Jirina Alanko
Heidi Backström
English
Helsinki's cultural offering is brilliant.
"The middle-age-ish theatre crowd is the community I belong to. It is similar to Helsinki: open, solidarity-driven, social and progressive. We cherish human rights and equality, and believe that art plays an important role in this."
The cultural producer Heidi Backström rejoices in the diversity of cultural institutions as well as the free arts offering of the city. Her artistic community is marked by openness, solidarity and equality – just like her Helsinki.
The direction was certainly clear: there was only one way from Kouvola to Helsinki. Backström already had half her family in the city. Then her plan worked. She moved to the capital in 2001 to study cultural production. Backström writes for a living and also produces performing arts. She has become welded to many corners of Helsinki through her work. Her home is in the Herttoniemi district.
"I have the typical identity of a train transplant. My identity is defined by Herttoniemi, not by Helsinki."
Backström has participated in creating artistic communities in Helsinki. She worked for a long time as a producer for the international literature festival Helsinki Lit, and is one of the original members of the performing arts venue and collective Mad House.
"Art has played an enormous role in promoting equality"
Backström believes that community-driven activism and a new cultural wave are rising. New faces enter the arts scene. They are welcomed because the essence of Helsinki is not only white and Finnish-language. "Helsinki's cultural offering is brilliant. The Museum Card brought a whole new interest in museums that could even be called museum lust, which is a magnificent thing."
For someone who wants their first exposure to the world of art, Backström recommends the annual Night of the Arts as well as the cultural centres operated by the city. Many such venues offer theatre, dance and gigs for free or a small entrance fee. Each one also hosts a small gallery. "Cultural centres are important places for me. It would be amazing if all citizens experienced art up close one way or another."
So what is the best thing about Helsinki? Well first and foremost, it's home. The city has familiar people and communities. "Still, the city doesn't fail to surprise me. There is quite an easy access to art in Helsinki. If you want to find something new in terms of culture, it's completely possible. I also like nature in Helsinki. It's amazing that you can just walk a few minutes from a metro stop and find yourself in the archipelago." Backström wishes that others realised this as well.
"Helsinki is a lovely city for culture. That should be a bolder spearhead for travel marketing. It feels like we are often too humble to express what we have."
FACTS
Heidi Backström
Age: 38
Profession: cultural producer
Lives in: Herttoniemi
What you didn't know about me: "I have quite a knack for coming up with local excursions and to find nearby destinations that quench my thirst for adventure. I don't long for faraway lands when I know I can find magnificent beaches, wilderness, peace and quiet, supermuseums, sweaty techno parties, and pretty much anything else within a train or car ride’s distance."
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I was raised within a uniform culture: I appreciate spaces where a library, theatre and youth spaces coexist. The cultural centre Stoa in East Helsinki has profiled itself through contemporary dance. That is absolutely amazing. Stoa is the nearest theatre to my house. There is something magical there. The programme is so well curated, and furthermore it is run by the city. Stoa so brilliantly supports collaboration amongst dance professionals. I also love the library there.
I love the islands of Helsinki. Harakka also has an artist house; they run an active gallery and there is a nature path. The island is often highlighted as a destination for family outings, but it is worth a visit even without children. There is good art. Harakka combines the best of Helsinki: a small ferry, the voyage to reach the island, art, and nature. You can gaze at Suomenlinna and watch the seagulls fishing.
Unfortunately this antiquarian bookshop is not along my daily routes, but its location is an invitation for a sweet little pilgrimage. Laterna Magica is both an antiquarian bookshop and a gallery with two exhibition spaces. One of them has all kinds of events from small music gigs to closet drama. The owners have such an innovative take on their work.
This theatre has become important for me. I took part in my first practical training there. I have seen every show on the main stage since 2004. Q-teatteri has sharpened my understanding that you don't have to like everything in the arts. But even then it is good to be able to articulate your opinion and find something good.
And especially the stairs of the cathedral. Many demonstrations and processions with a personal importance for me have started here. For me, the steps of the Helsinki Cathedral mean community, activism and the feng shui of the power of change. It has been a meeting point where I have felt the physicality of togetherness. The crypt of the cathedral is a great place to have a coffee and something sweet. The church is also a quintessentially Helsinkian place. In public events like the Night of the Arts or the light festival Lux, the Senate Square often hosts large-scale works.
The performing arts venue Mad House is located at the Abattoir. I'm one of the curators of the house. I like that the Abattoir is at a cozy edge of the downtown area. It's only a three-minute walk from the metro stop. The Abattoir has a metropolitan feeling familiar from other capital cities, but it has a bit of a walkover profile. The Abattoir thrives in the summer with its yard where you can barbecue and host concerts, but its whole wintertime potential is still unlocked. I wish that more small stages and galleries would open up in the Abattoir.
I like the museum most of all for its diverse and innovative curation. HAM aims to meet the artistic taste of many kinds of Helsinkians without ending up in shambles. I have managed to see all the exhibitions at the Tennis Palace spaces of HAM as the museum only moved here some years ago. There is something fascinating about being able to see the whole lifeline of a museum and what kinds of opportunities there are in different spaces. It is a big process to found an institution. Perhaps this uniqueness is something touching.