Year of Culture 2021 – Annual report of the Cultural Unit

2021 ended with the same sense of uncertainty as it started with. On the last week of December, we once again had to cancel all of our events. This time, we were able to keep the museums and libraries open, but we were still facing another lockdown, at the beginning of which we were uncertain about how many months would go on without cultural events.

The year was not easy, but it reassured us that we can make it through difficult times. Now that we have lived with the pandemic for two years, we can say that we are used to working in an ever-changing situation regarding an infectious disease. We know how to manage amid changing restrictions and recommendations. Because of COVID-19, the Cultural Unit’s operations have grown more flexible.

We have longed to be able to do our normal work. After the several lockdown periods, our gravest concern is if customers return to our services. This is why we will now invest, in many ways, in rebuilding the rapport with the audience. Autumn 2021 already brought us a lot of hope in this regard. In many places, we were able to witness how much people had been looking forward to our services.

The past year was also a year of great changes in the City organisation. In connection with the City’s wide reform, the Cultural Unit, along with the Employment and Economic Development Services and Sports Services, moved under the new Sector for Economic Development, Sports and Culture, starting from 1 August 2021. One of the key objectives of the organisational reform is to promote the role of culture and sports as building blocks of Espoo’s dynamism. We will dedicate ourselves to continuing this work in 2022.

August 2021 also saw the initiation of the new Culture Committee who were immediately faced with difficult decisions, such as closing Soukka Library. In 2022, the City’s savings plan, Economically Sustainable Espoo, will also have an impact on the Committee’s work.

In 2021, we also launched the process of updating the CultureEspoo 2030 vision. The related discussions highlighted that we need to look further to the horizon, as unpredictable as the future seems. This is why the updated version of CultureEspoo looks forward up to 2050. We need cooperation, creativity, imagination and open minds when we develop the solutions of the future. Art and culture play a key role here.

I wish to thank everyone for 2021. We will continue our work to build community spirit, dynamism and wellbeing through culture.

Susanna Tommila

Cultural Director

Children in Espoo were delighted by the publication of the Peek into Espoo picture book, which showcases the urban centres of Espoo through illustrations. The book is the City’s gift to children aged 4 living in Espoo, and it aims to inspire children to tell stories about Espoo. The book was created through collaboration between illustrator Carlos Da Cruz and preschool groups. The children brought up their views of their neighbourhoods and commented on the illustration drafts. The book also includes story trails and exercise trails through which families can get to know the major districts in Espoo.

In June, four day camps were organised in the Entresse and Iso Omena libraries. We joined the Espoo leisure activity model by organising afternoon workshops for children and young people in four libraries. The small group activities have continued in Entresse Library, among others, in cooperation with Tyttöjen talo.

In August 2021, the opera Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven was shown in Espoo, thanks to cooperation between three Espoo-based cultural operators. Erik Söderblom, artistic director of Espoo City Theatre, directed the opera in a highly topical manner, while Tapiola Sinfonietta, Organ Night and Aria Festival Choir and Finnish top soloists, led by conductor Okko Kamu, were in charge of the music. The three opera performances were shown at the Tapiola Hall of Espoo Cultural Centre for the number of spectators allowed by the COVID-19 restrictions. The production received high praise in the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper.

The Children’s Weekend event, shared by the service area and organised for the first time by the Event and Cultural Services, was held both as a physical live event and online. During a weekend in October, visitors had a chance to peek into the halls and other facilities of the cultural centres. Digital surprises were offered by the Digital Cultural Centre in Urban Espoo.

In October, the light art event Reflektor, a collaboration with Sun Effects, was implemented for the first time. The event set at a dark autumn weekend showed a new side of the fascinating Keran Hallit buildings.

Tapiola Sinfonietta has numerous collaboration projects in which musicians perform at hospitals, daycare centres and maternity and child health clinics in Espoo. In 2020–2021, the orchestra participated in the Accessible Orchestras project of the Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestras which focused on developing orchestras’ activities among seniors. Due to the pandemic, digital content prevailed in the project’s outcomes. The project resulted in musical recordings to be used by nursing homes and hospitals. The plans for the future include developing interaction through digital applications.

A year marked by the pandemic, 2021, challenged and inspired Tapiola Sinfonietta to increasingly offer experiences through digital content. With a focus on accessibility and diverse content, an artistically high-quality annual programme was implemented. It reached audiences of all ages from homes to schools and hospitals. In the autumn season, audiences also attended events on-site in concert halls and churches. International coverage expanded thanks to streamed concerts and record releases.

