Welcome to the neighbourhood!

Neighbourhood Week in Martti

The Neighbourhood Week in Martti will offer a record number of events! The extremely extensive series of events will include everything from market fairs to improvisation and from art exhibitions to the Cultural Olympics.

The Neighbourhood Weeks are part of the Turku 2011 programme and present the neighbourhoods of Turku one by one through one-week programmes. The themed weeks emphasise the unique characteristics of each neighbourhood through locally generated programmes that are realised through the cooperation of various associations, societies, clubs and other local contributors.

In the week dedicated to Martti, 12–18 September, the neighbourhood will show its many faces. There will be almost 30 events within a single week – including as many as six different photography and art exhibitions! Among the themes of the exhibitions are Wärtsilä’s machine shop traditions, boys from Martti, the 30 years of the AB Dance Company and Elvira Lazareva’s art.

In the traditional Neighbourhood Weeks way, various guided tours are also expected to be popular in Martti. The tours will take visitors to the one-time maternity hospital Family House Heideken, the Mäntymäki area and the hidden hills, and there will be a guided cruise on the lower course of the River Aura.

Martti is characterised by a strong cultural atmosphere. The week will include a poetry matinée and a poetry club, and Manilla Theatre will open its doors for the Tehdasfestivaali Manifesti factory festival. In addition, a late local legend, author Jarkko Laine will be honoured by a themed night and a literary matinée.

The week will also include the Cultural Olympics, featuring poetry, modern art, music and culture quizzes. The history night will shed light on the cultural heritage by the mouth of the River Aura and on urban spaces for work and art. The week will end on Turku Day, 18 September, with Manilla opening its doors and entertaining visitors with poetry karaoke, theatre and dance performances, etc.

The event’s will be organised by the Martinrantaseura Association, Kulttuuriyhdistys IDA Association, Kulttuurisauna and the Mannerheim League’s Family House Heideken.

The Neighbourhood Weeks will be complemented by unique sightseeing tours to Martti with a local guide, campaigns by travelling bus postmen and the Raising the Flag workshops.

The final Neighbourhood Week location will be Varissuo in November.