This is how it should go. Rettig, a pearl of the historic centre of Turku, had been fairly forgotten by city residents for years. But now, it has gradually blossomed once more after Art House Turku launched there in 2022, bringing together various arts, artists and audiences.
The old Rettig Tobacco Factory had previously been used to host university classes and was home to a university of applied sciences, among other things. The fate of the factory block was uncertain for years.
Now, the six buildings of the property, built in stages in the 1800s and 1900s, hosts dozens of working artists and cultural professionals. The factory milieu has also accommodated many events, such as alternative music festival Ilmiö for many summers now, and other events are organised both outdoors and at the facilities of different actors at the Art House.
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You can enter the cobblestone courtyard of the Art House from Nunnankatu, Hämeenkatu or the Brinkkala yard.
The Turku Student Theatre, putting out its special brand of anarchist theatre since 1959, is right by the Nunnankatu entrance in the Tehdas building, which received its final look in the 1920s. Another nearby actor is Kirjan talo. Further in the courtyard when looking in from Nunnankatu, the Palokunta building hosts the Critical Gallery focused on exhibiting socially conscious art. Opposite is the Kilta Gallery, where you can see exhibitions of Turku Museum Centre and Wäinö Aaltonen Museum while WAM is undergoing renovations until 2026. The Kilta Gallery will stay open after WAM moves back to its renovated facilities.
Going through the same door, you can go up the stairs to reach Kino Kilta, backed by the Film Centre of Southwest Finland. This 70-seater arthouse cinema shows selected premieres, rarities and classic films. Kino Kilta is home to the special film series of both the National Audiovisual Institute and Turku-based film club Kinokopla, and the cinema also serves as the venue for the festival of Finnish film every spring, among other events. The atmospheric lobby bar offers refreshments, and in over-18 shows, you can take your drink to your seat in the theatre.
Visual artists working at the Art House have established an association of Rettig visual artists that runs Gallery Aski at the end of the Konttori building by Nunnankatu. In addition, workspaces at the block are rented by numerous Turku-based artists and cultural professionals who work in visual arts, photography, music, design and urban culture. On the Café Elephanten terrace, you can experience the history of the main street of medieval Turku, Luostarin välikatu, which meets both the Old Great Square and Nunnankatu.
TEXT: HEIDI HORILA
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