Capital of Culture Turku is easily accessible and inspires us to see culture as an everyday activity in the world we live in. Everyone is welcome to create, experience and enjoy culture! 

Every action that we’re taking to build the Turku European Capital of Culture aims at achieving lasting effects, as mandated by the European Union guidelines. The Capital of Culture year will develop Turku both culturally and socially, which is why the year 2011 is important for Turku residents, businesses, landscapes, buildings as well as the environment. The year is a great opportunity for a change. 

The major events during the Capital of Culture year will be in the form of spectacles which bring people together, strengthen the sense of cohesion between the people in the city and the entire region and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city. The programme will combine contemporary thinking from around the world, the best of what Finnish people have to offer and, particularly, showcase local talent. 

Turku 2011 is about extensive Finnish and international cooperation. The collaborative effort includes thousands of contributors: artists and non-profit organisations, Universities, Adult Education Centres, schools, kintergartens and businesses. And of course the Turku people themselves. 2011 will boost our creative industries and the regional economy. In addition to Turku, the contributors include other cities in the region and the wider Southwest Finland area, organisations and individuals throughout Finland, Europe and the other continents. 

Culture is everyday life and there is culture in everything we do. Turku 2011 lives in convenience store queues, city buses, markets and waiting lounges. The cultural projects for well-being and communality make the city welcoming and comfortable. The programme will be carried out in homes for the elderly, hospitals and shopping centres. The Capital of Culture will fill the streets with crowds of people, counterculture events and garden parties, planting flowers and singing in choirs, playing the accordion and tangoing the night away.

On the other hand, Turku 2011 will offer Europe new ways of working. One of these will be the close cooperation between culture and science. Researchers are already taking part both in developing events and in evaluating the impact they will have. The entire process will be studied in a follow-up research project by the University of Turku right through to 2016. 

Turku’s vision is that the Turku of 2016 is a forerunner, a creative centre for Baltic cooperation, and a rich source and mediator of art and science. Luckily, Baltic cooperation will be carried out in the literal sense of the term as Tallinn is the other 2011 European Capital of Culture. Due to close cooperation with Tallinn, the Baltic Sea will be given the attention it deserves in Europe.

During 2011, there will be something going on in Turku, the Capital of Culture on every single day. Solid cultural content and the emerging cooperation will develop Turku and create a permanent imprint and a lasting impact on the city. The Capital of Culture status is the most important thing that has happened to Turku in decades and will draw the world’s attention to the whole of Finland. 

Cay Sevón
CEO
Turku 2011 Foundation