Due to the restrictions related to the pandemic, the entire spring season was implemented as online concerts. The programme was modified to suit streaming, but almost all of the important visits by conductors and soloists were still realised as planned. The spring season also marked the end of the artistic partnership period of conductor Klaus Mäkelä with two concerts. Fascinating first domestic performances included Mäkelä’s farewell concert and the Musica Nova festival concert. The cheerful May Day concert was also streamed. At the end of the season, audiences saw the debut of the promising young conductor Tarmo Peltokoski. In June, the orchestra played at the Organ Night & Aria festival concert and finally live on-site in the audience work concerts around Espoo.

The autumn season started with limited audience capacity, with performances of Beethoven’s opera, Fidelio, in cooperation with the Organ Night & Aria festival and Espoo City Theatre. In connection with the opening concert, a recording was made with Alexandre and Jean-Jacques Kantorow. In the season 2021-2022, a flute concerto by residence artist and composer Sebastian Fagerlund was performed for the first time, conducted by artistic partner Ryan Bancroft. The orchestra played at the 30th anniversary concert of the PianoEspoo festival, together with the young Tapiola symphonists. The autumn’s specialities also included concerts with folk music band Frigg and singer-songwriter Yona, among others. The documentary film Tunturin tarina, the score of which was played by the orchestra, premiered in December.

The programme also involved afternoon and chamber music concerts and final rehearsals open to the audience. Of the 80 concerts, 52 involved audience work. Tapiola Sinfonietta was also involved in the international ‘Age-friendly Orchestra’ project, the final report for which was published in November.

As the restrictions on audience capacity were gradually lifted, the autumn season’s number of visitors in seasonal concerts was 247 persons on average. The largest audience, almost 500 spectators, was attracted by the Lost Key children’s concert at Tapiola Hall. The total of 17 online concerts attracted 25,501 listeners.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected all cultural operations, but the operations managed to adapt to the changing situations in an agile way, and they promoted the wellbeing of residents even during the prolonged pandemic. In the Cultural Liaison Services, cultural services were developed together with residents and communities.

During the year, it was possible to organise KULPS activities so that they reached the majority of preschoolers and schoolchildren in Espoo. The events were visited 62,586 times in total. Similarly, the Culture Call activities implemented with early childhood education providers managed to find COVID-safe ways of operating. During the year, the activities were attended by 5,591 children and 993 educators. The framework for the cultural education model in upper secondary education was created in cooperation with Omnia.

The Kaiku card, intended for residents whose financial situation is difficult, was used 433 times. The Culture Chain’s visits to nursing homes and service housing mainly took place in the summer. The performances, held mainly outdoors, had 5,230 audience members.

The Espoo Hobby Path, a project following the Finnish model for leisure activities, received 500,000 euros in state subsidies. The aim is to allow each child in Espoo to find a hobby they like. The Hobby Path is implemented through cooperation between the City organisation and its partners.

In the DigiCult project, the development of a digital service platform started together with the cities of Oulu and Kuusamo.

In the ‘Wellbeing from Culture’ project, the outreach senior work models used by the social and healthcare services of Espoo, Rovaniemi and Seinäjoki will be charted, with the idea of making cultural services more accessible to seniors. 

The national ‘Culture Together’ development project coordinated by Espoo and funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture raised awareness of organising statutory cultural services through visits to municipalities and publications. Espoo will continue to coordinate the project in the upcoming period.

2021 was the second year marked by the pandemic, which affected the activities of WeeGee Exhibition Centre, Espoo Cultural Centre, Sello Hall, Kannusali, Children’s Cultural Centre Aurora and City Events. However, at the same time, the parties involved improved their online recording skills and developed new kinds of activities.

The amount of digital content increased substantially, which also increased the availability of free service selections, for its part. The digital cultural centre Urban Espoo offered a broad selection of recordings and other online cultural content implemented by the Event and Cultural Services. The Independence Day Gala Concert from Metro Areena was moved online in its entirety, and the series on Espoo’s 50th anniversary as a city started on 31 December 2021 with a concert streamed from Espoo Cultural Centre and the Mayor’s greetings. The Christmas at Tapiola concert was shown on Yle TV1 and had 403,000 viewers. Espoo Day was implemented both through physical events and online experiences. 

