 1780s, making the
champagne nearly 200 years old. Many of the bottles were
perfectly preserved because of the cold and dark of the seabed.
When they were tested, they apparently tasted sweet, which
was typical of that time period, with hints of mushrooms and
honey. A few of the bottles were auctioned off in 2011 and the
most expensive bottle was sold for ?30,000, setting the record
for most expensive auctioned bottle of champagne. The Åland
government donated the profits to charities to help with Baltic
Sea environment, marine archaeology and maritime history.
When the divers brought the first bottle to the surface, the
pressure caused the cork to pop. The diver took a swig,
expecting it to taste like seawater ? but found it sweet so they
enjoyed the rest of the bottle. Little did they know that the bottle
was worth ?30,000!
f you?ve never been to Åland, you?ve at the very least heard the
Mariehamn stop announced on the loudspeakers on your yearly
Stockholm cruise. Or then Åland might bring up nostalgic memories of sitting in your high school history class while your teacher
rambles on about the League of Nations ? but it is more likely that
the former holds true. Åland is a unique region of Finland, not only
for its history as one of the few successes of the League of Nations,
but for a number of historical and cultural reasons.
The Åland Islands are located in the Baltic Sea, situated between
Sweden and the Finnish mainland. They consist of around 6,500
islands, although most of its population lives on one main island.
Its archipelago casts a rare natural beauty and distinctiveness to the
region and is something that is not found in many places around
the world. It is also home to a castle and a number of churches that
date back to the medieval period. The population of the Islands is
just 28,000, and is often called a small ?paradise? not only for its
exquisiteness but because the wealth of the population is above the
national average and unemployment is low. The islands are also
energy efficient, with 23 per cent of Ålands? energy coming from
wind power, and the amount rising every day. Ålands? main sources of income include shipping and ferry services, tourism, and the
processing of agriculture and fisheries products. Ålands penning
automatförening, or PAF, is a Finnish gambling company with a
monopoly over the islands, along with gambling on cruise ferries,
which generates funds for humanitarian and social issues on the
islands. A perhaps less known fact about Åland is that it has the
largest and oldest chips factory in all of Finland. There is also a
vineyard on Åland, and only one Macdonald?s in the entire region.
A land in Swedish
Although Åland is part of Finland, it has a few features that distinguish it from other Finnish regions. Firstly, although Finland has
two official languages, the main language of Åland is Swedish. As
such, all governmental communication within Åland and between
Åland and the central government in Helsinki, is done in Swedish.
In addition to this, Åland also has its own flag, which was voted on
and chosen in 1953. The region also has a particular autonomous
political system, which isn?t found in any other Finnish regions.
The political system consists of a devolved parliament and policy
areas where it acts as a national government. The government is
known as the Lagtinget, and is the highest authority on the islands.
Åland?s unique rules arose from a series of historical events. Until
the 1800s, the islands were part of the Kingdom of Sweden, along
with Finland. In 1809 both were given to Russia. When Finland
gained its independence in 1917, the representatives of the Åland
municipalities attempted to seek reunion with Sweden, but their
demands were rejected by Finland. As the question of Åland?s status began to escalate, it appeared to be leading to open conflict between Sweden and Finland. The question was thus referred to the
League of Nations, the main international body at the time. The
League granted Finland sovereignty over Åland in 1921, as long
as Finland gave autonomy to the region. Finland was required to
guarantee Åland their Swedish language, culture, local customs,
and a system of government. Åland?s demilitarisation and neutrality was also confirmed. All were secured in the Autonomy Act
of 1920, which has since been revised twice, in 1951 and 1993.
Åland?s demilitarised and neutral status originates from peace negotiations in Paris in 1856 following the Crimean War. As a demilitarised region, there can be no military presence in the province,
and no forts or military bases may be built on its islands. Although
all Finnish men are required to go to the army for a year, Ålanders
are exempt from the requirement. Its neutrality ensures that it must
be kept outside the threat of war in case of conflict.
An island to govern
Åland?s parliament, the Lagtinget, consists of 30 members of parliament who appoint the Åland government. The Lagtinget has
power over certain devolved policy areas, including the right to
pass legislation on education, culture, the preservation of ancient
monuments, the environment, promotion of industry, internal
transport, local government, policing, postal communications, and
radio and television, and has some powers to distribute its budget.
Åland?s budget consists of domestic revenues, and a sum from the
Finnish government. Finland retains rights to legislate over issues
of foreign affairs, most areas of civil and criminal law, the court
system, customs, and state taxation. Åland has one representative
in the Finnish government to ensure that their interests are taken
in to account in the shared policy areas.
Åland is also exceptional in the European arena, claiming a special status when it comes to particular EU regulations. When Finland became part of the EU in 1995 Åland consented to joining the
Union, yet its relationship with the EU is different from Finland?s
relationship. Åland retains special provisions for purchasing of real
estate and the right to conduct business in Åland, outlined in the
?Åland protocol?. The protocol states that in order to buy or hold
real estate, or run a business, a person must hold a ?right of domicile?. Right of domicile is acquired at birth, but may be lost if the
individual leaves the region for more than five years. Immigrants
who have lived in Åland for at least five years and are proficient in
Swedish can apply for the status. To receive a right of domicile, one
must get permission from the authorities of the Åland islands. The
Åland protocol also allows Åland to be regarded as a third territory
when it comes to indirect taxation. This permits the sale of tax-free
goods to passengers travelling between Åland and other EU member states, even though individuals are subject to taxes when travelling to and from Finland ? which might explain why the cruises to
Sweden via Mariehamn are so popular!
www.visitaland.com
A visit to a dreamland
Pilar Díaz
W
e arrived at the
capital of the Åland
islands at dawn.
It was four o?clock and we
headed to the little cottage
we had rented for the weekend.
While we were walking on
the reddish roads of Mariehamn, I realised that the
place hadn?t changed at all
since I was last here. The
streets and houses looked
like part of a film set. I remember I had the same feeling the first time I visited the
islands three years ago; time
seems to have stopped here.
Walking made us get even
more tired, so we went to bed as soon as we arrived to our little cottage and, after getting some
extra sleep, we set out to explore the city.
The first thing on our to-do list was renting a bike. We wanted to visit the city and the beaches
around it and we had also planned a road trip by bike for the following day, so we went to RONO Rent, near the western harbour. To be honest, I didn?t believe we could find a suitable bike
for me since all the bikes I?ve seen in Finland seem to be three times higher than I am, but luckily we found one that was small enough (and not one meant for kids ? yeah!).
From my point of view, there aren?t so many things to do in Åland, but that?s exactly the thing
I like the most about these islands. You can go there and stop thinking and planning and worrying. Being in Åland is all about finding the peace you might not find in the city.
Sunday tripping
Sunday came and with it our big plan for the weekend: touring the south of the main island. Our
road trip pack included anti-punkki (tick) spray, some sandwiches and water.
We left the town behind us and took Järsövägen road, which ends in Järsö, a little island. Our
aim wasn?t to go all the way there because it was too much cycling for us. It?s actually only 18
kilometres to get there, but then we had to make the return journey by bike also... We stopped a
little while after the Nåtö Biological Station, where we ate the supplies we had with us, and then
continued cycling back to Mariehamn.
Words can?t describe how amazing the landscape is there. We had to stop every 20 minutes
in order to appreciate the beauty around us, and take pictures too. The small red cottages were
reflected on the sea, which seemed infinite. The sea was of blue and silver, with such clear water
that you could see the bottom. It was a mirror of everything around it: the cottages, little boats
on the shore and the fairytale forests. The sea breeze and the sunshine were just perfect for
cycling.
While we were crossing one of the bridges that connect the islets, one of my friends was so impressed about the breathtaking nature we were witnessing that he described it as ?surreal?. I told
him that it looked like a dream and he agreed with me. Åland is a real dream. You realise that it
is indeed a dream when you leave the islands and come back to your reality. The best thing about
this dream is that you can experience it every time you want, you just have to travel there. All that
I think about when I remember this trip is that I can?t wait to dream this dream again.
Cycling is a dream come true in Åland.
Moving to finland
as an immigrant in finland
Where to find work?
information about finnish or swedish
Bringing your family to finland
Housing
Health services in finland
education
problem situations
local information
helsinki, espoo,
vantaa, kauniainen,
Turku, Tampere,
Mikkeli, Oulu,
rovaniemi
INFOBOX
?
?
?
?
?
?
The League of Nations granted Finland sovereignty
over Åland in 1921, as long as Finland gave autonomy
to the region.
The Åland Islands consist of around 6,500 islands.
The population is 28,000.
23 per cent of Ålands? energy comes from wind power.
Åland also has its own flag, which was voted on and
chosen in 1953.
A demilitarised region, there can be no military presence in the province, and no forts or military
bases may be built on its islands. Ålanders are also exempt from military service.
finland in your language
JulkaisiJa Helsingin kaupunki Publicerad av Helsingfors stad Published by tHe City of Helsinki
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The National
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Finnish
After
Dark
Finnish After Dark is here to help, with everything from
cool slang to chat up lines, tips on how to avoid being
beaten up in taxi queues and the latest excuses for why
you are late for work.
Finnish After Dark is a humoristic look at various Finnishlanguage terms and phrases that are almost impossible
to translate.
These are the spices of late night conversation among
Finns, which are almost always missed by foreigners.
The book is based on the Finnish After Dark series published in SixDegrees over the past few years. The series
continues to receive excellent feedback from readers.
Buy online: www.6d.fi/fad
or from major bookstores.
Want to know if you should
compliment your girlfriend
on being plösö or paksuna?
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Co m e a n d e n j oy
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Tastebuds
15
SixDegrees
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Wha
exactly
The weird and wonderful tastes of
your local Asian grocery store.
E
at your greens! How many times have you heard that
line? In Finland this may pose a two-fold problem: first
of all you gotta find your greens, and, when faced with a
mighty array at the Chinese market, the next question would
be, ?How?? But, have no fear, for this month?s edition will
take you through all things great and green.
Morning glory, also known as water convulvus or water
morning glory
One of the cheapest and most common vegetables in South
East Asia, Kangkung (as its commonly known in my neck of
the woods) is an easy vegetable to prepare. Due to its porous
stems, rinse well and separate leaves from stems. It eats well
when lightly stir-fried and has nutty, grassy undertones with
a mild mustard flavour and goes well with garlic, chilli paste
and dried pounded shrimp.
