UrbanApa

UrbanApa is an anti-racist and feminist community grounded in sharing, communality, empowerment and the creation of space for others.

UrbanApa challenges the art field’s existing norms and strives to further the Finnish art field’s strides toward a safer and more diverse, porous and inclusive future.

UrbanApa is an art community that reacts to the needs and challenges of a changing world. It is an art institution of the future that aims to learn, to employ artists and to create a community of diverse people.

UrbanApa strives to consciously attach itself to the surrounding society; all work is made in collaboration with others. Various events and concepts are always born out of real needs. UrbanApa does not wish to grow in height but rather to spread sideways, to take root.

In UrbanApa’s vision, the future is equal, communal, diverse and playful.

UrbanApa is an anti-racist and feminist community whose basis lies in the belief that art can make the world a better place.

The starting point of artistic work is equality and respect regardless of your ethnic, social, cultural, religious, sexual, gender or economic background or position.

UrbanApa creates personal, diverse, affordable and openly interactional events that stem from real needs and lived lives and that are accessible to people of all ages.

UrbanApa’s conception of art is diverse and inclusive; artists working on our platforms come from various backgrounds and their art is diverse both in its aesthetics and ways of doing.

UrbanApa is supported by Urbaanin taidetanssin tukiyhdistys (UTT ry). Its mission is to further and develop urban art culture, especially urban dance culture, and help people become aware of and take part in art culture. In addition, its goal is to increase equality, tolerance and internationality through seeing and experiencing art.

UrbanApa is an anti-racist and feminist community whose conception of art is diverse and inclusive. Artists working on our platforms come from various backgrounds and their art is diverse both in its aesthetics and ways of doing. However, we acknowledge that curating is never neutral. The curators’ personal histories, encounters and experiences always affect their choices.

In various ways, UrbanApa strives for more horizontal ways of curating. Events and platforms are curated by changing artist-facilitators who, with their own viewpoints, diversify the ways in which art is created. Many events and platforms include an open call through which all artists can apply to join. Throughout the year, UrbanApa produces several platforms that all have their own possibilities for collaboration. All who work with, on and during our platforms are expected to follow our ethical guidelines.

UrbanApa strives to be a safer place in all its events, workshops and other activities.

1. Let’s not assume consent. Let’s ask for it!
2. Let’s respect the physical, mental and emotional boundaries of others as well as our own.
3. Let’s not assume the identity, sexuality, gender, health, and background of others.
4. Let’s respect the opinions, beliefs and experiences of others even when they differ from ours.
5. Let’s be aware of our prejudices, privileges, behaviour, and the space we occupy.
6. Let’s strive to act with positive intent and take care of each other. Let’s assume that people want good.
7. No harassment or discrimination whatsoever, no homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, ableism, fatphobia etc. No discrimination based on locality, language, or citizenship.
8. Let’s embrace diversity, complexity, and polyphony.

Read UrbanApa’s ethical guidelines.

In order to further economic equality, UrbanApa offers plenty of free events, workshops and other programs. We strive to keep the ticket prices for our paid events affordable so that everyone could have access to the community’s events and activities. In practice this has meant that during the last couple of years, our tickets have been a maximum of 5€. Our events are always free of charge for those under 18, and we have also offered free tickets whenever needed.

When planning and organising events, programmes and platforms, UrbanApa takes into account site-specific accessibility and safety, which we also communicate to our audiences and participants. Additionally, UrbanApa strives for web accessibility. Our website is currently level AA.

UrbanApa is based on intersectional feminism, decolonialism and inclusivity. We strive to further diversity on the art field by carefully curating our events and producing discourse where diversity, inclusivity, oppressive power structures, safer spaces, othering imagery and anti-racist strategies are discussed, and by offering concrete tools to work with the above subjects. The community strives to create work opportunities especially for underrepresented people. In concrete terms, we utilise quotas and active collaboration with people and organisations that further diversity.

UrbanApa aims at social, ecological and economic sustainability by supporting artists in a transparent way that also gives space. In a precarious art field where many experience loneliness, we aim to offer a community where people can discuss issues and gain peer support. We also aim to offer artists various chances to update their skills through workshops, discussions and lectures and to learn how to work in new roles. The community strives to act locally by creating platforms for local artists and by strengthening collaborations between both artists and organisations.

UrbanApa does not accumulate equipment, instead we strive to obtain any necessary gear through loaning, renting and recycling. We also do not pay expensive space rent precisely so that a large part of our money goes directly to creators.

The community offers platforms of various shapes and working periods of various lengths. We understand that a diverse group of people have different needs, and we strive to examine our own work and everyone’s changing needs yearly.

UrbanApa hereby declares itself a discrimination-free zone and undertakes to:

• Treat all customers and staff equally, irrespective of the person’s gender, age, ethnic origin, religion or belief, opinion, state of health, disability or sexual orientation
• Inform all employees that it has declared itself a discrimination-free zone
• Display the Discrimination-free Zone sign somewhere on its premises for all to see
• Take all reports or suspicions of discrimination seriously

For press photos and press releases, head to our media page.