While the centres were closed, art was brought outdoors in the urban space. On the week of the winter holiday, the City Gallery was implemented, where visitors could admire light and audio installations in the event centres’ surroundings. In the ‘Summer X City’ project, the yards of cultural centres turned into attractive urban oases. Cooperation with the Kera collective gained attention widely. The rough street art area attracted over 45,000 visitors to see the events and works of art. In the autumn, the light art event Reflektor was seen at Keran Hallit.

Several sold-out events were held at Espoo Cultural Centre and Sello Hall in the autumn. WeeGee Exhibition Centre started its work on preparing the design collection of Collection Kakkonen, and an agreement was signed regarding the exhibition on Mauri Kunnas’s life’s work. The renovated Kannusali Hall finally opened to the public. In Aurora, the ‘Träskända of Stories’ collection was implemented with children as active creators. In Espoonlahti, visitors got to enjoy the unique ‘Garden & Pavilion’ event that combined urban cultivation and cultural events. Furthermore, the Event and Culture Services became a pioneer by being the City of Espoo’s first official partner of Helsinki Pride.

• The service area produced more than 1,500 events and tours together with partners.
• The event centres and urban events had 229,178 visitors in total.
• Televised broadcasts reached 1,187,357 viewers
• The Urban Espoo website attracted 127,860 visitors.

The 2021 highlights of KAMU Espoo City Museum included the exhibition Everything and Nothing – Architects Kaija + Heikki Siren at WeeGee Exhibition Centre and the Hero Pollinators exhibition in Glims Farmstead Museum.

At the start of the year, the five locations of KAMU Espoo City Museum were closed to the public for five months due to the COVID-19 restrictions. In the beginning of June, the museums reopened and public events restarted.

The feedback from museum visitors regarding the Siren exhibition was overwhelmingly positive. The exhibition, implemented in cooperation with the Museum of Finnish Architecture and EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, also drew the attention of international architecture media, in addition to Finnish media. The Hero Pollinators summer exhibition in Glims was a new kind of experience, showcasing the significance of pollinators from various perspectives and objects related to beekeeping. In November, a photograph exhibition of Kenzi Rinno’s photos of the Glims scenery from the 1970s opened in Glims. The exhibition is a part of the celebrations of Espoo’s 50th anniversary as a city.

For residents to also have access to remote services, KAMU has produced and developed new historical content on social media and the web throughout the pandemic. In the museum’s Finna search service, photos of historical buildings and cultural landscapes in Espoo were published, among other content. In 2021, the Finna search service of KAMU had 84,000 visitors. Last year, new kinds of mobile guides were also completed. Many of them involve themes related to architecture, such as the ‘Tapiola through residents’ stories’ guide and the mobile guides on the districts of Otsolahti, Otaniemi and Itäranta. The virtual school museum, Lagstad, launched in October. The museum takes visitors to Lagstad folkskolan, the oldest public school building in Espoo and its yard.

Once the pandemic restrictions were gradually lifted, it became possible to implement archaeological digs included in KAMU’s ‘Soil Diggers’ projects together with Karhusuo School. At the dig sites, pupils had a great chance to learn about the archaeologist’s profession for two weeks. The museum’s first ‘Adopt a Monument’ agreement was made with the Olari-Seura association.

In 2021, the five museums within KAMU Espoo City Museum attracted 79,423 visitors in total.

The pandemic restricted the City Library’s operations substantially. In the spring, customers were only allowed to pick up reserved materials, borrow materials and use the computers in restricted areas. Self-service use was shut down temporarily. Events and school groups’ visits were carried out remotely, and as the restrictions were lifted in the autumn, they were also organised on-site in the libraries. In September alone, a total of 79 occasions of material tips, courses on using the library and cultural events were held. The end of the year was once again marked by the pandemic precautions. The libraries remained open, but their event production came to a halt.

Customers were involved in the design of the new Lippulaiva Library through various surveys and events. The participation opportunities were announced in the Länsiväylä newspaper. Residents were also involved in the design of the new facilities and operations of Viherlaakso Library.



Residents were reminded of the opportunity to use library services through a customer acquisition campaign. The ‘Reading Inspiration’ project, with its literature food circle, was also advertised in the Länsiväylä and Hufvudstadsbladet newspapers. Through Helmet cooperation, a campaign for first-graders and the Helmet reading challenge were implemented.

Customer service competence was developed and library facilities were adapted to support smooth customer service. To replace the reduced face-to-face support, digital support was offered online.