Mustard greens, pak choy or buc choy
With its thick white stems and jade green leaves, this is another easy and common green in the Chinese kitchen repertoire. Again, separate the stems from the leaves, and cook
very briefly in a hot wok with garlic and oyster sauce. Pak
choy has a lovely bite to it and a mild peppery flavour. It
comes in white stems, pale green and baby varieties too.
Kai-lan or Chinese broccoli
With shorter, thicker stems and denser leaves, kai-lan holds
up well cooked for longer periods of time with, say, meat,
or in stews. It has a nice broccoli flavour, albeit more bitter.
Steam and stir-fry quickly. It?s not cheap, but it is good.
More than mozzarella
Punavuori tastes Italian.
Tania Nathan
O
n a quiet Friday afternoon before the lunch rush things are
taking a rather Italian turn at Mille Mozzarella. I sit myself
down and there isn?t a soul to be seen. Taking off my coat and
setting up my lap top and still the kitchen staff seem to be intent on
ignoring the front of house. Oh well. Eventually Lorenzo DotsonSmith pops out of the kitchen and is all smiles and starts rustling
up some food.
Located on Purssimiehenkatu, Mille Mozzarella started out as a
shop stocking quality Italian staples to restaurants and discerning
folks of the greater Helsinki region. According to Dotson-Smith,
the concept behind Mille was to provide great food, cheese plates,
antipasti and quality Italian kitchen staples for the good people of
Finland. And while I wait for my veggie lasagna I check out the
shelves that line the little café, and this indeed is true. Bottles of unfiltered Italian olive oil, walnut oil, infused truffle olive oil, olive oil
with pepperoncino chilli peppers, balsamic vinegar from Modena,
antipasti of artichoke hearts, wild mushrooms and olives in parsley
infused olive oil, fig jams and even a cherry salsa. And all at prices
that don?t invoke involuntary coughing fits ? impressive indeed, for
one of the most expensive EU countries food-wise.
As the lunch includes fresh bread, either a focaccia or baguette,
which appears to have been made in house, I help myself to some,
which I use to soak up dark green unfiltered olive oil with a balsamic vinegar eye. The olive oil is rich but the balsamic vinegar,
as thick as syrup, is shockingly good. I?m tempted to abandon my
lunch and just dive into it but just manage to restrain myself. I take
note of the label as everything is available for purchase - Verna condimento all ? aceto balsamico di Modena IGP. Fabulous stuff.
Prima piatto
My lunch arrives and it is a handsome looking spinach lasagne with
grilled vegetables and a fresh spring salad that has bitter leaves of
radicchio, iceberg, frilly lollo rosso, sweet corn and red peppers. I
detect a lemony hint in the grilled vegetables, which Dotson-Smith
later confirms was an olive oil that had been made with extracts
of lemon. The grilled vegetables, which features courgette replete
with criss-cross grill marks, eggplant and jade green broccoli are
lovely, all of which have a freshness that indicate perfect cooking
time. My lasagne lunch is also delicious ? with a mixture of vegetables bound in a béchamel-like sauce with herbs and a mushroomy
flavour that was full of umami flavours ? not too heavy for a light
lunch.
What I really appreciated with my meal at Mille was that it was a
great value for money lunch, but was still suitably elegant and light
that I didn?t feel stuffed to the gills afterwards. Coffees, including
cappuccinos and lattes, were also offered at very reasonable prices
? which was surprising considering Mille Mozzarella?s prime location. Why was this? Dotson-Smith?s reasoning was simple: ?People
might want to have a coffee with their lunch, but if the prices were
high, they would skip it. But here, since we import our own Italian coffee beans, it doesn?t matter. We charge less for our coffees
than other places here in Helsinki, and so more people don?t mind
getting a coffee after their lunch. They get to have coffee, and we
make a little less profit, but more than people not having any coffee at all!?
Mille Mozzarella is a great place to stock up on Italian products,
for a coffee, breakfast, quality lunch and they also do great brunches on the weekends.
Mille Mozzarella
Mon-Thu 8:00-18:00
Fri 8:00-21:00
Sat 10:00-21:00
Purssimiehenkatu 7, Helsinki
www.millemozzarelle.fi
En choy, bayam merah or red spinach
Reddish round leaves and thin stemmed, this spinach variety is pretty to look at and good to eat! You can eat this raw
in salads, but wash very, very well. It seems to hide a mother
load of dirt, but tastes lovely, earthy and fresh and can also
be eaten cooked with coconut milk. Do not overcook or it
will turn slimy!
Chinese chives
These little guys are not just for show, but add an important
taste element to many noodle dishes. Diced fine and added at the last moment before serving, Chinese chives have
a pronounced onion flavour and go well with rice noodles
and all things porky.
Chinese celery or ?oriental? celery
Similar looking to a flat leafed parsley-coriander hybrid,
this tastes a bit like celery, but more herbal and grassy. The
stems and leaves are used in soups that accompany the classic Hainanese chicken rice and have quite a strong flavour!
Do not overcook, the flavours wilt with heat, so add at the
last moment right before plating and it will shine.
There you have it! Stay tuned; let?s see what we can find
next month?
Tania Nathan is a Chinese-Sri
Lankan Malaysian who loves
her food and is often to be
found rummaging through
a freezer somewhere in
Hakaniemi. Come say hi!
In 2008 Finnish pizza chain Kotipizza won the
America?s Plate International pizza contest
in New York. What was the name of their
reindeer meat pizza? ?The Berlusconi? (former
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had
earlier referred to Finnish food disparagingly).
16
Q&A
VietSpirit
Issue 6 2014
A band of ten (From left
to right) Back row: Quang
Nguyen, Tung Mai, Duy
Le, Vu Nguyen, Nam
Vu Hoang. Seated: Linh
Nguyen, Yen Mai, Van
Nguyen, Nga Phan and
Tuyen Nguyen (not in
picture).
Channelling the spirit of home and beyond.
Shaden Kamel
F
rom their band name, one could assume that VietSpirit?s performances are in Vietnamese. While this is true to some extent,
the ten-piece band has quickly distinguished itself with their
willingness and flexibility to sing in other languages that suit the
theme of any particular event they happen to be appearing at.
Since forming late last year, the band has performed a range of
material on a variety of stages, with a recent gig seeing them add an
11-minute epic to their repertoire.
SixDegrees sat down with Yen Mai and Vu Nguyen to hear about
their spontaneous origins, the symbolism behind their songs and
how they manage to learn to sing in different languages.
How did the band start?
Mai: All band members knew each other prior to the creation
of band. One of the band members was my flatmate; at home he
played the guitar and I sang. Then the other band members started
to join like Vu, his wife and the rest. But it was only for fun. Our
band was created after the first time we performed at the Colourful
Espoo event last December.
So, are you saying that the band was created
?spontaneously??
Mai: It was created spontaneously because of that event. Even at
that time we didn?t think we would become a band; it was more
like just playing music, just for fun. Then, people kept asking us to
perform, so we had to prepare ourselves for event after event. And,
after every event we stick more together and became more solid.
Also, because we don?t have our family here, us getting together to
sing and play our instruments gives us the sense of home.
Do you sing only in Vietnamese or in other languages as
well?
Mai: When we formed our band we didn?t aim to sing in one language. The language of our performance depends on the demand,
whatever the event organisers and audience wants.
Nguyen: In our first performance the audiences were more English-speaking, or more international, so we sang in English for the
Christmas atmosphere, and also in Finnish. Then the Lunar New
Year event was about our Vietnamese culture, so we sang in Vi-
etnamese. Our last performance was at a Russian event at Caisa
cultural centre; we sang in Russian.
That?s interesting! How did you learn to sing in different
languages?
Nguyen: Nam was the one in touch with the Russian community
in Finland; he lived in Russia for 16 years, so he speaks Russian
fluently. He convinced us to perform in Russian. So, we could learn
how to sing in a language that we do not know, as long as there is
someone who could tell us how to pronounce it. My wife in the
beginning rejected singing in Russian, but later on she tried to pronounce it and now she sings in Russian everywhere and all the time
? in the bathroom, when she is working on her computer, even
though she doesn?t understand it.
Mai: It does take some time, but not long, I just keep listening to
YouTube songs for a week and then it kind of gets into my head.
Nguyen: It is interesting to learn and sing in many languages.
Nguyen: One of my Finnish friends said that if you don?t know
how to play a guitar then you are not Vietnamese, because he has
many Vietnamese friends that play an instrument.
Tell me about the instruments you use.
Nguyen: Out of the ten members, at least seven can play one instrument and some play two or three. Nam, for example, plays the
piano and guitar; I play the guitar and Cajon. Every instrument
has a function, some of the members play at the treble level, high
tone range, and some play at the bass level, low tone range, and this
range is what keeps the rhythm.
Mai: I have to synchronise myself with how Vu and Nam play their
instruments, so I go on YouTube to listen to the sound of their instruments, make notes, then sing according to these notes. It takes
a lot of time and effort.
Nguyen: It took two days to just write down these notes.
I saw the video of your Vietnamese song performance at
Caisa recently. Are Vietnamese songs symbolic, and does
this feature in your song choices?
Mai: Yeah, some of the Vietnamese songs are symbolic, but we
perform according to the need of the event. We know that the
Vietnamese people would want to listen to something with deep
meaning, but, for example, when we performed on Valentine?s Day,
the audience was more young and fresh, so we performed more
lively music.
Nguyen: We didn?t plan to choose a symbolic song for our performances, but the event was about the Vietnamese culture so we
picked a really good, yet difficult song. The Vietnamese song performance video you watched is by a very famous Vietnamese composer, Tr?nh Công S?n. He is one of the most popular and famous
composers in Vietnam and that song is his masterpiece.
Mai: The meaning of this song is actually very nice. It is about how
things are constantly transforming and that nothing is permanent;
everything is always changing. The song resembles these transformations with the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Nguyen: He wrote this song for his love. At first he described the
good feeling he had towards her like spring, then in winter it becomes really sad, leaving the lover.
Mai: The good thing about the song is that even though it has a sad
part, it ends on a good note, like a positive and happy note, which
is the reincarnation stage. So yeah, it?s like after the winter there is
the spring again!
How long have you been playing instruments?
Mai: I played the piano ever since I was five.
Nguyen: I played the guitar since I was 17. I took a guitar course
for the first five months and then later on I learned it by myself. So,
during a year, little by little, with the help of my friends and our
band performances, I learned to play more instruments. I think
we all learned to play instruments by ourselves, even if we took
courses earlier.
Mai: Actually one of the band?s goals is to help us improve our musical skills and instruments.
What are your future plans?
