The senior producer of Espoonlahti also engages in culture in her free time
Riikka Kampara, whose previous employers include Cultural House Martinus and Yle, works to envision new kinds of cultural activities for Espoonlahti.
Riikka Kampara’s year has been a busy one: Having started as the senior producer for the City of Espoo’s Cultural Venues and Services unit in February this year, she is now in charge of cultural production in the Espoonlahti district. The work she has done has been genuinely excellent since the Kivenlahti Midsummer event last summer drew even more people than expected! The event drew roughly 3,000 people to enjoy good music, pet alpacas and much more.
In August, Riikka was involved in bringing the Outsider Art Festival to Espoo for the very first time. The festival supports the position of artists whose circumstances make it difficult to find work. Read more about the Outsider Art Festival in the espoo.fi news article released on 5 June 2024.
The love in performing was sparked in childhood
Espoonlahti’s new senior producer fell in love with culture before school age.
“I remember seeing the Nutcracker ballet at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet at about five years of age. The performance was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. This ignited the spark for performing arts. I still get the same feeling of enchantment when I see a particularly good performance, film or piece of art,” Riikka describes.
The interest continued in the form of a theatre hobby, which eventually grew into a profession in the field of culture. Riikka is a Master of Arts by education and has worked in many roles in various cultural productions.
“Before my transition to Espoo, I worked with cultural and media productions at Yle, for example, and as the producer of Cultural House Martinus for the City of Vantaa. At Martinus, my main responsibilities were software design, concert and event curation, and production. I have also directed theatre pieces and music videos,” Riikka explains.
Working for the City of Espoo's cultural houses and services has been an extremely positive experience for Riikka.
“Here, the expertise of employees is valued and good care is taken of everyone. Attention has also been paid to accessibility, and things are being developed constantly.”
Riikka is also an avid consumer of culture in her free time.
“I go to gigs, performances and art exhibits quite a lot. In addition to this, I follow cinema. In Espoo, I like to visit Kannusali and, this autumn, I saw Pehmoaino play there,” Riikka says.
She is also interested in social matters.
Searching for new cooperation parties in the Espoonlahti area
In the position of senior producer for Espoonlahti, Riikka was drawn to the opportunity of developing the cultural services of a growing district and planning events.
“The year has been filled with learning new things, and especially the summer months were very busy as we organised a total of 16 events. In the autumn season, we have developed our operations. Next, I look forward to getting to know the cultural operations and event organisers of the area,” Riikka states enthusiastically.
At Martinus in Vantaa, Riikka developed the house’s networks and partnerships. Now, she intends to continue corresponding work in Espoonlahti.
To that end, Riikka would like to invite all cultural operators and event organisers in the Greater Espoonlahti area to an operator meeting at Lippulaiva Library at 5 pm–8 pm on 11 December. The aim is to build new cooperation arrangements in the Espoonlahti area. You can register for the evenet by contacting Riikka directly at riikka.kampara@espoo.fi.
Accessibility at the centre of events in Espoonlahti
Riikka finds it important to also make various special groups visible in culture better than before.
“My master’s thesis addressed the representations of disability, which is why I have spent a great deal of time thinking about the ways in which special groups are visible in the fields of culture and media. It is important to make sure that special groups are more than just objects of activities. Instead, opportunities must be provided for them to get involved as professional artists, producers, experts and managers. The accessibility of events is essential in the planning of cultural services.
At Espoonlahti events, diversity has been taken into account in everything from content and accessibility to event communications. For example, the New Year’s event has been designed to be accessible, as has the Midsummer celebration.
A New Year’s event for the whole family is coming to Espoonlahti
Espoonlahti’s wildly popular Midsummer event will now be getting a counterpart in the winter season with a New Year's celebration for the whole family to be held in the Solmutori square of Lippulaiva starting at 6 pm on 31 December 2024. The programme includes a fire circus, live music, street puppet theatre, dance and, of course, some New Year’s magic. The event will feature the internationally-awarded Maria Maric Company, which specialises in fire theatre! The New Year’s event is free of charge.
Read more about the Espoonlahti cultural project on the espoo.fi website.
Espoonlahti cultural project | City of Espoo