A new reservation system was commissioned, which will make the reservation logistics quicker and more efficient. The project involved various communications needs. The library collections were inventoried. The responsibilities for the Taskukirjasto application and the related customer communications were moved from Vantaa to Espoo.

Annual renovations were made in Kauklahti, Laaksolahti and Nöykkiö libraries. The ventilation system in Saunalahti School, including the library, was repaired. In connection with the redesign of Sello Library’s facilities, furniture and surfaces were also replaced and repaired. The youth section at Kalajärvi Library was redesigned. In the youth space in Entresse Library, a window painting was realised through cooperation with educational institutions.

The total of cultural grants amounted to about 15 million euros in Espoo in 2021.

The restrictions brought on by the pandemic continued to affect art and culture operators in Espoo. For example, the Culture Committee decided not to reclaim the annual grants if the recipient organisations’ plans had changed due to the pandemic.

In September, the application round for the separate grant for cultural professionals opened, to which the City of Espoo allocated 200,000 euros. The support was aimed at Espoo-based professionals in the art and culture sector and professional artists whose work had suffered from the pandemic. Of the applicants, 36% represented the music industry. The proportion of drama and performance art among the applicants for separate support was higher than usual. In total, the grants were awarded to 50 professionals from nine fields of art.

The partnerships in the basic education in the arts and grant preparation were transferred to the Cultural Unit on 1 August 2021. Cooperation negotiations with the educational institutions that received the grants were held in October. Espoo has 19 institutions providing basic education in the arts.

The grant principles were updated by the Culture Committee’s decision on 1 December 2021 so that they will also pay attention to basic education in the arts. The principles steer the partners in their strategic development, especially regarding service availability, cultural wellbeing and sustainable development.

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"The separate grant reassured me that my work could continue through the pandemic and helped me plan my freelancer schedule, overall. All fields of art have suffered when working has been almost impossible for two years. The presence of art in our society is not only a matter of artists’ wellbeing; it also makes life more vibrant for all of us." 

− Minna Karttunen, MA Dance

Espoo-based visual artist Kim Somervuori feels that the annual grant for a professional artist brought him a sense of security and ensured peaceful working conditions, even if an artist’s work is generally fragmented.

Somervuori is especially known for his paintings and drawings. In addition to these, he also makes installations and sculptures. However, the works always start with a stroke of a pen or brush.

“It doesn’t really matter how I end up making the final piece. My ideas are born through drawing and painting,” Somervuori summarises his method.

The origin of a work of art is influenced by various factors experienced by the artist in his life.

“A single piece is affected by how I am as a person, the books I read, the music I listen to or the artists whom I follow,” Somervuori says.

The artist’s year started with a solo exhibition at Galleria Himmelblau in Tampere. Furthermore, Somervuori’s works were seen in an environment-themed summer exhibition in Nastola where he had implemented a paper installation.

The grant is awarded to one Espoo-based artist for one year at a time.

In 2021, the operating revenue of the Cultural Unit was 2.2 million euros, approximately. Operating expenses amounted to 55.3 million euros.

The gross-budgeted Cultural Unit includes the budgetary appropriations of the unit management, liaison services, grants and the City Library. The operating revenue of the gross-budgeted units amounted to 0.9 million euros. Operating expenses amounted to 39.1 million euros.

The operating revenue of culture (gross) matched the budget. The Liaison Services service area received grants for the ‘Culture Together’ development project and the project related to the Finnish model for leisure activities, the Espoo Hobby Path, which started in the autumn. The operating expenses fell short of the updated budget by 2.3 million euros. The most significant factor was the changes brought on by the pandemic for the operations.

Personnel expenses grew from the previous year, but they were also below the budget for 2021. The grant allocations exceeded the budget as decided by the Culture Committee. The excess was covered with savings from service purchases.

At the Mayor’s decision, 0.016 million euros were transferred to the City Library for offering summer jobs. The organisational reform increased the allocations gross-budgeted for culture. The updated budget 2021 includes the Finnish National Opera and Ballet’s grant allocation of 1.137 million euros.

The net budgeting for culture comprises the City Museum, the City Orchestra and the Event and Cultural Services. The binding operating margin for net-budgeted culture was - 17,200,000 €.

In 2021, the operations of the net-budgeted cultural units were affected by the lockdowns and restrictive measures in the operating environment brought on by the pandemic.

The operating revenue exceeded the original revenue goal by 0.5 million euros, approximately. Sales and payment income was lower than in the previous year, but the pandemic-related grants received evened out the reduced operating revenue. Compared to the pre-pandemic times, the operating revenue was about 1 million euros lower.

