Intercultural Dialogue : Good Practice Database - Compendium of Cultural Policies and T...

Page 1 of 2

previous Page | record 27 of 49 | next Page

Country(ies):
Finland

Kassandra
Arts programme for female artists with an immigrant background
Partners:
Kassandra Association
Funding Bodies:
City of Helsinki, Finnish Ministry of Education, RAY (Finnish Slot Machine Association)
Project Description:
Kassandra is an art association set up in 2000 by Ritva Siikala, one of the leading figures of the Finnish
experimental theatre. In her Kassandra 2000 project, Siikala explored the female "otherness" as related to
immigrant and ethnic "otherness". The project turned into the Kassandra Association. It aims to reduce the
prejudices between new Finns and native Finns from different language groups. It uses both artistic and research
projects to promote a multicultural Finnish identity that is capable of renewing itself in a changing world.
Kassandra provides opportunities for artists mainly from immigrant communities to present not only their artistic
skills but also their cultural background.
The Kassandra art programme features artists from a great variety of cultures around the world, e.g. a Japanese
buto dancers, dancers and drummers from West-Africa, Indian classic and Bollywood style singers and dancers,
Tamil dancers and African story-tellers. It also offers artistic activities for children and adults in various fields,
e.g. a multicultural choir, dance, art and writing workshops or lectures, e.g. on art as a path to cultural
understanding. Poems, stories and pictures by the artists involved are published on the Kassandra web site. The
arts programme and the artistic courses are organised mainly by women artists who have moved to Finland from
other countries. In 2005, almost four thousand women, girls and children participated in these events and
courses.
The Kassandra Association administers MONITA (Artists from Many Cultures), a project sponsored by the
EQUAL Programme of the European Social Fund. The MONITA project provides training and collaboration
opportunities for women and women artists from immigrant communities and builds networks between native
Finnish and ethnic minority artists.
Lessons to be Learned:
The "Kassandra 2000 Project" was originally part of Helsinki's year as European Capital of Culture. It proved to
be so successful that it could be transformed into a permanent sustainable institution. The Kassandra Association
now provides a public space for artists from immigrant communities for creative expression and presentation of
their work to the local community. It is also a place where women and children with an immigrant background
and people of Finnish origin can communicate and work together.

http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/intercultural-dialogue-database.php

7/5/2015

Intercultural Dialogue : Good Practice Database - Compendium of Cultural Policies and T... Page 2 of 2

Target Groups:
Artists with an immigrant background (especially women), general public
Contact Details:
Kassandra
Museokatu 34
00100 Helsinki
Finland
Tel: +358 9 68 41 420
Fax: +358 9 68 41 4210
Email: kassandra@kassandra.fi
Web: http://www.kassandra.fi
Additional Resources:
For more information on the Monita Project, see http://www.kassandra.fi/monita/English.
The Kassandra Arts Programme, featuring artists from different immigrant communities, is available from:
http://www.kassandra.fi/english/programs_html.
A photo gallery featuring the various activities going on at the Kassandra Association is available from:
http://www.kassandra.fi/albumi_html (in Finnish only).
Submitted by / Source:
Ritva Mitchell, CUPORE, Helsinki; Ilkka Heiskanen, Finn-EKVIT, Helsinki

previous Page | record 27 of 49 | next Page

Council of Europe/ERICarts, "Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, 16th edition", 2015 | ISSN 2222-7334

http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/intercultural-dialogue-database.php

7/5/2015