What Squirrels Remember is a walking performance through a northeastern Helsinki neighborhood and the area’s multi-species histories.
Fifty years ago, concrete suburbs sprang up like mushrooms in the midst of fields and forests, all at once and unburdened by the past. History would begin NOW! A new space, a new society, a new human being!
The new neighbourhoods turned out to be something else: borderlands where city and nature, humans and other species, history and the future meet, mix, and intertwine. In the suburbs, history is visible in the annual rings of trees, the vegetation of wastelands, the trails of hares, and the depressions in the clay soil. At the same time, new nature is emerging there, along with new ways to live together with others.
Join us on a journey guided by the ghosts of the experimental pig farm, a beach rose growing next to a parking lot and a goshawk hunting in Puustellinmetsä—or perhaps by some entirely different travelers.
Performances: Fri, Aug. 28, 6:00 p.m. (in Finnish), Sun, Aug. 30, 6:00 p.m. (in English), Wed, Sept. 2, 6:00 p.m. (in Finnish)
Starting point: Sikalanmäki, Tapulikaupunki
Duration: approximately 2.5 hours
Working group
Concept, script, guide: Maija Linturi
Dramaturgy, sound design, guide: Olli-Pekka Jauhiainen
Historical Research Expert: Heta Lähdesmäki
Co-production: Eliökollektiivi and Circus Maximus
Supported by: Arts and Culture Agency, City of Helsinki, Vivicas vänne
Accessibility Information
During the performance, participants will walk at a leisurely pace for a distance of just under 4 kilometers, making several stops along the way. The route follows paths that are partly forested and uneven. There are some hills along the way.
Two performances (August 28 and September 2) will be in Finnish, and one performance (August 30) will be in English.
Capacity/performance: 15 participants
Directions
Tapulikaupunki is well-connected by public transportation:
If arriving by train, get off at Puistola Station; it is a 400-meter walk to Sikalanmäki
Take bus No. 79 and get off at the Tapulikaupunki stop; it is a 200-meter walk
Take bus No. 74 and get off at the Hatuntekijänkuja stop; it is a 450-meter walk