Nguyen: We are planning to set some directions and present
more of our Vietnamese culture through performing some traditional songs and using traditional instruments. We will produce good quality videos through our own YouTube channel, so
we could introduce ourselves to the world and in particular to
Finland. At the same time, we will continue playing music on
the weekends.
Mai: There will probably be upcoming events in the summer, and
we are always open to invitations to perform.
Cultitude
17
SixDegrees
Virve. Photo: Pinja Valja, Monokini 2.0.
Designer: Tyra Therman
Swimming
against the tide
Eddie Wolf
James O?Sullivan
W
Nutty Tarts: Monokini 2.0
Until 7 September
The Finnish Museum
of Photography
The Cable Factory
Tallberginkatu 1G
Helsinki
E are defined by many things, but what to do if one or more
of the physical attributes that helps define our gender is removed? How about if what is taken away is perceived by
society as an integral part of one?s sexuality? How to be ?normal?
in such circumstances, when society?s pressure suggests otherwise?
A community art project that explores the narrow ideas of our
culture concerning ?good? and ?normal? looks when it comes to
women, Monokini 2.0 seeks to push the boundaries of what is acceptable and beautiful in society regarding the human body.
Monokini 2.0 sees a group of Finnish fashion designers creating swimsuits that challenge traditional ideas to whom a swimsuit
should cater. Many women decide against having breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, choosing to continue their lives with
a single breast. However, as swimsuits available today are, without
exception, designed for women with two breasts, what is on offer
for those who have undergone such a procedure?
The exhibition presents swimsuits designed specifically for these
women. Furthermore, these creations have been photographed in
a fashion shoot, with women who have undergone a mastectomy
modeling the designs.
The Finnish fashion designers whose creations are on display
include Tyra Therman, Sasu Kauppi, Mert Otsamo, Timo Rissanen, Outi Les Pyy, Vilma Riitijoki and KaksiTvå.
An artist talk (in Finnish), with Helsinki-based artist duo Nutty Tarts (Katriina Haikala and Vilma Metteri) is being held on
Thursday 21 August from 18.30-19.30. Free entrance.
James O?Sullivan
T
HE largest arts festival in Finland is once again being staged
in the capital, with Helsinki Festival showcasing another
wide-reaching programme that contains pretty much
something for every taste. Here can be found various experiences ranging from classical to world music and pop, from drama to
contemporary dance, and from visual art to film and children?s
events scattered strategically about town.
Last year?s festival had more than 200,000 visitors, and this year
promises to see a similar number in attendance, with the likes of
Sophie Ellis Bexter, Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet: Landfall and Los Lobos amongst the international guests on offer. In
fact, Kronos Quartet pops up again during the programme. Kimmo / Kronos / Kosminen / Kuusisto celebrates the 50th birthday
of local accordion virtuoso Kimmo Pohjonen, teaming him up
with the Kronos Quartet, violinist Pekka Kuusisto and sampling
guru Samuli Kosminen.
Ever wanted to see Ganesh and Hitler on the same stage? Well,
Australia?s Back to Back Theatre offers the opportunity to do so.
Feeling like some live music to accompany your gaming? Then the
soundtracks to various best-selling Finnish games will be performed
live for the first time by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
Elsewhere, the movie picnic makes a much-anticipated return
and Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi invites everyone to view their
familiar urban environment through new eyes.
Putting words together in various ways, the always welcome
Poetry Moon celebrates a decade of its existence, with another comprehensive programme, with more than 30 free events
across Helsinki.
Once again festivities include the highly anticipated Night of
the Arts, held on 21 August. Promising a cultural encounter in
surprising places and in new ways, here one can find hundreds
of cultural events unfolding all around the city, with museums,
galleries, bookshops and cafés open until the wee hours.
There?s all kinds of happenings in the capital city in August, see
what you can find!
Rise gmt
Helsinki Festival 2014
15-31 August
www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi
From Flowers to Devils
James O?Sullivan
C
HARTING his remarkable career, Flowers
and Devils showcases the works of artist
Heikki Marila from 1995?2014. A powerful twin exhibition by the 2012 Carnegie
Art Award winner, the artist draws his inspiration from the history of art, and also
from Lutheran Christianity in his more recent works.
Marila?s works are endowed with an extreme physicality and an authentic honesty,
leaving no room for excess.
Mirroring his subject matter, the artist?s
style is also suitably intense and emotional. Here he incorporates thick, vigorous
strokes of paint to convey powerful social
messages and sentiments.
Marila also employs an exaggerated sense
of drama in his works, as well as irony.
However, irony for him is no laughing matter, with something serious always lurking
beneath the surface.
Power and its institutions are examined
critically throughout his oeuvre, drawing
attention to things that are prosaic, considered insignificant or left marginalised.
The exhibition covers an extraordinary
James O?Sullivan
H
Helsinki, prepare to get
festive!
Classic with
soul
range of topics. Visitors to Taidehalli can
ponder various subject matters that include
Biblical motifs, self-portraits, wobbling
vertical lines, floral paintings referencing
17th century Dutch still lifes and maps of
suburbia.
Heikki Marila: Flowers and Devils
Until 10 August
Taidehalli
Nervanderinkatu 3
Helsinki
aving been performing since the 1960s, soulful legend
Stevie Wonder is coming to Finland this summer, taking the stage at Helsinki Classic Festival on Wednesday
9 July at Kaisaniemi Park.
Bringing with him a distinguished songbook collating classics plucked from various decades, over the years Wonder has
been responsible for the likes of Superstition, I Just Called To
Say I Love You, Isn?t She Lovely, You Are The Sunshine Of My
Life, Pastime Paradise, As and many, many other classic tracks.
Blind since not long after he was born, this lack of vision
heightened his other senses. Soon he was creating energetic
and colourful songs brimming with life and ambition. After
signing with Motown?s Tamla label at the age of eleven, his
resultant output has been coloured with a joyful positivity,
regardless of the tone of the theme being tackled.
His 1970s output arguably represented his peak of creativity, with albums such as Talking Book, Innervisions, and
Songs in the Key of Life proving both critical and commercial smashes. However, Wonder?s influence has not merely
been limited to sales and reviews. He is also noted for his
work as an activist for political causes, including his successful 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.?s birthday a holiday in the United States, spearheaded by the song
Happy Birthday. Subsequent years have seen him grappling
to maintain the dizzying heights of his earlier successes, with
notable releases sandwiched between less well-received fare.
Nonetheless, having recorded more than 30 US top ten hits
and been the recipient of 22 Grammy Awards during his career, Wonder has sold over 100 million albums and singles.
Offering more than ample support at Kaisaniemi Park is
the helmeted soul and R&B excellence of Cody ChesnuTT,
along with local outfits Ricky-Tick Big Band & Julkinen
Sana and Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators.
Helsinki Classic Festival 2014: Stevie Wonder
9 July, 14:00
Tickets ?88.50
Kaisaniemi Park
Helsinki
Reviews
18
Issue 6 2014
Forthcoming flicks
Summer is here and with it comes a number of tentpoles at your local multiplex. However, after such a
strong start to the cinematic year, the forthcoming offering may seem a disappointment. While there may
not be anything to rival the excess of Wolf of Wall St or
the harrowing sorrow of 12 Years a Slave there are still
more than enough curiosities scattered amidst the
less enticing fare on offer.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (K12)
After last year?s Pain and Gain saw director Michael Bay stripping back the colossal budgets of his usual
output in favour of character and (gasp) story, here he is back on familiar ground. Yep, the fourth entry
in the Transformers series sees Bayhem returning front and centre for another go ?round for the Autobots
and Decepticons. Things are bound to explode once again, in place of any simple exposition, with Bay
doing away with the lion?s share of the series? previous cast, and replacing them with a group of names
spearheaded by his Pain and Gain leading man, Mark Walhberg. And so, as Steven Spielberg sits comfortably in the executive producer?s seat counting the booty, the sky?s the limit for the box office swag coming
their way this summer.
Premieres 27 June
Begin Again (K7)
If Once was your thing a few years back, no doubt you?re already looking forward to this tale from the same
director, John Carney. Here an ambitious young female singer (Keira Knightley) moves to New York City in
search of stardom. So far, so predictable. It remains to be seen if she is dragging a vacuum cleaner behind
her a la Once, but what is known is that Knightley?s initial disappointment upon her arrival is replaced by
the pangs of love when she falls for Mark Ruffalo?s struggling record producer, who might just happen to
assist her down the path towards fame.
Premieres 4 July
The Fault In Our Stars (K12)
Having made a considerable dent in the US box office upon its recent release, here tells the story of
Shailene Woodley?s sixteen-year-old cancer patient, who is forced by her parents to attend a support
group. All is not lost for the youngster, as the group just happens to contain Ansel Elgort?s ex-basketball
player and amputee, who she subsequently meets and falls in love with. Guaranteed to assault your tear
ducts, tug at your heartstrings and massage your faith in humanity (in one big hit!), reviews have been
surprisingly solid for this one aimed squarely at the teenie set.
Premieres 11 July
Neighbours (K12)
Time for a Seth Rogan comedy this summer, it seems. Not just any, mind you, but one from the director
of Get Him to the Greek and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Here everyone?s favourite stoner plays one half
of a married couple (with Rose Byrne) who are adjusting to life with a newborn, as they also bid farewell
to the carefree days of their youth. Just when it appears they may have a handle on the situation, having
seemingly eased their way into suburban bliss, a Zac Efron-led fraternity moves in next door, turning their
world upside down. Cue hijinks, a escalating burst of one-upmanship and a Robert de Niro-themed frat
party. Early word has been very positive.
Premieres 11 July
Keira Knightley figures out the lead in Begin Again.
Hercules
After a number of interesting roles in recent years, as well as also joining various franchises in order to
give them a much needed boost, here The Rock steps up as the son of Zeus, in the latest from director
Brett Ratner. While the idea may be endlessly appealing to those under 12, the rest of us may just be
left scratching their heads in wonderment how such projects get the green light. An adaptation of Steve
Moore?s Radical Comics graphic novel, the film arrives on the heels of Renny Harlin?s much maligned The
Legend of Hercules, which has yet to secure a Finnish release date after flopping dismally on release in
the States earlier this year.
Premieres 1 August
Expendables 3
Adding such names as Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford and Antonio Banderas to the cast list, here The Expendables series chugs along for its latest outing, with the combined age of its marquee stars now well
past the four digits. Having yet to fully make good on the promise of collating the ?80s action greats
together in the one film, perhaps this might be the one that nails the formula. After their recent hilarious
arrival in Cannes atop of tanks, at least their tongue is suitably placed in cheek. Nonetheless, it remains to
be seen if Red Hill?s Aussie director Patrick Hughes can find the balance that the previous two instalments
were sadly lacking. Fingers crossed.
