What is real, what is not – Letters from Europe roadshow performance
Letters from Europe is one of the Turku Art Academy’s roadshow performances, produced by the theatre group Unsilenced Theatre, @unsilencedtheatre. This group consists of five emerging artists: Minka Laukniemi, Anni Suvanto, Tella Vahala, Milka Rasimus, and Rita Löytty.
Evolving concept
The first idea of the working group was to collect stories in the form of letters from Europeans. The idea changed during the process after two artists from the working group traveled to different locations in Europe during the summer of 2024. They met different people and listened to their stories. They also visited some of the Theatre in Palm partners and established contacts with various artists.
Transforming the narrative
In August, the group decided to present these stories in a unique format – a museum. The installation, originally titled Letters from Europe, was renamed The Honest Museum of Finnish History. This innovative museum format challenged visitors to reflect on the nature of truth in storytelling, prompting them to consider what is real and what is not. The implementation also encouraged us to find the real facts in an age marked by disinformation, fostering a deeper understanding of the narratives we encounter.
Turku roadshow performances: Amplifying untold stories in theatre
In a world where only certain “norm-met-heroic” characters are often celebrated and sit in the cabinet of power, we wanted to take a different approach for the Theatre in Palm project’s roadshow. While planning the Turku roadshow events, we decided to invite emerging artists passionate about applied theatre to apply and share their work.
To do this, we opened a call for the “stories of the forgotten.” Since social impact is one of the themes in Theatre in Palm, we felt this search for narratives was hitting the mark. We aimed to explore two key questions: Whose voices have we not heard, and why? How can we make these stories visible and heard through performances or applied theatre?
From the submissions, we selected two performances that answered these questions: DIANAT and Letters from Europe.
Both performances captivated the audience and sparked discussions from various perspectives. The results were thought-provoking contributions to contemporary art and theatre.
What stood out was how well both works resonated with the present moment, addressing society’s pain points. Why do we continue to deny uncomfortable truths and cling to only the easiest stories? When will we truly turn our gaze to those who have been forgotten?
Photos: Vilma Sappinen, @vilmas.photos
