Espoo’s Cultural Venues will have an amazing Pride Month programme

Espoo’s Cultural Venues and Services celebrate the Pride Month more extensively this year, with a city-wide programme of events and Pride flags flying throughout the month. Espoo Cultural Centre, Kannusali, Children’s Cultural Centre Aurora, Exhibition Centre WeeGee and the Espoonlahti area feature live music, films, children’s events, visiting authors, stage art and much more!

Espoo’s Cultural Venues are launching their first month-long Pride programme, developed by a team of three production planners, including Salla Vallius from Espoo Cultural Centre. Salla started working at the cultural centre in August 2024, having previously worked as a producer at Helsinki Pride.

At Helsinki Pride, Salla was involved in organising the programme for the park fest stage and Helsinki Pride’s party last year. This summer Salla will return to Helsinki Pride for a while, working there part-time alongside her job at Espoo Cultural Centre. The agenda includes organising a Women’s Party.

Pride means a great deal to Salla.

– At Helsinki Pride, I had the opportunity to explore societal issues from a variety of perspectives. Human rights are everyone’s responsibility, Salla says.

Salla is educated as a cultural producer and a sign language interpreter, and she holds a Master of Arts degree. She has already accumulated 15 years of work experience in the cultural sector.

– I worked for six years at Nosturi, the legendary gig venue of the Live Music Association ELMU ry. In addition, I have worked as the Executive Director of LiveFIN, an advocacy organisation for live music, and as a developer of nightlife at the City of Helsinki. I have also been actively involved in the production of festivals and music events.

At Espoo Cultural Centre, Salla produces events and develops activities. She is also involved in the joint production planning team of Espoo’s Cultural Venues. Salla considers the ambitious and professional team to be the key strength behind Espoo’s Cultural Venues. Of course, more attention could be given to equality in general.  

– Cultural diversity is still not visible in all work communities. It would also be important to have gender-neutral toilet and shower facilities in all customer and staff spaces, as these are basic human rights, Salla explains.

Salla spends her leisure time working for NGOs. She has also been involved in the activities of the feminist cultural collective Menkkaklubi.

The Pride Month programme of Espoo’s Cultural Venues begins with rainbow literature at the WeeGee Reads x KAMU Pride event at the Exhibition Centre WeeGee in Tapiola on Thursday 5 June at 17:30. The two authors, Heidi Airaksinen and Tiina Tuppurainen, who collaborated on the encyclopaedia Salatun rakkauden historia [History of Secret Love], will be arriving as guests.

The WeeGee Live series, in turn, will bring free live music to the newly renovated summer courtyard of Exhibition Centre WeeGee during summer 2025. The Pride-themed event in June will feature performances by Elsi Sloan, Knife Girl and Tuure Boelius, starting at 13:00 on Saturday 14 June. In addition, Selkokulttuuri ry will hold an LGBTQ-friendly storytime in plain Finnish for the whole family at WeeGee. You can find the exact times closer to the event date at weegee.fi. On the same day, a queer-themed guided tour will be offered at EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art(external link, opens in a new window) (in Finnish).

The Pride Month programme will also be visible at Espoo Cultural Centre in Tapiola, where the English-language stage performance of Queer Enough will take place on Friday 13 June at 19:00. The piece is based on real-life stories related to immigration and refugees. Book your seat for the performance(external link, opens in a new window)  (no reservation needed if there are seats left).

The film Sebastian (age limit: 16) will be screened twice at Espoo Centre’s Kannusali on Friday 13 June, 14:00 and 18:00. The film tells the story of a young writer living a double life in London. The film is in English with Finnish and Swedish subtitles.

The new feminist collective BÄMÄ, which blends pop, rap and club music, challenges the male dominance and heteronormativity of rap culture at Hybridiarena Hype, near the Kivenlahti metro station, on Thursday 26 June. The core of the collective consists of artists Nelli Milan, Helena Routa, satu and Tiia Karoliina.

The Sateenkaarella rainbow colour bath invites the youngest members of the family to Chilren’s Cultural Centre Aurora in Järvenperä on Tuesday 24 June at 18:00. Mimi and Kuku’s outdoor concert will take place on Aurora’s summer stage on Thursday 26 June at 18:00, and Aurora’s summer GardenStudio will host a self-portrait painting session on Friday 27 June at 18:00.

The Pride Month events organised by Espoo’s Cultural Venues are free of charge, with the exception of the Sateenkaarella colour bath at Children’s Cultural Centre Aurora (one-off fee of € 20, Espoo webshop(external link, opens in a new window)).

City of Espoo is a Working with Pride partner

This year, Espoo is Helsinki Pride’s Working with Pride partner. Read more about the Pride Month programme of Espoo’s Cultural Venues and the city as a whole on the Pride page of the City of Espoo City x Helsinki Pride | City of Espoo