Two Capitals of Culture of European Union, Tartu and Oulu, are building a one-day event bridge between the Alvar Aalto buildings. One end of the bridge will be the Villa Tammekann villa designed by Aalto in Tartu, the other in Oulu at the Toppila factory site. There is old industrial building designed by Aalto, current Aalto Siilo cultural factory.
At both ends, the Aalto building will serve as an event arena on 14 September. They will host concerts and other events, which will be streamed to a big screen to another capital of culture. The people from Tartu and Oulu will be able to attend joint parties without having to travel.
Modern visuality meets Alvar Aalto
The main performers in Tartu are Estonian electronic music and video artist Gatesleeper and VJ Tencu. They offer a new perspective on Alvar Aalto. Gatesleeper, aka Martin Rästa, is a graphic designer, multidisciplinary artist and musician. He combines sound, image and different art forms. VJ Tencu aka Andres Tenusaar is a freelance director, animator and audiovisual artist.
Finnish art photographer Elina Brotherus will also offer a fresh perspective on Aalto, presenting recent art photographs from Villa Tammekann.
In Oulu, one of the main performers at the Aalto Bridge will be the British techno band Ossia. At Aalto Siilo multimedia artist Paul Lepasson from Tartu will also perform, and the online stream will bring him back to Tartu. At the end of the evening, an international acrobatic group will “take over” the industrial building.
The six-hour live cultural programme combines different art forms, two Aalto buildings and two Capitals of Culture of EU. In Tartu, architectural historian Karin Hallas-Murula will also talk about the importance of Alvar Aalto. You can also join free guided tours in Villa Tammekann – or just relax at the garden party.
Art connects villa and industrial silo
The two Alvar Aalto buildings are architectural landmarks, but completely different in style. Villa Tammekann is a charming old-fashioned villa, that geography professor August Tammekann built as home of his family. At that time, he admired Alvar Aalto, an internationally recognized master of architectural modernism.
In Oulu, Aalto designed the Toppila pulp mill site. Now all that remains is a peculiarly shaped wood-chip silo resembling a cathedral. The architectural value of the silo was recognised early on, combining functional beauty with the practicality required by industry. The Toppila factory is from Aalto’s early modernist period, and later he designed e.g.the Sunila industrial area, the Vyborg library and the Paimio sanatorium.
The Ibero-American Institute in Madrid is also involved in the hybrid event. The link to Spain comes from the new owner of the Oulu Aalto Silo, the Spain based Factum Foundation, which is a worldvide leading expert in cultural heritage preservation. It wants to ensure that future generations have access to the past in ways that can be studied and experienced. The Aalto Siilo belongs to our valuable industrial heritage.
The Aalto Bridge is part of the Tartu 2024 programme and it belongs to the Finnish Institute in Estonia’s pARTir project on sustainable internationalization of the arts, funded by the EU’s Next GenerationEU programme.
Programme in Villa Tammekann
15.00 Cultural bridge starts
Tartu greets Oulu
15.15 Guided tour in Villa Tammekann (max 30 min, in Estonian), guide Lea Asso
16.00 Alvar Aalto – what should we know about him?
Architectural historian Karin Hallas-Murula (in Estonian)
17.00 Guided tour in Villa Tammekann (max 30 min, in Estonian), guide Lea Asso
On the video stream: multimedia artist Paul Lepasson (EE)
18.00 Gatesleeper and VJ Tencu (LIVE)
19.00 Guided tour in Villa Tammekann (max 30 min, in Estonian), guide Lea Asso
20.00 On the video stream: the Trialogo flamenco performance, Anna Murtola (FI) and Josu
Mämmi (FI)
21.00 On the video stream: Ilmatila (FI,CZ) acrobatic performance in the Aalto Siilo
22.00 Garden party and the live broadcast end
Place: Villa Tammekannu aed, Fr.R. Kreutzwaldi 6. Tartu
Free entrance
Organizers and supporters: The Finnish Institute in Estonia, University of Turku Foundation, Tarto 2024, Ö Stuudio, Oulu 2026, Factum Foundation, Aalto Siilo, pARTir, NextGenerationEU