Premieres 15 August
Frank Miller?s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Once again Robert Rodriguez teams up with Frank Miller to take punters into the world of Sin City, after
the excellent first instalment that surfaced in 2005. Here Josh Brolin is on hand to tell the backstory of
Clive Owen?s Dwight character from the first film. Wrapped up in the thralls of Eva Green?s femme fatale
(who?s saucy pose in a one-sheet poster for the film recently saw the promotional material being banned
in the States), Brolin has some great support on hand. The likes of Joseph Gordon Levitt, Mickey Rourke,
Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba and Jaime King help bring to life the unique world the Miller has created.
No world whether Tarantino has directed a scene as he did with the first flick, but perhaps he has been
too busy with the legal proceedings regarding the leak of his Hateful Eight screenplay earlier this year.
Premieres 22 August
Mark Wahlberg joins Transformers.
Efron goes de Niro in Neighbours.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Apes on horseback. Yep, that?s pretty much enough to entice most people to check out this follow up to
the unexpectedly excellent Rise of the Planet of the Apes from a couple of years back. Charting the next
step in the genetically advanced furry fellows? takeover of the world, a virus proceeds to wipe out the human race. Gary Oldman, Jason Clark and Kodi Smit-McPhee step into the leading roles, with the mercurial
Andy Serkis once again utilising motion capture as the leading ape. Let Me In director Matt Reeves is at
the helm, as we all hope for a set piece to rival the memorable final showdown on Golden Gate Bridge
from the previous film.
Premieres 18 July
Game Review July 2014
Nick Barlow
Watch Dogs (PC, PS3, PS4, 360, Xone, WiiU)
New IPs are always welcome, especially when they?re as well-crafted as Watch Dogs. A third-person action
adventure, the game has the player controlling Aiden Pearce, a hacker who can gain access to Chicago?s centralised computer system via his smartphone, enabling you to create diversions, allow access to hidden areas,
and even eliminate opponents. Hacking the CCTV network opens up new side quests and missions, meaning
there?s a fair amount of content along with an interesting MP mode. The story is rather by the numbers, but there?s a vaguely interesting
moral lesson to be learned and the end. Graphics are OK on last-gen, but obviously better on new hardware. Ultimately, Watch Dogs is solidly
crafted and entertaining to play. It might not be the future of gaming we were led to believe at E3 2013 but it?ll be interesting to see where the
series takes us, as a sequel surely can?t be far off. 8/10
19 JUNE ? 3 JULY 2014
HELSINKI TIMES
Customer service points
Rautatientori Metro Station
(by Central Railway Station)
Itäkeskus Metro Station
Pasila, Opastinsilta 6A
Monthly review
3
HSL Customer service tel. 09 4766 4000
(Mon-Fri 7am-7pm, Sat-Sun 9am-5pm)
Advice on public transport routes,
timetables and tickets, Travel Card
assistance and lost Travel Cards
HSL Helsinki Region Transport
PO BOX 100, 00077 HSL
www.hsl.fi
Take a tour of summery Helsinki with HSL
Most of Helsinki?s tourist attractions
can be reached on public transport
shaped like the figure 8. It is a
good idea to grab HSL?s Helsinki sightseeing 2 & 3 brochure,
which lists all the main sights,
stop by stop.
Culture and the great
outdoors
All of Helsinki?s most interesting visitor attractions are within easy reach by tram or bus.
Helsinki Zoo on the Korkeasaari Island can be reached by
bus, while both bus and tram
go to the Linnanmäki amusement park.
Visitors can even get to a
camping site on public trans-
port by hopping on a metro
to Rastila. HSL also runs public transport on sea: a ferry to
the Suomenlinna fortress island
goes from the Market Square.
An easy way to enjoy a sightseeing tour of Helsinki is to
take tram 2 or 3, with many of
the city?s sights lying along the
trams? route, which runs a loop
Lasipalatsi stop to
undergo renovation
The busiest stop in Helsinki, the
Lasipalatsi tram stop on the
same side of the road as the
Sokos department store, will be
renovated and the stop transferred a couple of hundred metres along Mannerheimintie to
a temporary location in front of
the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art.
The temporary stop will be in
use from 23 June until the end of
September when the work is set
to be completed. The arrangement concerns tram routes 4, 4T,
7A and 10 running north from the
city centre.
The temporary stop will be set
up between the lanes on Mannerheimintie, where one of the
lanes will be closed to cars. The
stop can be accessed by the pedestrian crossing in front of Kiasma.
The pedestrian crossing across
Mannerheimintie lying just north
of the stop undergoing work will
be closed on the Sokos side during the renovation for at least
some of the time. The tram stop
on the Lasipalatsi side of the
road will remain open throughout the work.
As part of the work, an underground heating system will be
installed at the stop, which will
also be widened by a metre. The
surfacing and the curb stones
will also be replaced and a couple of trees planted.
If you want to take a trip outside
the city centre, you can plan
your excursion with the Journey Planner service (www.reittiopas.fi/en), where you can find
public transport connections to
all the main places of interest.
For example, the Luukki recreation area is located within
a 40-minute bus journey from
the centre. You can also leave
the hustle and bustle of the city
behind you in the wilderness of
Nuuksio National Park, where
you can take the combination
of commuter train and bus. A
friend of the arts can head to
Espoo, to the Tarvaspää studio
and home of the national artist
Akseli Gallen-Kallela. A bus will
take you within just over a kilometre?s walk of the museum.
Another visitor attraction located in Espoo within an easy
Trunk route 550
diverted
Old rails are being removed on Maaherrantie in the Oulunkylä-Viikki area. Trunk route 550 will be diverted
throughout the summer timetable
season 16 June ? 10 August because
of the works.
The buses will run along Viikintie
and Oulunkyläntie instead of Maaherrantie. In the Käpylä-Koskela area, the
bus will run westward along Kunnalliskodintie and eastward along Käpyläntie and Koskelantie.
The Viikinmäki, Veräjämäki and Oulunkylän asema (Oulunkylä station)
stops on Maaherrantie will not be
served.
If you need to reach bus 550
from around Maaherrantie, you can
take bus 65A or 71. You can change
to route 550 from route 65A at the
Taivaskallio bus stop and to route 71
at the Viikinranta bus stop.
bus journey is the WeeGee exhibition centre, which, in addition to the Museum of Modern
Art, houses Toy Museum and
the Museum of Horology.
Within easy reach by commuter train, the Science Centre Heureka makes for a perfect
destination for the whole family. The train journey to Tikkurila
in Vantaa takes around 20 minutes from the Helsinki Central
Railway Station.
Easy travel with a day ticket
HSL?s day tickets loaded on a
single-charge card are available in R kiosks, the Helsinki Tourist Information and HSL
service points. Day tickets can
be purchased for 1 to 7 days.
Day tickets are available, for
example, as city internal tickets
and regional tickets, which allow you to travel in the entire
metropolitan area.
Using the single-charge card
is easy: you only have to show
it to the card reader without
pressing any of the buttons.
The ticket becomes valid when
it is used for the first time.
Buses to replace
M trains in the
summer
On two weekends in July, on 12?
13 July and 19?20 July, M trains will
run only to Pohjois-Haaga because
of renovation work on a bridge. On
these days, there will be no train service between Pohjois-Haaga and
Vantaankoski.
From the Pohjois-Haaga station,
trains will be replaced by bus 48 to
Kannelmäki, bus 49 to Malminkartano and bus 499 to Myyrmäki and
Vantaankoski. The buses will only
stop at stops located in the vicinity
of railway stations.
The special arrangement will add
around 15 minutes to travel times. It
is also worth bearing in mind that the
buses will have less space for prams
and pushchairs than trains. Bicycles
cannot be transported on the buses.
Out&See
SixDegrees
Greater Helsinki
20
Issue 6 2014
By Anna-Maija Lappi
Music _ Clubs
26 Jun. Club Koko Kesä Kalliossa
// Pave Maijanen. Koko Jazz Club,
Hämeentie 3. Tickets ?16.50/22.
www.kokojazz.fi
26 Jun. Barren Earth // Metal. On
The Rocks, Mikonkatu 15. Tickets
?9.50/14.50. www.ontherocks.fi
26 Jun. Tuska 2014 ? klubi // Metsatöll
(EST) & Talbot (EST). Tavastia,
Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets
?10/13/15. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
26-29 Jun. Puistoblues 2014 // The
biggest Blues Festival in Europe.
Järvenpää. www.puistoblues.fi
27 Jun. Sandhja // Pop. Le Bonk,
Yrjönkatu 24. Tickets ?7.50.
www.lebonk.fi
27 Jun. Tuska 2014 ? klubi //
Viikate, Impaled Nazarene. Virgin
Oil Co., Mannerheimintie 5. Tickets
?16.50/17. www.virginoil.fi
27 Jun. Dark Ambient Friday // A
night of dark ambient, experimental
and noise performances. Korjaamo
Culture Factory, Töölönkatu 51 B.
Tickets ?13. www.korjaamo.fi
27 Jun. Tuska 2014 ? klubi //
Amorphis, Wolfheart, Red Moon
Architect. Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen
katu
4-6.
Tickets
?18-25.
www.tavastiaklubi.fi
27 Jun. Club Kultabassokerho // DJ Sir
Jake. Kuudes Linja, Hämeentie 13.
Tickets ?10. www.kuudeslinja.com
27-29 Jun. Tuska Open Air Metal
Festival 2014 // Dimmu Borgir,
Children of Bodom, Anthrax, Bring
Me The Horizon, Emperor, Satyricon
etc. Suvilahti. Tickets ?71-122.
www.tuska-festival.fi
28 Jun. Punkkirokki II // Lähtevät
K aukojuna t,
S ä r k y n e e t,
Kaupungin Valot, First Times,
Jätä Jämät, Panssarijuna, Kuudes
Silmä, Van Dammes and The Spectral
Rays. Kuudes Linja, Hämeentie 13.
Tickets ?10. www.kuudeslinja.com
28 Jun. Tuska 2014 ? klubi // Omnium
Gatherum, Medeia, Rämlord. Virgin
Oil Co., Mannerheimintie 5. Tickets
?9.50/12. www.virginoil.fi
28 Jun. Kalliola Rock 2014 // Nicole
Willis & The Soul Investigators,
Super Janne, Lossi T & Juoksut
etc. Alppipuisto. Free entry.
www.alppipuistonkesa.info
28 Jun. Hukka ja Mama, Unia // Pop.
Bar Loose, Annankatu 21. Tickets
?7.50/8. www.barloose.com
29 Jun. Pax Festival // 22 Pistepirkko,
Arkady Kots (RUS), Sarah Kivi &
Non-Orchestra etc. Alppipuisto. Free
entry. www.alppipuistonkesa.info
30 Jun & 1 Jul. Eleonora Bayaz &
Raul Mannola + guest: Flamenco ?
