Window Walkabout – Experience windows as stages for art and light both in Tampere and around Pirkanmaa
Window Walkabout is the largest art event ever in the Tampere Region, where windows in the city centre serve as the stage for the audience on the streets. As the opening event of the Tampere Festival of Light, it will brighten the dark autumn with a surprising set of beautifully lighted windows starting from 24 October. Free of charge for the audience, Window Walkabout is also the final event of the regional culture development project Operation Pirkanmaa and takes place at several locations. In addition to Tampere, it will cover 19 partner municipalities in October and November, which means that up to 200 lighted art windows can be viewed in the Tampere Region.
In the spring, Operation Pirkanmaa’s office at Frenckell turned into a festival office, where an exceptionally large event on the Finnish scale began to take place.
– To be concluded this year, Operation Pirkanmaa is an extensive three-year regional culture development project realised by hundreds of operators and 20 municipalities. We were of the opinion that the only right way to finish the project would be a joint effort by the varied group of stakeholders, says project manager Ilona Kyykoski.
The idea of a multi-location art event that would bring impressive and accessible experiences to the general public in windows at the city centre was finally crystallised by the art curator of the project, Meri-Maija Näykki, who specialises in site-specific art.
Windows and art come together
The content of Window Walkabout was mainly selected from among the projects and communities that participated in Operation Pirkanmaa in some way. None of the projects or works were originally made to be displayed behind a pane of glass.
– I spent a great deal of time reflecting on how previously designed content could be realised in a window without it becoming merely a presentation of itself, like at a trade fair. We also had to think about how the selected content would work for the audience on the street, Näykki describes the process.
The event includes circus in the Winter Garden, skateboarding in business premises, shadow theatre at the City Hall, kantele carving in the railway station tunnel and light art in an electric turbine hall, among other experiences.
– In the case of some pieces, it was obvious that they should be displayed in a particular window, but at other times it took a lot of juggling for the right window and piece of art to meet. The moments when we succeeded in combining the piece and the window in such a way that they genuinely communicate with each other and with the environment were especially rewarding.
Creative evening walks invite city residents to an adventure
Window Walkabout, which makes use of the art of light, is the opening festival of the Tampere Festival of Light. Näkki encourages people to take their Window Walkabout in Tampere city centre especially during the three-day festival, from Thursday to Saturday 24–26 October, at which time there will be a wide range of performers such as circus artists, dancers and performance artists in the windows. In addition to the three-day festival, the windows of light and visual art, including various installations, in Tampere will be lit every evening from 18:00 to 21:00 until 3 November.
A map service that you can use in the browser of your mobile phone will be created for the event. Three different routes will be coded in the centre of Tampere: the Blue, White and Pink Routes. According to Näykki, you should think of Window Walkabout as a creative evening walk that you can take on several days.
– It will not be possible to see and experience all the works in one evening, so you should either choose your route beforehand or follow your intuition and head in some direction with the help of the map. Naturally, passers-by may find the art by chance, which can also be a great experience.
The map service will open at the beginning of October at ruuduntakaa.fi. The map will offer precise information about all the works of art: not only those in Tampere but also those located in the other municipalities of the Tampere Region.
Major event as the culmination of an intensive joint development project of 20 municipalities
Window Walkabout is an exceptional joint and coordinated effort by hundreds of operators. The joint development also aims to bring operators together to foster new partnerships.
– We thought a lot about the patterns of site-specific art, agile lighting solutions and the accessibility of art. We also want to bring actors together and create new kinds of partnerships, Kyykoski says.
According to Kyykoski, over the past three years, the cultural network consisting of the participating municipalities has created an incredible model for collaboration, and the aim is that co-development will continue in future.
– The project has brought people together, developed the cultural landscape of the region and piloted new operating models. Window Walkabout is significant joint effort of this network, and it will certainly become a spectacular event for the whole region. We hope that residents and visitors alike will come to see the experiences on offer with an open mind.
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The event is free of charge.
Tampere
- Window Walkabout festival 24–26 October 2024 from 18:00 to 21:00
- Window installations 24 October to 3 November 2024 from 18:00 to 21:00
Other municipalities in Pirkanmaa
More detailed information about the content and schedules of windows in other municipalities will be available in October via the map service at ruuduntakaa.fi.
All pictures on this page by Heikki Järvinen.
