The Helsinki City Theatre’s Stage for Contemporary Performance programme consists of works by artists and working groups from the independent field active in the Helsinki capital region that respond to the changing world through both their content and form. The stage offers artists space and time for developing their artistic thinking.
The Stage for Contemporary Performance does not represent a single performing arts tradition; rather, it encourages diversity and dialogue between different art forms. Contemporary performances take a conscious relationship to the history of the form(s) they represent and examine them from new perspectives.
How we curate our programme
We select artists or working groups whose goal is to create ambitious and forward-looking works for larger stages and audiences.
The Stage for Contemporary Performance operates through a curated process: it is based on encounters between the artist, the curator, and other Helsinki City Theatre professionals, with the aim of supporting the artist’s professional development. Curation serves as a porous interface from which artists can move in many directions even before entering the production process of a public performance.
We want to offer more artists the opportunity to deepen their skills. Therefore, in addition to performances and open calls, we organise monthly curatorial meetings, idea sparring, seminars, and other training events.
I have a performance idea, how to proceed?
Please first check that your idea fits both the content-related and technical frameworks of our activities.
- Within the Stage for Contemporary Performance, we produce works for a larger stage in the 328-seat Studio Pasila.
- Our productions have at least 10 performances.
- We do not programme guest performances.
- You can find the technical specifications for Studio Pasila here.
Curatorial meetings
Are you a new maker or is your idea still at an early stage? Helsinki City Theatre organises monthly curatorial meetings for makers of contemporary dance and contemporary performance. Artists have the opportunity to book one-on-one meetings with Valtteri Raekallio, the artistic director of the Helsinki Dance Company, or Riikka Thitz, the curator of the Stage for Contemporary Performance.
The curatorial meetings can provide brief feedback on a project idea or possibly longer-term personal sparring for developing a performance concept.
More information and booking for curatorial meetings can be found here.
Open call for the summer residency
Artists for the Stage for Contemporary Performance’s summer residencies are selected through an open call based on live meetings. The selected working group receives access to the Helsinki City Theatre’s Studio Pasila stage for June–July and a performance period in August. The performance is produced by the working group. The purpose of the summer residency is to offer independent artists space and time for artistic thinking by utilising the theatre’s existing spatial resources.
An open call for the summer residency is organised annually, conducted as individual online meetings. The open call takes place in September–October, two years before the residency period.
FAQ about the summer residency and open call can be found here.
Performance productions
Do you have a well-developed project idea and previous experience with pre-production and working on larger stages or in professional theatres?
The Helsinki City Theatre also produces contemporary performances as part of its main repertoire. We programme the repertoire through invitations and based on performance proposals. Ideas for contemporary performance works can be proposed outside open calls and meeting times by emailing the curator of the Stage for Contemporary Performance or the dramaturgs of the Helsinki City Theatre.