Mediterraneo // The dance of Eleonora
Bayaz and the guitar of Raul Mannola.
The Agricola Club, Tehtaankatu 23.
Tickets ?18. www.ainoacktenhuvila.fi
2 Jul. Nuoret Hirvet // Bar Loose,
Annankatu 21. Tickets ?14.50.
www.barloose.com
2 Jul. Jontti & Shaka // Hip-hop.
Mascot Bar & Lounge, Neljäs Linja
2. Tickets ?6. http://www.soffa.tv/
juise/mascot/
3 Jul. Apulanta // Rock. On The
Rocks, Mikonkatu 15. Tickets
?22.50. www.ontherocks.fi
4 Jul. DJ Anna (BRA) // Tech house.
Fredan Tivoli, Fredrikinkatu 51-53.
Tickets ?9.50/10. www.fredantivoli.fi
5 Jul. Elephantasy // Live music
in a park. Alppipuisto. Free entry.
www.alppipuistonkesa.info
6 Jul. Alppimuisto // Electronic. Alppipuisto.
Free entry. www.alppipuistonkesa.info
7 Jul. Black Label Society (USA)
// Heavy metal. The Circus,
Salomonkatu 1-3. Tickets ?43.50.
www.thecircus.fi
9 Jul. Eternal Erection // Pop/funk/
soul. On The Rocks, Mikonkatu 15.
Tickets ?7.50. www.ontherocks.fi
9 Jul. Club Pitkä Kuuma Kesä //
Sarah Kivi & Non-Orchestra. Mbar
Terrace, Mannerheimintie 22-24.
www.mbar.fi
9 Jul. The Jayhawks (USA) //
Americana legends. The Circus,
Salomonkatu 1-3. Tickets ?48.50.
www.thecircus.fi
10 Jul. Kotiteollisuus // Metal. On
The Rocks, Mikonkatu 15. Tickets
?22.50. www.ontherocks.fi
11 Jul. The Scenes, Narva Falls //
Rock. On The Rocks, Mikonkatu 15.
Tickets ?5. www.ontherocks.fi
11 Jul. Club New Tones // The Man.
Semifinal, Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6.
Tickets ?8.50. www.semifinal.fi
Black Label Society
7 Jul. The Circus
Bonobo, Flow Festival
8-10 Aug. Suvilahti
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
19 Jul. Tavastia
Looptroop Rockers
27 Aug. Virgin Oil Co
Tero Saarinen Company - Morphed
16 Aug. Finnish National Opera
11 Jul Streetrock Cabaree // Six Inch,
Mind of Doll, Spiha, Jericho Fuzz &
Roctum. Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen
katu 4-6. Tickets ?14.50/15.
www.tavastiaklubi.fi
11 & 12 Jul. HelZinki Hardstyle Festival
// ?The largest Hardstyle/Hard EDM
event that Finland has ever seen.?
The Circus, Salomonkatu 1-3. Tickets
?37.50-83.50. www.thecircus.fi
12 Jul. Stig & Kullankaivajat //
Hip-hop /r&b /country.
Tavastia,
Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets
?14.50/15. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
12 Jul. Club Danceteria & We Like
// Stefano Noferini (ITA). Helsingin
Kaivohuone, Iso Puistotie 1. Tickets
?14.70. www.helsinginkaivohuone.fi
16 Jul. Angel Haze (USA) // Hip-hop.
Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6.
Tickets ?32.50/33. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
17 Jul. TNT (NOR) // Hard rock. On
The Rocks, Mikonkatu 15. Tickets
?28.50/30. www.ontherocks.fi
17 Jul. Club Koko Kesä Kalliossa
// Olavi Uusivirta. Koko Jazz Club,
Hämeentie 3. Tickets ?16.50/22.
www.kokojazz.fi
18 Jul. Knucklebone Oscar // Rock
and roll. On The Rocks, Mikonkatu
15. Tickets ?7.50. www.ontherocks.fi
18-20 Jul. Summer Sound Festival 2014
// Avicii (SWE), Dash Berlin (NLD),
Paul Oakenfold (UK) etc. Helsingin
Messukeskus, Messuaukio 1. Tickets
?72-118. www.summersound.fi
19 Jul. The Jon Spencer Blues
Explosion (USA) // Legendary trio.
Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6.
Tickets ?27/28. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
19 Jul. Pitkä Kuuma Kesä // Alppipuisto.
Free entry. www.alppipuistonkesa.info
20 Jul. Puistokarkelot // Folk
rhythms. Alppipuisto. Free entry.
www.alppipuistonkesa.info
24 Jul. Sir Elwood Duo // Tavastia,
Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets
?15.50/16. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
25 Jul. Kotimaan Teknokatsaus VI
// Techno & electronic. Kuudes
Linja, Hämeentie 13. Tickets ?10.
www.kuudeslinja.com
25 Jul. Atmozfears (NLD) //
?Melodic hardstyle.? Fredan Tivoli,
Fredrikinkatu
51-53.
Tickets
?13.50. www.fredantivoli.fi
26 Jul. Pihka ja Myrsky, Miia //
Pop. On The Rocks, Mikonkatu 15.
Tickets ?5. www.ontherocks.fi
26 Jul. J Martins (NIG) //
Afrobeat. Helsingin Kaivohuone,
Iso Puistotie 1. Tickets ?27.
www.helsinginkaivohuone.fi
26 Jul. London After Midnight (USA)
// Gothic rock. Tavastia, Urho
Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets ?22/24.
www.tavastiaklubi.fi
26 Jul. Musiikki Ilman Rajoja //
Alppipuisto. Free entry. www.
alppipuistonkesa.info
26 Jul. Hori Smoku Summer Boogaloo
2014 // Guitar Wolf (JPN), Death
(USA), Human Eye (USA) etc.
Ääniwalli, Pälkäneentie 13. Tickets
?25/26. www.facebook.com/Aaniwalli
26 Jul. Magic Circle Festival 2014
// Manowar, Teräsbetoni, Imperia,
Hostile. Suvilahti. Tickets ?78.
www.magiccirclefestival.com
27 Jul. Vadelma Fest ?14 // Live
music and art for the whole
family. Alppipuisto. Free entry.
www.alppipuistonkesa.info
31 Jul. Club Koko Kesä Kalliossa //
Kauko Röyhkä & Severi Pyysalo.
Koko Jazz Club, Hämeentie 3.
Tickets ?16.50/22. www.kokojazz.fi
31 Jul. Pastel de Miolos (BRA) //
Punk. Semifinal, Urho Kekkosen
katu 4 ? 6. Tickets ?6.50.
www.semifinal.fi
31 Jul. SNFU (CAN) // Hardcore punk.
Bar Loose, Annankatu 21. Tickets
?14.50/15. www.barloose.com
1 & 2 Aug. Kaivopuiston Kansanjuhla
// Von Hertzen Brothers, J.
Karjalainen, Club for Five, Stam1na
etc. Kaivopuisto, 12:00. Free entry.
1-3 Aug. Tikkurila Festival //
Michael Monroe, Scandinavian
Music Group, Anna Abreu, Samuli
Edelmann, Reckless Love, Death
Hawks etc. Hiekkaharju sport
park, Vantaa. Tickets ?45-70.
www.tikkurilafestivaali.fi
2 Aug. Misery Index (USA) //
Hardcore
punk/grindcore /death
metal. Nosturi, Telakkakatu 8.
Tickets ?20. www.elmu.fi
2 Aug. Leftöver Crack (USA) //
Death Metal/Punk/Ska. Bar Loose,
Annankatu 21. Tickets ?13.50/14.
www.barloose.com
7 Aug. Club Colossus // Tony Gerber,
From 16 Aug. // Kunsthalle Helsinki, Nervanderinkatu 3. Tickets ?0/8/12. www.taidehalli.fi
Hilma af Klint - A Pioneer of
Abstraction
As part of the Helsinki Festival program, an extensive exhibition of Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) opens
at Kunsthalle Helsinki on Saturday 16 August. Af Klint, one of Sweden´s most important painters,
painted her abstract works years before the emergence of Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich,
both central figures in the history of non-figurative art.
Her art and work, greatly influenced by spirituality and esotericism, remained unknown for a long time,
because the artist had given instructions that her art should be kept hidden from the public for 20 years
after her death. It wasn´t until the exhibitions at Stockholm?s Moderna Museet and Venice Biennale in
2013, that the time was ripe for af Klint´s art to become presented to the broader, international public.
Lux Ohr. On The Rocks, Mikonkatu
15. Tickets ?9.50. www.ontherocks.fi
8-10 Aug. Flow Festival 2014 //
Bonobo (UK), Tinariven (MLI), The
National (USA), Mø (DNK), Outkast
(USA), Blood Orange (USA) etc.
Suvilahti. Tickets ?89-159. www.
flowfestival.com
11 Aug. Night Birds (USA) // Melodic
punkrock. Kuudes Linja, Hämeentie 13.
Tickets ?13.50. www.kuudeslinja.com
13 Aug. Club Pitkä Kuuma Kesä //
The Valkyrians. Mbar Terrace,
Mannerheimintie 22-24. www.mbar.fi
14 Aug. Club Koko Kesä Kalliossa //
Laura Malmivaara. Koko Jazz Club,
Hämeentie 3. Tickets ?16.50/22.
www.kokojazz.fi
15 Aug. Club New Tones // Soul
Valpio Band. Semifinal, Urho
Kekkosen katu 4 ? 6. Tickets ?8.50.
www.semifinal.fi
15 & 16 Aug. Weekend Festival 2014
// Calvin Harris (UK), Headhunterz
(NLD), Hardwell (NLD), Borgeous
(USA) etc. Kyläsaari. Tickets
?69.50/109.50. www.wknd.fi
15-31 Aug. Helsinki Festival //
Brilliant cavalcade of artists such as
Ester Rada, Jonathan Wilson, Sophie
Ellis-Bextor, KAL and many more.
Huvila Festival Tent, Eläintarhantie
8.
Tickets
?37.50-58.50.
www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi
16 Aug. Dave Liebman (USA) //
Legendary jazz saxophonist. Koko
Jazz Club, Hämeentie 3. Tickets
?16.50/22. www.kokojazz.fi
20 Aug. The Wailers (JAM) // Reggae.
The Circus, Salomonkatu 1-3.
