News
Katie Lenanton on the One Truth About Being Human
2026 ARTIST INTERVIEW • What does it take to get people talking about death? For curator Katie Lenanton, part of the answer involves cake, coffee, and a room full of strangers. This November, the artist-run kitchen and bakery space Koekeittiö will host 'Marraskahvila (Death Cafe)', Katie’s exhibition project that combines workshops and community gatherings with visual art and music in an attempt to explore how we face dying and bereavement together – and how we might celebrate them, too.
Sonja Jokiniemi on Lamenting as Living Heritage
2026 ARTIST INTERVIEW • Artist Sonja Jokiniemi is no stranger to grief. It was her father’s passing that first set aflame her calling to work both through and with grief, and to investigate Karelian cultural heritage and the fading folk traditions that now anchor her new performance trilogy. Arvo, its second part, premieres at Helsinki’s Stoa this November as part of Baltic Circle, staged by Tsuumi Dance Theatre and Eloa Cultural Company.
The Edge Effect
FESTIVAL FOREWORD ⋆˙⟡.⋆✧˖°.
Baltic Circle’s First Fully Co-Programmed Festival Summons Altered States of Consciousness and Emotion
Baltic Circle returns for its 23rd edition from November 19th to 29th, 2026, taking place across the Finnish capital region. For the first time in the festival's history, every featured project is co-programmed and staged together with partners.
The resulting programme turns toward the subconscious mind, rituals suspended between the sacred and the mundane, and the instincts that surface when we face grief or desire together with others. Featuring both domestic and international premieres, the programme spans theatrical works, guided hypnotic experiences, seminars, sleepovers, and a cafe that doubles as exhibition and workshop space.
Inside Baltic Circle and Aalto University’s Experimental Visual Identity Pilot Program
Until recently, Baltic Circle's visual identity changed completely each year. New logos, colour palettes and sticker packs were something sharp-eyed audience members may have anticipated almost as much as the performances themselves, with graphic design treated as an extension of the festival’s curatorial efforts rather than a fixed brand asset.
Expanded Dramaturgy and Art as a Commons – A Conversation with Katalin Trencsényi
Katalin Trencsényi’s recent essay begins with her standing in a Finnish peatland, wearing muddy boots, enveloped in the aromatic smell […]
Open call: SLURPS SEMINAR program proposals
SLURPS SEMINAR will unfold as a two-day creative gathering in Helsinki this November. Organized by SLURPS in collaboration with Baltic Circle, the seminar will take place from November 21-22 at Demos Helsinki, and is now accepting program proposals.
Introducing Yilin Ma, Baltic Circle’s new Interim Artistic Director
Baltic Circle is pleased to welcome Yilin Ma to the festival team as Interim Artistic Director.
The Swamp as a Protagonist: Katalin Trencsényi Reflects on Expanded Dramaturgies at Baltic Circle in a New Essay
What if we treated the festival as a medium for transformation? How might we expand curatorial frameworks to encompass more-than-human communities? Can art contribute to the rewilding of both mental and natural landscapes?
Encounters With Resistance, the Senses, and Historic Reconciliation Defined the 2025 Baltic Circle Festival
The 22nd edition of the festival, held from November 21st to December 6th, convened nearly 3,600 unique visitors across the city's stages, streetscapes, and saunas. Despite nationwide cuts to cultural funding that impacted the festival and many of its peers, Baltic Circle delivered a rich and timely programme that centred experimental performance and cultural imagination.