The operating expenses fell about 1.0 million euros short of the budget. The most significant effects were seen in personnel expenses. Due to the pandemic, employees were transferred to the Welfare and Health Sector via a resource pool. Separate evening and weekend compensations, family compensations and sickness absence compensations were saved.

 The net-budgeted service areas for culture are bound by the operating margin. The binding operating margin fell 1.5 million euros short.

At the Mayor’s decision, allocations of 0.024 million euros were transferred to the recruitment model and summer employment for immigrants.

Starting from August 2021, the City organisation has comprised the Growth and Learning Sector, Welfare and Health Sector, Urban Environment Sector, Sector for Economic Development, Sports and Culture and Mayor’s Office.

The new sector formed in the organisational reform consists of the Economic Development and Employment Unit, Cultural Unit and Sports and Exercise Unit.

The Council decided on the administrative regulation on 22 March 2021, after which the City’s steering group approved the new policy.

In the reform, the key objectives of the sector were defined as strengthening the City’s dynamism and competitiveness operations, reinforcing the role of culture and sports in building Espoo’s dynamism and creating new synergies.

A survey was open 25 January–3 February 2021 to collect the personnel’s views of the new sector. The personnel found that dynamism consists of overall wellbeing, inclusion, competitiveness and positive energy. In the survey results, it was highlighted that the new sector will need diverse cooperation, clear and shared objectives and the development of competencies in order to succeed.

Mervi Heinaro was appointed as the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Sports and Culture on 1 September 2021.

During the operating year, the Culture Committee convened nine times. As the new term of office began, the new committee also started working. The new members convened for the first time on 21 September 2021.

Members                                          

Anitra Ahtola, National Coalition Party (Chairperson)

Hannele Hakala, National Coalition Party *

Verna Finström, Greens (Vice-chairperson)            

Jaana Ailus, Greens *

Jyri Airinen, National Coalition Party                                                           

Tarja Lang, National Coalition Party *

Ville Virkkunen, National Coalition Party                                                    

Sampo Kauranne, National Coalition Party *

Heidi Hanhela, National Coalition Party                                                     

Erkki Berg, National Coalition Party *

Kimmo Metsä, National Coalition Party                                                       

Riitta Mård, National Coalition Party *

Naina Rajani, Greens                                                         

Yvonne Godhwani, Greens *

Tony Hagerlund, Greens                                               

Ahmed Goshnaw, Greens *

Abdi-Rashid Mohamud, Social Democratic Party

Timo Hyvönen, Social Democratic Party *

Veronica Kalhori, Social Democratic Party

Hanne Hovi, Social Democratic Party *

Oskari Kolehmainen, Finns Party

Nina From, Finns Party *

Tina Ehnström-Backas, Swedish People's Party

Tim Norrgrann, Swedish People's Party *

Jere Elo, Left Alliance                                                               

Simo Kaavajärvi, Left Alliance *

*Personal deputy member

City Board representative Mari Anthoni

City Board deputy representative Tiina Ahlfors

Youth Council representative Paavo Räty

Hanna Konttas, National Coalition Party (Chairperson)

Anna-Leena Solhagen, National Coalition Party *

Hanna Paatero, Greens (Vice-chairperson)

Toni Tuomanen, Greens *

Kimmo Metsä, National Coalition Party

Paavo Hyökki, National Coalition Party *

Elina Wanne, National Coalition Party

Tarja Aro-Kuuskoski, National Coalition Party *

Bo Grönholm, National Coalition Party

Upi Talsi, National Coalition Party *

Pekka Lempiäinen, National Coalition Party  

Erkki Berg, National Coalition Party *

Mirva Grann, National Coalition Party

Marjatta Henrichsson, National Coalition Party *

Timo Kilpiäinen, Greens

Sofia Suomalainen,  Greens *

Taru Gustafsson, Social Democratic Party

Pirjo Hilakari, Social Democratic Party *

Lauri Hietanen, Social Democratic Party

Mika Launis, Social Democratic Party *

Eija Pirinen, Finns Party

Mervi Syväranta, Finns Party *

Anna Korhonen, Swedish People's Party

Niklas Mannfolk, Swedish People's Party *

Said Moradi, Left Alliance

Sinna Koivusalo, Left Alliance *

*Personal deputy member

City Board representative Mikki Kauste

City Board deputy representative Olli-Pekka Paasivirta

Youth Council representative Paavo Räty