Tickets ?52.50. www.thecircus.fi
22 Aug. Elastinen // Hip-hop. Virgin
Oil Co., Mannerheimintie 5. Tickets
?13.50/15. www.virginoil.fi
23 Aug. Helsinki Reggae Festival
2014 // Jukka Poika, Rappana,
Momocat, Puppa J etc. Vanha
ylioppilastalo, Mannerheimintie 3.
Tickets ?21. www.vanha.fi
27
Aug.
Looptroop
Rockers
(SWE) // Hip-hop. Virgin Oil Co.,
Mannerheimintie 5. Tickets ?20.
www.virginoil.fi
Theatre _ Dance
13-24 Aug. Korjaamo Stage Festival
// Performances from international
as well as Finnish theatre
groups. Korjaamo Culture Factory,
Töölönkatu 51 B. Tickets ?16.5032.50. www.korjaamo.fi
15-18 Aug. Fokus: Jani Nuutinen //
The Fokus series brings together
ground-breaking
Finnish
new
circus productions from the past
decade. Festival City ? KoeHelsinki.
Kansalaistori,
Alvar
Aallon
katu 1. Tickets ?27.50/48.50.
www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi
16 Aug. Tero Saarinen Company:
Morphed // A band of eight men
seduce, challenge, demand and
swagger their way through this
ingenious, organic and impressive
choreography. Finnish National
Opera, Helsinginkatu 58. Tickets
?61.50-93.50. www.opera.fi
19 & 20 Aug. Back to Back Theatre:
Ganesh Versus the Third Reich //
Ganesh, the elephant-headed deity,
confronts Hitler to demand the
return of the swastika, originally
a Hindu symbol. Finnish National
Theatre, Läntinen teatterikuja
1. Tickets ?27.50-48.50. www.
helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi
20-28 Aug. Herrala, Muilu, Mustonen,
Tiitta: Nature Dances // Dance piece
explores the nature of dance, nature
in dance, and the nature of four
artists meeting to make a dance
together. Zodiak - Center for New
Dance, Tallberginkatu 1B. Tickets
?15/22/25. www.zodiak.fi
21 & 22 Aug. Susanna Leinonen
Company: Touch of Gravity //
Dance piece defying the laws of
nature. Finnish National Opera,
Helsinginkatu
58.
Tickets
?22.50/37.50. www.opera.fi
22-25 Aug. Cirque Aïtal: For better,
for worse // Skilful acrobatics as well
as poetry, humour and plenty of rock
?n roll attitude from a French-Finnish
couple. Festival City ? KoeHelsinki.
Kansalaistori,
Alvar
Aallon
katu 1. Tickets ?22.50/37.50.
www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi
Exhibitions
Until 13 Jul. Chaplin in Pictures //
The incredible life and career of the
mythic artist told through pictures.
Helsinki Art Museum Tennis Palace,
Salomonkatu 15. Tickets ?0/8/10.
Until 27 Jul. HPB14 (Helsinki
Photography Biennial) : Ecological
Fallacy // The theme of the 2014
biennial examines causal relations
regarding ecological issues. The
Finnish Museum of Photography,
Tallberginkatu 1 G. Tickets ?0/5/8.
www.valokuvataiteenmuseo.fi
Until 3 Aug. Heikki Marila: Flowers
and Devils // Works by the prizewinning floral painter from three
decades. Kunsthalle
Helsinki,
Nervanderinkatu 3. Tickets ?0/7/10.
www.taidehalli.fi
Until 10 Aug. Travelling with women
// The exhibition tells about foreign
travel of female artists through
the works they created abroad.
Sinebrychoff Art Museum, Bulevardi
40. Tickets ?0/8/10.
www.
sinebrychoffintaidemuseo.fi
From 15 Aug. Tommi Toija: Mutatis
mutandis // In Tommi Toija?s
sculptures we discover ourselves ?
and our friends and loved ones.
Amos Anderson Art Museum,
Yrjönkatu 27. Tickets ?0/2/8/10.
www.amosanderson.fi
Out&See Tampere
SixDegrees
By Jutta Vetter
From 15 Aug. Tatzu Nishi: Hotel Manta
of Helsinki // Japanese artist Tatzu
Nishi invites everyone to view their
familiar urban environment through
new eyes. Market Square. Tickets
?3. www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi
From 16 Aug. Hilma af Klint
? A Pioneer of Abstraction //
Extensive exhibition of af Klint?s
works. Kunsthalle Helsinki,
Nervanderinkatu 3. Tickets ?0/8/12.
www.taidehalli.fi
From 21 Aug. #snapshot //
Photographs taken by ordinary
people, images sourced from the
internet, historic snapshots and
selfies as well as an overview
of the history of the selfie. The
Finnish Museum of Photography,
Tallberginkatu 1 G. Tickets ?0/6/8.
www.valokuvataiteenmuseo.fi
Until 7 Sep. Tove Jansson // Major
centenary exhibition presenting
Jansson?s impressive career as
Solutions
for
crossword
on page 7
1. musiikki
2. olut
3. elokuva
4. teltta
5. grillata
6. turisti
7. aurinko
8. konsertti
9. rinkka
an artist, illustrator, political
caricaturist, author and creator of
the Moomin characters and stories.
Ateneum Art Museum, Kaivokatu 2.
Tickets ?0/10/12. www.ateneum.fi
Until 7 Sep. Alfredo Jaar // Jaar?s
experiential
works
address
humanitarian crises, collective
memories
left
behind
by
dictatorships, and media imageries
with their concealed racism. Kiasma,
Mannerheiminaukio 2. Tickets
?0/8/10. www.kiasma.fi
Until 21 Sep. Ilmari Tapiovaara
// Interior designs, furniture and
previously undisplayed sketches
from archives. Design Museum,
Korkeavuorenkatu
23. Tickets
?0/5/8/10. www.designmuseum.fi
Others
14-23 Aug. Art Goes Kapakka // Art
takes over the city´s bars, restaurants
and cafes. www.artgoeskapakka.fi
21 Aug. The Night of the Arts //
Hundreds of cultural events,
performances
and
surprises
throughout
the
city.
www.
helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi
24 Aug. Colorful Silents // Fairies,
unicorns and other fantasy figures
star in Georges Méliès?s handcoloured films at the Orion cinema
film concert. Orion Cinema,
Eerikinkatu 15. Tickets ?5/10/12.
www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi
The event listings in the Out&See sections are based on the available information at the time of printing the issue.
SixDegrees is not responsible for possible changes, mistakes, cancellations
or lack of information concerning the
events mentioned.
21
Music _ Clubs
26 Jun. Cool Quartet // Live music
right in the heart of the city centre.
Paapan Kapakka, Koskikatu 9. Free
entry. www.paapankapakka.fi
27 Jun. Brooklyn?s Finest presents
// Live music with Eero Leppä ja
Rubiikinkuutio and International
Dance Party with DJ Chaos (USA).
Yo-talo, Kauppakatu 10. Tickets ?7.
www.yo-talo.com
27 Jun. Jussi Selo // Gueststar from
Uniklubi. Rock & Kitchen Jack the
Rooster, Satakunnankatu 13 B.
Tickets TBA. www.jacktherooster.fi
27 Jun. Pub Disco // Music by DJ Jere
Dangerous, party starts at 21:00.
Gastropub Soho, Otavalankatu 10.
Free entry. www.gastropub.net/
soho/
27 Jun. Tina Bedhoff & The
Cocktailers // Live music right in
the heart of the city centre. Paapan
Kapakka, Koskikatu 9. Free entry.
www.paapankapakka.fi
27 Jun. Pietarin Spektaakkeli //
Live music on the Guinness stage,
showtime at 21:30. Irish Bar
O?Connell?s, Rautatienkatu 24. Free
entry. www.oconnells.fi
28 Jun. SWÄG10V! // Best sound
system in town! Music by Aegis,
ARP-1, Chris Robin, Cocbot, DJ
Sakke, DJ Yountuna, Drcty, Esc,
G.S.O., Gremino, Herman Prime,
IDOLS CREW, Joni Koo, Juan Calia,
K Henkka, Morphology, O Samuli A,
Patient, Rasmus Hedlund, Stak Etop,
Subsense, Trio Pussit, Videovalvonta
+ vj?s. Klubi, Tullikamarin aukio 2.
Tickets ?8. www.klubi.net
28 Jun. Brooklyn Saturday with
DJ Scandal feat. BK Beauties and
special guests // Get ready to party
? in true New York style! Yo-talo,
Kauppakatu 10. Tickets ?7. www.
yo-talo.com
28 Jun. Boom Machine // Live music
right in the heart of the city centre.
Paapan Kapakka, Koskikatu 9. Free
entry. www.paapankapakka.fi
30 Jun. Piano music // Live piano
entertainment. Paapan Kapakka,
Koskikatu 9. Free entry. www.
paapankapakka.fi
4 Jul. Tomi Nordlund ja Syvä Joki //
Presented by Club O?Gaea, showtime
at 21:30. Irish Bar O?Connell?s,
Rautatienkatu 24. Free entry. www.
oconnells.fi
11 Jul. Fjeld // Live music on the
Guinness stage, showtime at 21:30.
Irish Bar O?Connell?s, Rautatienkatu
24. Free entry. www.oconnells.fi
18 Jul. Iisa, Jukka Ässä, Ochre Room
// Live music on the Yo-talo stage.
Yo-talo, Kauppakatu 10. Tickets
?16/18. www.yo-talo.com
18 Jul. Surffi Veikot // Live music
on the Guinness stage, showtime
at 21:30. Irish Bar O?Connell?s,
Rautatienkatu 24. Free entry. www.
oconnells.fi
Theatre _ Dance
3 Jul. JadaJada Improv // Improv in
English, starting at 20:00. Irish Bar
O?Connell?s, Rautatienkatu 24. Free
entry. www.oconnells.fi
12 Jul. The Devil?s Auction //
Burlesque Open Stage, at 18:0022:00. Yo-talo, Kauppakatu 10.
Tickets ?11/13. www.yo-talo.com
17 Jul. & 21 Aug. Comedy O?Connell?s
// Stand-up in English, starting
at 20:00. Irish Bar O?Connell?s,
Rautatienkatu 24. Free entry. www.
oconnells.fi
4-10 Aug. Tampere Theatre Festival
// Various theatre programme at
different venues all around the city.
