Kulttuuriosuuskunta ILME is launching From Here to Art, a travel agency for community-based art. This article features highlights such as the Kehä Festival and the Non-Places podcast. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s ahead – stay tuned!
Kehä Festival will take place 14–18 October 2025
Organised by Kulttuuriosuuskunta ILME, the Kehä Festival has touched audiences with intimate one-on-one art experiences since 2015. In 2025, Kehä is part of ILME’s From Here to Art travel agency, with the theme “Journey”.
The festival kicks off with an orientation day for the artists, offering a chance to meet, network, and gain insight into each other’s artistic practices. On Wednesday, 15 October, the festival goes on a care facility tour, bringing performances directly to residents in the Oulu area.
The One-on-One Art Symposium takes place on 16 October at Cultural Centre Valve. It will explore the current practices and future possibilities of one-on-one art in care environments. Registration opens on 11 August 2025 at kehafestivaali.fi. The symposium welcomes professionals and students in social and health care interested in incorporating art-based methods into their work or collaborating with artists, as well as arts and culture professionals wishing to work in care contexts—and anyone who values art created one person at a time.
The festival culminates in public performances on 17–18 October, offering unique and intimate works for everyone to experience. Welcome! Learn more and discover the artworks online.
Beyond Survival – International Time Travel: Artist call open now
ILME has launched a new collaboration with SICK! Festival and the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland. Together we are producing a powerful community art project that explores the intersecting histories of Oulu and Manchester.
Selected artists will create participatory works that examine themes of sustainability, migration and/or industry, rooted in the layered histories of these two post-industrial cities. The works will culminate in public presentations as part of the From Here to Art programme and at SICK! Festival in Manchester in summer 2026.
The artist call is open until 25 July 2025 – read more and apply now!
“Non-Places” podcast launches 7 September 2025
Finland is increasingly divided—politically, economically, and socially. These tensions surface in the occupation of public spaces, “non-places”, and transitional zones. The Non-Places project reflects on who public spaces are for, whether they are safe for all, or if the most vulnerable are being pushed out.
Running for 1.5 years, Non-Places is a multidisciplinary project by the Pulkkinen-Väisänen working group, investigating the network of exclusion in a mid-sized northern coastal city—Oulu. The aim is to give voice and visibility to people facing various forms of marginalisation, such as homelessness, substance use, or mental health struggles.
The Non-Places podcast will be released on 7 September 2025.
Our “From Here to Art” website launches in August 2025 at heretoart.fi – stay tuned!
More information:
Marita Oja: +358 44 445 5686
marita.oja(at)kulttuuriosuuskuntailme.fi
Aino Granlund: +358 44 493 1409
aino.granlund(at)kulttuuriosuuskuntailme.fi
Timo Harju: +358 44 986 9024
