Permanent marks

New lease on life for VR Group’s old engineering works
 

In order to come true, the Turku 2011 programme required new, adaptable premises. Some performances and exhibitions required a large industrial hall or a similar space. Logomo was created to meet these needs.
After Turku’s year as the Capital of Culture, Logomo has continued its operations and has grown into a diverse event centre for creative industries. The modern premises, built with skill within the old building, have been praised for their state-of-the-art technology, for example.

www.logomo.fi

Still a city of culture

Turku has always been a city of culture, and after 2011, its culture life has only grown.
The urban landscape still has many of the art works published during the year as the Capital of Culture, such as Piiloleikki (Hide&Seek), which encourages one to make discoveries, Sweet Yellow Melon, the sunny calf on the library yard, and Päivänkakkara (Daisy), a favourite of all tourists with cameras. A large Harvest mural was created inside the building at Eerikinkatu 7 as a part of the Eurocultured festival, and a dock crane was the background for the media art work Mater Marium. Technical buildings were made more pleasing to the eye through art; an electrical transformer became a Temppeli (Temple), a ventilation building was turned into an Iglu (Igloo), and a wastewater treatment plant’s pipe was dressed into a Kimono.

The bird statues Haahkat return to Aurajoki every spring and the successor of football-themed Only a game exhibition, More Than a Game, continues at the Veritas Stadium.

The extensive Tom of Finland exhibition in 2011 brought the formerly often forgotten international artist into the limelight and into the awareness of all Finns. Later on, several exhibitions, a musical and even a film have been made of Touko Laaksonen, a pioneer of homoerotic art, who worked under the alias Tom of Finland. Now, Turku is also about to receive a plaza named after Tom of Finland next to Logomo.

The Cultural exercise routes established in the spirit of the Culture Does Good movement are still in active use. Aboagora continues to bring together the arts and sciences, and a symposium is held every year. 

Flame Jazz has strengthened Turku’s reputation as a jazz city and the Neitsytperunafestivaali and other culinary events as a food city. Turku is now also better known for its puppeteers as well as animation and circus professionals.

Kaupunginosaviikot ,city district weeks, encourage participation and have spread over to more and more districts. In addition to this, thanks to the year as a Capital of Culture, cultural accessibility is invested in more than before.

The long-term effects of Turku’s year as a Capital of Culture are monitored by 
Turku 2011 follow-up programme.