For the exact programme and ticket
prices, see www.teatterikesa.fi/
in_english/
Exhibitions
Until 17 Aug. Viktor Jansson?s works
// Sculptor Viktor Jansson was the
father of Tove Jansson, the creator
of the famous Moomins. Now his
works are being portrayed in this
special exhibition. Tampere Hall,
Yliopistonkatu 55. Free entry. www.
tampere-talo.fi
Permanent exhibition Moominvalley
// The unique and internationally
renowned Moominvalley is a
museum devoted to the original
16-19 Jul., at various venues all around the city. For more info and ticket
prices, see www.tammerfest.fi
Tammerfest
Four days and nights filled with happy people, summer heat and
music everywhere! Tammerfest celebrates its 20th anniversary
with some special treats for all music lovers. Live music gigs are
being played both outdoors and indoors; in small clubs, out in the
streets, in funky discos and groovy bars as well as at grand festival
arenas ? even out on the lake!
The artist repertoire has something to offer for every taste. International stars such as John Newman (UK), The Skints (UK),
Youssou N?dour & Le Super Etoile de Dakar (SEN) as well as the
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (USA) will be performing during the
festival.
moomin themed works of Tove
Jansson. Tampere Art Museum
Moominvalley, Puutarhakatu 34.
For more information and ticket
prices, see www.muumilaakso.
tampere.fi/en/
Others
3-6 Jul. Lumous // Gothic festival.
Various events at venues all over
the city. For the exact programme
and ticket prices, see www.lumous.
net/2014/?l=en
9 Jul. 90 Minutes ? Soccer Quiz // Test
your soccer knowledge (in Finnish).
Quiz starts at 20:00. Gastropub
Soho, Otavalankatu 10. Free entry.
www.gastropub.net/soho/
7 Aug. The Great Nocturnal
Happening // Cultural programme
for the whole family, throughout the
night and all over the city. The exact
programme to be announced on 22
Jul.y. Part of the Tampere Theatre
Festival. For more information, see
www.teatterikesa.fi/in_english/the_
great_nocturnal_happening/
15 Aug. Food Gallery // A surprise
buffet with a selection of Tampere
Hall?s finest specialties. Tampere
Hall (Café Soolo), Yliopistonkatu 55.
Tickets ?25, including a presentation
of the menu. www.tampere-talo.fi
The event listings in the Out&See sections are based on the available information at the time of printing the issue.
SixDegrees is not responsible for possible changes, mistakes, cancellations
or lack of information concerning the
events mentioned.
Out&See Oulu
22
Issue 6 2014
By James O?Sullivan
Music _ Clubs
27 Jun. Marko Maunuksela &
Fantasia // Former Tango King from
Ostrobothnia. Nightclub Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets ?14.
www.nightclubtahti.fi
28 Jun. Juhamatti & Timangi
// Iskelmä. Nightclub Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets ?13.
www.nightclubtahti.fi
4 Jul. Flesh Roxon// Psychobilly/
horror punk from Tampere. Nuclear
Nightclub, Uusikatu 23. Tickets ?6.
www.nuclear.fi
4 Jul. Janna // Pop from Hämeenlinna.
Nightclub Tähti, Pakkahuoneenkatu
19. Tickets ?14. www.nightclubtahti.fi
5 Jul. Latentti, Dr.Sykerö, A.Luoti
// Trio of street sounds. Nuclear
Nightclub, Uusikatu 23. Tickets ?8.
www.nuclear.fi
5 Jul. Channel Four // Iskelmä
and
more.
Nightclub
Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets ?14.
www.nightclubtahti.fi
9 Jul. Rotuaari Pikniki: Funksons //
Eight-piece hip-hop/rap/funkers.
Club 45 Special, Saaristonkatu 12.
Tickets ?10. www.45special.com
10 Jul. Rotuaari Pikniki: Dr. Feelgood
// UK legends arrive fresh from their
Glastonbury appearance. Club 45
Special, Saaristonkatu 12. Tickets
?15. www.45special.com
11 Jul. Tarja Lunnas & Rosso //
Iskelmä tunes. Nightclub Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets ?14.
www.nightclubtahti.fi
12 Jul. Anneli Mattila & Recados
// Iskelmä. Nightclub Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets ?14.
www.nightclubtahti.fi
12 Jul. Rotuaari Pikniki: Aki Louhela
// Singer songwriter. Club 45
Special, Saaristonkatu 12. Tickets
?5. www.45special.com
18 Jul. Heidi Pakarinen & Hovinarrit //
Last year?s Tango Queen comes to Oulu.
Nightclub Tähti, Pakkahuoneenkatu
19. Tickets ?14. www.nightclubtahti.fi
19 Jul. Juju ja Hullut // Rap sounds.
Nuclear Nightclub, Uusikatu 23.
Tickets TBA. www.nuclear.fi
19 Jul. Juha Metsäperä // Local
singer-songwriter. Nightclub Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets ?14.
www.nightclubtahti.fi
25 Jul. Jarkko Honkanen & Taiga //
Tango King finalist this year. Nightclub
Tähti, Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets
?14. www.nightclubtahti.fi
1 Aug. Dimi // Local FinnishGreek singer-songwriter. Nuclear
Nightclub, Uusikatu 23. Tickets
TBA. www.nuclear.fi
1 Aug. Tapani Kansa yhtyeineen //
Finnish singing legend. Nightclub
Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu
19.
Tickets ?14. www.nightclubtahti.fi
2 Aug. National Napalm Syndicate,
Rämlord // Thrash metal. Nuclear
Nightclub, Uusikatu 23. Tickets
TBA. www.nuclear.fi
8 Aug. Taikakuu // Pop-iskelmä outfit.
28 Jun. Duo Cornellius // Select
cuts from Chris Cornell?s songbook,
including tuens from Soundgarden
and Audioslave. Poppari, Puistokatu
2-4. Tickets ?3. www.jazz-bar.com
12 Jul. Honey B & T-Bones // Classic
clues sounds from local legends.
Poppari, Puistokatu 2-4. Tickets
?15/12. www.jazz-bar.com
12 Jul. Dirty Deeds Indeed // Classics from
Bon Scott-era AC/DC. Poppari, Puistokatu
2-4. Tickets ?7. www.jazz-bar.com
18-20 Jul. Kihveli Soikoon festival
(skiffle festival) // The world?s only
sustained international skiffle music
festival. Hankasalmi station. www.
kihvelisoikoon.com/
26 Jul. Canarro Duo Concert //
Virtuoso musicians from Hungary,
violin player Tamás Szakál and
accordeonist
András
Pagonyi
playing hungarian folk music, tangos,
evergreens from Finland and abroad
plus jazz a lá Stephane Grappelli.
Tickets ?12/10. Café Alvar, Alvar
Aallonkatu 7. www.kouvolabelle.com
27 Jul. The Morning Prey + special
guests // Rock and pop sounds.
Kasperi Teittinen
Aki Roukala
8 Aug. Nuclear Nightclub, Uusikatu 23. Tickets ?14. www.nuclear.fi
Olavi Uusivirta
Local rock/pop singer, songwriter and actor comes to town in support of sixth full-length release Ikuiset lapset. With the album peaking at Number 3 on the charts upon its release earlier this year,
Uusivirta has been on the touring circuit backed by a three-piece.
After dropping his first full-length release at the age of 20, subsequent singles have included the likes of Me ei kuolla koskaan, On
niin helppoo olla onnellinen and Raivo härkä.
This gig forms part of a comprehensive national tour encompassing solo dates and festival appearances across the summer.
Nightclub Tähti, Pakkahuoneenkatu
19. Tickets TBA. www.nightclubtahti.fi
16 Aug. Ressu & Jussi //
Iskelmä faves. Nightclub Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets TBA.
www.nightclubtahti.fi
Exhibitions
6-31 Jul. Raimo Metsänheimo ? Luontoa
lähempää ja kauempaa // Paintings.
Neliö-galleria, Asemakatu 37. Free
Entrance. www.neliogalleria.com
9-27 Jul. Kari Kuirinlahti, Niilo
Komulainen
ja
Lea
Pihkala:
?Kesän iloa?// Paintings. Galleria
5, Hallituskatu 5. Free Entrance.
http://galleria5.artoulu.fi
30 Jul ? 17 Aug. Riikka Laitinen:
?SELKÄ? // Paintings. Galleria 5,
Hallituskatu 5. Free Entrance.
http://galleria5.artoulu.fi
Until 3 Aug. Atelieri O. Haapala:
Retrospektiivi/Retrospektiv 20082014 //Photo exhibition. Northern
Photography Center. Hallituskatu 5,
Oulu. www.photonorth.fi
Until 3 Aug. Oulun Lyseon lukio:
Humour Against Subjectivism //
Photo
exhibition.
Northern
Photography Center. Hallituskatu 5,
Oulu. www.photonorth.fi
Opens 9 Aug. Karoliina Paappa: Tyttö
ja tiikeri. Kati Leinonen: Reflections
// Photo exhibition. Northern
Out&See Jyväskylä
Music _ Clubs
Out&See Turku
Poppari, Puistokatu 2-4. Tickets ?3.
www.jazz-bar.com
30 Jul. Purple Highway // Poppari, Puistokatu
2-4. Tickets ?7. www.jazz-bar.com
1 Aug. Telefunkens // Old school
rough rock´n´roll & rockabilly.
Poppari, Puistokatu 2-4. Tickets
TBA. www.jazz-bar.com
2 Aug. Telefunkens // Old school
rough rock´n´roll & rockabilly.
Poppari, Puistokatu 2-4. Tickets
TBA. www.jazz-bar.com
8 Aug. Soul Valpio Band // Local
rapper hits the stage. Poppari,
Puistokatu 2-4. Tickets TBA. www.
jazz-bar.com
16 Aug. Grannies Smoking Pipes
// Rap under amusing moniker.
Poppari, Puistokatu 2-4. Tickets
TBA. www.jazz-bar.com
Exhibitions
Until 29 Jun. Ellas Kettunen,
Annamari Kinnunen and Kukka
Pitkänen // Exhibition. Galleria
Becker, Seminaarinkatu 28. Free
entry. www.jkltaiteilijaseura.net/
galleria.htm
3-27 Jul. Perttu Saksa ? A Kind of You
// Exhibition. Galleria Ratamo,
Photography Center. Hallituskatu
5,
Oulu.
w w w.photonorth.fi
Opens 10 Aug. Maarit Kontiainen,
Piia Lehti, Päivi Somppi, Susanna
Suikkari, Hanna Varis // Exhibition.
