Turku invests heavily in culture
Turku continues to invest heavily in culture. The Museum of History and the Future, which is now moving on to an architect competition, and Linnanniemi’s art program are connected to a wider whole that spreads from the mouth of River Aura all the way to the Old City surrounding the cathedral.
– An interesting city is a city where things happen, and which manages to surprise in the midst of everyday life. Turku is already historically such a surprising centre of cultural life, which has attracted people with its diverse range of experiences. Culture is also a significant growth sector, which is worth investing in, says Turku City Mayor Minna Arve.
The implementation of the artworks and projects presented in Linnaniemi’s art program will mainly be financed with private funds. For the first time in Turku, an art obligation is introduced for an area, where a 3 percent funding share for art must be collected of the selected developers. Turku wants to get involved in the development of a culturally significant area into an art district and therefore the city's own investment will make it possible to start art projects in the area before the construction of starts. This ensures the development of a lively, diverse, and attractive area.
Investing in culture is part of sustainable urban development, which contributes to the emergence of a vibrant urban structure. A well-executed and attractive new museum can be predicted to have positive effects on Turku's image and city identity, as well as being a significant tourist attraction. Linnanniemi’s art program increases interest in and enjoyment of the area. The development of Turku's first art city district is a new initiative for Turku, and the lessons learned from it will be followed up with great interest.
Culture has positive effects on well-being
Turku's cultural initiatives have a direct connection to the residents' well-being. A pleasant environment increases the perceived sense of well-being, encourages moving around the city and getting to know one's own neighbourhoods.
Linnaniemi’s art projects will be erected along the access routes and in central places in the area, which the city wants using art. It will both be combined with various more permanent structures and realized as independent temporary and permanent elements around Linnanniemi.
A preview of the future art quarters was given when a video work made based on the 3D model Turku Åbo 1827, developed in the project Museum of History and the Future, was projected on the outer walls of Turku Castle as part of the Light Path event in December 2022. In September, Suvi Tuominen's performance Tuleva menneisyys Linnanniemessa (Future histories on Linnanniemi) will be seen in Silja Line's terminal as part of the Turku New Performance Biennale.
The new museum that will be in the area will have positive effects on cultural well-being, both on a community level and as an individual experience. According to an extensive survey conducted by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, museums are the fourth most common place for Finns to consume culture. More than half of Finns visit museums at least once a year and every third at least a few times a year. A recent study commissioned by the Finnish Museum Association found out how Finnish museum visitors value the well-being they experience by visiting museums. Overall, 99 percent of the respondents felt that their well-being increased as a result of museum visits. Beyond personal experience, the utilization of cultural services promotes public health by preventing many problems.
The architect competition will be launched in September
Turku is launching an architect competition for the Museum of History and the Future in September 2023. The museum is one of the first new buildings to be erected on Linnanniemi.
The purpose of the international competition is to find an architecturally interesting and functional solution for the new museum building. In addition to the architectural and functional solutions, the evaluation of the competition entries will pay attention to, among other things, the suitability of the proposals for the cityscape and urban structure, their ecology and overall economic efficiency. In addition, it will be looked at how each competition entry could strengthen Turku's cultural appeal.
The international architect competition will start on 4 September 2023 and the competition period runs until 16 January 2024. The result of the competition will be announced in the spring of 2024. The competition is organized together with the Finnish Association of Architects SAFA.
The Turku City Board has appointed city planning director Timo Hintsanen, planning manager Paula Keskikastari, culture director Anu Laitila, head of locality services Leevi Luoto, head of museum services Juhani Ruohonen, director of city building Kimmo Suonpää, and two trustees appointed by the board to members of the architect competition jury. Architects Simo Paavilainen and Paul Thynell are SAFA's representatives in the jury. Turku City Mayor Minna Arve will be chair of the competition jury.
Image: Vision of Linnanniemi area according to After Party's winning entry in the idea competition in 2020.