URB 19

Festival for urban art and culture

The festival celebrates the 20. anniversary! Programme presents dance, performances, happenings, concerts and workshops.

  • 7.6.–14.6.2019
URB20 festival logo.

URB 20 years

Turning 20 this year, URB is an annual festival produced by the Kiasma Theater, presenting the impact of ever-changing urban and youth culture on various forms of contemporary art. The festival spreads in different locations around Helsinki presenting dance, performances, happenings, concerts and workshops.

Dance programme presents i.a. a Swedish dance group JUCK, a Finnish b-girl gang Eccentric Squad and a choregrapher James Batchelor from Australia. Kiasma presents a feministic variety show Delta Venus: Let me be your fantasy at Shoplifter’s exhibition as well as a music project Exploited Body by an artist Noah Kin at Kiasma Theatre.

URB will also take over the new Stoa square at Itäkeskus in east Helsinki. SOHKA JAM offers a free outside happening with dance, music and workshops. The passed 20 years of the URB festival shall be celebrated in Kiasma’s Seminar room, where URB ARCHIVES gives a possibility to the audience to see all the history of the festival.

Programme

Installation

URB Archives

Kiasma, Seminar room
Opening Fri 7.6. 15:00–19:00, Sat 8.6. 12:00–16:00, Sun 9.6. 12:00–16:00, Tue 11.6. 12:00–16:00, Wed 12.6. 15:00–19:00, Thu 13.6. 14:00–18:00, Fri 14.6. 14:00–18:00. Free admission.

Join us in celebrating 20 years of URB festival by diving into the festival archives. Share your new and old URB memories in social media with the hashtag #URBarchives.

Dance

DOUBLE BILL: Eccentric Squad: Eccentric & Tero Hytönen & Antti Uimonen: Intertajuntatutkimus – online eli olen 2019

Stoa, Itäkeskus
Fri 7.6. 19:00 Sat 8.6. 17:00
Tickets 16 / 13 €

A double bill presents the first performance by Eccentric Squad, which explores the movements and expressions of a b-girl. Tero Hytönen and Antti Uimonen are dealing with the development cycles of humankind.

JUCK (SE)

Stoa, Itäkeskus
Tue 11.6. 19:00
Tickets 16 / 13 €

A powerful, explosive, joyful, riotous, anarchic piece, where femininity is claimed on each performers own terms. A dance performance by a Swedish dance group.

James Batchelor (AU): Hyperspace

Fri 14.6. 16:00 & 18:00 Annantalo
Free entry, sign up in advance.

From the human body to the cosmos, Hyperspace by an Australian choreographer James Batchelor is an inquiry into the metrics we use to measure the deep unknowns of the universe.

Events

SOHKA JAM / Suomi On Hieno Kesäkaupunki

Stoan square, Itäkeskus
Sat 8.6. 12:00–17:00
Free entry

LIVE: Cavallini & Shorty, Aarnikotkat DJ’s: Soul Sanna, Tuhojuho

The programme includes also dance performances, free jamming, Break & New Hustle dance workshops and a street art workshop.

Queer Art Night

Thu 13.6. 19:00 Caisa
Tickets 5 €

Organized for the very first time, the Queer Art Night is dedicated to works created from queer perspectives. Queer Art Night’s programming is experimental and political, yet also entertaining, empowering and spectacular, too!

Performances / Concerts

Delta Venus: Let me be your fantasy show

Kiasma, 5. floor
Sat 8.6. 20:00
Tickets 16/13e (K-18)

A feminist variety show takes over Shoplifter’s exhibition by presenting short performance fantasies in the forms of drag, burlesque, voguing and performing arts.

Work-in-progress: Inter-floral Mint Box

Fri 7.6. 15:00, Annantalo.
Free entry.

This experiential installation performance is inspired by the enigmatic communication between plants.

Exploited Body presents: Threnody

Wed 12.6. 19:00
Kiasma Theatre
Tickets 16 / 13 €

Exploited Body is an experimental music project by Noah Kin, which tests the boundaries of the physicality of sound art.

URB Workshops Annantalo

James Batchelor: Hyperspace workshop for 14 to 18 year olds

Mon 10.6.–Thu 13.6. 10:00–14:00

This workshop led by Australian Choreographer James Batchelor with collaborator Bek Berger will experiment with how the body can map space. The workshop is for young people aged 14–18. Free entry.

Jussi Twoseven: Street Selfies

Mon 10.6.– Thu 12.6. 16:00–20:00
Participation fee 5 €

The potrait workshop introduces to the secrets of graffiti art. The workshop is for ages 16 and above.

YOU Design Project

Designer Elina Äärelä teams up with URB festival to create a t-shirt print design titled YOU. The ‘YOU’ t-shirt comes with a zine that gives us a look at Elina’s creative process. The exclusive t-shirt is going to be sold at Kiasma shop.