Turku’s Kivipaino has stood steady on the corner of Linnankatu and Ursininkatu streets since 1910. Enter from Ursininkatu and step into the Turku Youth Theatre; the other operators in the building are located in the courtyard on the Linnankatu side.
The milieu of Kivipaino is famous among local culture vultures, and not only because of the Youth Theatre: Linnateatteri Theatre operated in the building for a long time. In 2022, the halls, floors and yard of Kivipaino were overtaken by the large-scale, multidisciplinary art collaboration Book of Rooms (Fin. “Huoneiden kirja”).
Now the top floor of Kivipaino hosts the Barker Theatre which acts as a stage for freelance artists in Turku as well as the Turun sunnuntaimaalarit association for those interested in painting and graphic arts. Founded in 1978, the association organises painting, drawing and graphic arts courses that are open to everyone and holds various exhibitions every year. The instructors are working professionals of visual arts. In addition to courses, the members of the association have access to the well-lit facilities every day of the year.
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It is interesting that the Barker Theatre is now housed in Kivipaino as this is the very building where its foundations were first established in 1997. Later, the theatre moved to Raunistula into the old Barker factory, from where it recently returned to its place of inception.
The Barker theatre and its magnificent stage put up high-quality local, national and international performances of contemporary dance and other performing arts as well as casual dance workshops.
Founded in 1972, Turku Youth Theatre is a professionally led theatre which focuses on programmes aimed at children, families and young people and offers its target group colourful premieres and basic theatre education. The performers at this amateur theatre are naturally also children and young people.
Kivipaino’s versatile offer of cultural goods is complemented by the atmospheric space in the courtyard annex. Enabled by the intermediate space model initiated by The City of Turku, the annex has hosted gigs, concerts, electronic music clubs and art exhibitions.
Back in the day, the machines at the Kivipaino lithographic printing house used to spit out books and advertisements; now the memories of living art and culture are imprinted in the minds of visitors.
TEXT: HEIDI HORILA
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