Neliö-galleria, Asemakatu 37. Free
Entrance. www.neliogalleria.com
Until 1 Jan 2015. Ajantaju // Oulu
Art Museum?s 50th anniversary
exhibition. Oulu Museum of
Art, Kasarmitie 7. Tickets ?4-6.
www.ouka.fi/taidemuseo/
Sports
13
Jul.
OPS
GBK
// Football at the second highest
level. Castrén, Paulaharjuntie 43.
Tickets ?5/15. www.ops.fi
19
Jul.
OPS
PS
Kemi
// Football at the second highest
level. Castrén, Paulaharjuntie 43.
Tickets ?5/15. www.ops.fi
3
Aug.
OPS
KPV
// Football at the second highest
level. Castrén, Paulaharjuntie 43.
Tickets ?5/15. www.ops.fi
9 Aug. OPS - AC Kajaani
// Football at the second highest
level. Castrén, Paulaharjuntie 43.
Tickets ?5/15. www.ops.fi
24 Aug. OPS - TP-47 // Football at
the second highest level. Castrén,
Paulaharjuntie 43. Tickets ?5/15.
www.ops.fi
Music _ Clubs
27-29 Jun. Turku Acoustic // An
unplugged festival: Kari Peitsamo,
Jippu, Kurtis Wade. Cathedral
Square. Admission free except for
a charity concert on 28 Jun (?15).
www.turkuacoustic.info
4-6 Jul. Ruisrock // Europe?s oldest
festival on Ruissalo Island is still
going strong. David Guetta, Lily
Allen & Wiz Khalifa are headlining
this year. Tickets ?125/110/75.
www.ruisrock.fi
18 Jul. Samuli Laiho // Finnish singersongwriter has just released his
first solo album in twenty years.
Tickets ?9. Klubi, Humalistonkatu 8.
www.klubi.net
22-27 Jul. Down By The Laituri //
Leningrad Cowboys, The Rasmus
and Darude are the main acts in the
city festival that now also includes
stand up comedy shows. More info
on ticket prices and venues at:
www.dbtl.fi
23-26 Jul. Indie-iltamat // Pää Kii,
Asa, Death Hawks, No Shame et
al.-plenty of alternative bands at the
22nd edition of the club festival.
Tickets ?11.50 per day/?32.50 for
all days. Klubi, Humalistonkatu 8.
www.klubi.net
8-9 Aug. Aurafest // A hip-hop
festival featuring Finland?s finest
acts, such as Redrama, Elastinen
and Musta Barbaari. Barker Park.
Tickets ?55/32/30.
8-23 Aug Turku Music Festival //
The classical music festival brings
in orchestras and performers
from around the world: Seoul
Philharmonic,
Swedish
Radio
Symphony Orchestra et al. For more
info see www.turkumusicfestival.fi
14-17 Aug. Turku Jazz // The
traditional jazz festival changed its
date from spring to late summer.
Dan Tepfer, Teemu Åkerblom
Quartet, Eero Koivistoinen Quartet.
Most concerts are being held at
Panimoravintola Koulu, for more info
on ticket prices and venues see
www.turkujazz.fi
Theatre _ Dance
Première 5 Jul.
Pelastakaa
Röllimetsä // Summer theatre for
kids in the Turku archipelago-the
beloved Rölli troll tries to save the
forest from refuse. Vepsä Island.
Tickets ?10. www.jo-joteatteri.com
6-10 Aug. Future Circus // A circus
festival with several performances
around town (some are free) and
French group Les Apostrophes as
the main guest. For more info on
ticket prices and venues see www.
futurecircus.fi
9 Aug. Jå-karnevaali // This carnival
brings culture to the streets.
A combination of theatre, dance
and music performed by local
Kristian_Jalava
18-19 Jul. Ruissalo dockyard, Turku.
Tickets: 2 days ?60, one day tickets TBA.
H2Ö
H2Ö is a new festival created by the same people who have
organised the renowned Ilmiö festival in Turku for the last five
years. The two-day event takes place in a previously unseen festival venue, Ruissalo dockyard area. Artists feature several foreign
alternative groups (Josephine Foster, Edd Keene, Neotropic etc.)
along with the most prominent names in Finnish indie and experimental music. There will also be installations, workshops and,
according to the organisers, ?other cool stuff that our terminology
hardly covers?.
artists. Vähätori. Admission free.
www.jåtapahtumat.fi
Exhibitions
Until 17 Aug. Crystallizations contemporary art from St Petersburg
// Paintings, sculptures, videos
and installations. Wäinö Aaltonen
Museum of Art, Itäinen Rantakatu
38. Tickets ?6/4. www.wam.fi
Sports
28 Jun. Paavo Nurmi Marathon // The
traditional running event (also half
marathon and 10 km routes are
available) takes place in the Turku
city centre and Ruissalo island. For
more info see paavonurmimarathon.fi
2 Jul. FC Inter-TPS // Veikkausliiga
football match between the two
Turku sides. Veritas Stadion,
Hippoksentie 6. Tickets ?16/12/8.
www.fcinter.fi
Others
26-29 Jun. Medieval Market
// Finland?s largest historical
re - enactment
event,
a
handicrafts market with over
100 vendors. Old Great Square.
en.keskiaikaisetmarkkinat.fi
30 Jul.-2 Aug. Nordic Culture Festival
of the Deaf // A festival showcasing
sign language culture and art.
Logomo. For more info see www.
kl-deaf.fi
31 Jul.-3 Aug. Gangut Regatta Turku
// Windjammers (large sailing ships)
anchor in the Aura river, also live
music and other festivities by the
riverside. For more info see www.
gangutregatta.fi
14 Aug. Night of the Arts // Various
art happenings in museums, concert
venues, galleries and bookstores.
See more info on turuntaiteidenyo.fi
The event listings in the Out&See sections are based on the available information at the time of printing the issue.
SixDegrees is not responsible for possible changes, mistakes, cancellations
or lack of information concerning the
events mentioned.
Ivo Cordeiro / Rodrigo Lameiras
By James O?Sullivan
Veturitallintie 6. Free entry.
www.jyvaskyla.fi/ratamo
Until 16 Jul. Merja Kupari // Exhibition.
Galleria Becker, Seminaarinkatu 28.
Free entry. www.jkltaiteilijaseura.
net/galleria.htm
19 Jul ? 6 Aug. Johanna Turunen
// Exhibition. Galleria Becker,
Seminaarinkatu 28. Free entry. www.
jkltaiteilijaseura.net/galleria.htm
31 Jul ? 24 Aug. Erkki Salomaa:
Urbaanit
// Exhibition. Galleria Ratamo,
Veturitallintie 6. Free entry. www.
jyvaskyla.fi/ratamo
31 Jul ? 24 Aug. Marko Hämäläinen:
Ääri
// Exhibition. Galleria Ratamo,
Veturitallintie 6. Free entry. www.
jyvaskyla.fi/ratamo
9-27 Aug. Markku Ojala // Exhibition.
Galleria Becker, Seminaarinkatu 28.
Free entry. www.jkltaiteilijaseura.
net/galleria.htm
Until 7 Sep. Kuutti Lavonen: Amanda
ja Lavinia // Jyväskylä Art Museum,
Holvi. Kauppakatu 23. Tickets ?6.
www.jyvaskyla.fi/taidemuseo
Sports
28 Jun. Rugby Finnish Championship
// Huhtasuo, Kangasvuorentie 18.
www.jklrugby.fi/
29 Jun. JJK ? Ilves // Premier division
of Finnish football. Harju Stadium,
Ihantolantie 1. Tickets ?5-15
16 Jul. JJK - KTP // Premier division
of Finnish football. Harju Stadium,
Ihantolantie 1. Tickets ?5-15
11 Aug. JJK ? FC Viikingit // Premier
division of Finnish football. Harju
Stadium, Ihantolantie 1. Tickets ?5-15
25 Aug. JJK ? FC Jazz // Premier division
of Finnish football. Harju Stadium,
Ihantolantie 1. Tickets ?5-15
Others
27 Jun. Trotting race // Killeri
Equestrian Centre, Vesangantie 24.
Free entrance. www.killeri.fi
10-13 Jul. Smithery Festival //
Kyläseppä, Karikontie 1, Petäjävesi.
www.suomensepat.fi
11 Jul-10 Aug. Housing Fair Jyväskylä
// Annual housing fair comes to the
city. Äijälänranta. Tickets ?21/15/10
www.asuntomessut.fi
31 Jul-3 Aug. Neste Oil Rally Finland
2014 // Tickets ?10-75. www.
nesteoilrallyfinland.fi
Jyväskylä
Festival
Attracting over 20,000 visitors each year, for six summer days a diverse programme of theatre, concerts
and clubs, as well as a programme for children is on
offer. During the whole festival the ?Mitä noi tekee!??
(?What are they doing!??)
street programme brings 8-13 Jul. www.jyvaskylankesa.fi
colourful performances to
the pedestrian street in the centre of Jyväskylä. The festival also
includes Finncon, the largest science fiction and fantasy literature
event in Finland.
The French duo Bernie Collins and Philippe Martz ? aka BP Zoom
? is the drawcard of this year?s Jyväskylä Festival. The duo has won
many prizes in their field of expertise, bringing their amazing skills
and funny performances to audiences all over the world.
The stars of theatre clownery perform their piece, Mélange Deux
Temps - The Best of the Best, on 11-12 July, which is a collection
of the wittiest and the most delicious performances of their 20 years
of close-knit co-operation.
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The Housing Fair is not only a zeitgeist of
contemporary Finnish housing design and
construction, but is also an innovator and
trendsetter.
ET
TE
RI
KI
VI
I
The purpose of the annual Housing Fair event is to
highlight new ideas and innovations in residential
construction. In the Housing Fair area, visitors
can familiarise themselves with various houses
and gardens onsite and obtain information about
housing, construction, gardens, energy matters and
interior decoration.
The Jyväskylä fair area will have 37 low-rise houses,
a kindergarten and one 13-storey tower block on
the shore of Lake Jyväsjärvi. The area will also have
a playground and green public spaces.
O: P
ÄK
The City of Jyväskylä and the Housing Fair Finland
Co-op will organise a housing fair at Äijälänranta,
Jyväskylä from 11 July - 10 August.
P H OT
M
WELCOME TO THE
HOUSING FAIR IN
JYVÄSKYLÄ
PHOTO: ZOAN VISUALS
www.helsinkitimes.fi
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to Helsinki Times, to give as a gift, or to keep for yourself!
One year gift subscription costs 96? (normal price 120?).
www.asuntomessut.fi/en/housing-fair-jyvaskyla-2014
http://visit.jyvaskyla.fi/en
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