The Great Urban Poetry Night

Urban poetry will meet the Helsinki soundscape in the City Museum in August. If the weather allows, the performances will take place in the museum courtyard. In the event of rain, we will be in the museum lobby. Free entry!

The fourth Great Urban Poetry Night will star rap artist Rauhatäti and Peruvian poet and translator Roxana Crisólogo. Anyone from the audience can also perform their Helsinki-themed poem or song when Kasper Salonen hosts an open mic session to end the night of urban poetry. The Great Urban Poetry Night 2024 is a part of the 'Places & Hoods – See Helsinki Anew' exhibition programme.

The Great Urban Poetry Night is based on the urban audio art project 'The Routes of Helsinki' created by Mikko H. Haapoja. The soundscapes of the project, which has captured the sounds of the city since the early 2010s, will play as a part of the urban experience of the poetry night. Those who have signed up for the open mic in advance can also request to have Helsinki soundscapes as their background music. Registration for the event will open later!

We will sell refreshments at the event.

Rauhatäti started rapping in Finnish, most commonly in the Lapland dialect, in 2007. Her lyrics are often critical of society, but also include poetic metaphors and even humour. She has released two albums Labyrintti (2014) and Palasia (2019). In addition to her solo career, Rauhatäti is a vocalist in the acoustic Luiro ensemble and the Roimuru band.

Roxana Crisólogo Correa (Peru/Finland) is a poet, translator and cultural producer who has also studied international law. She lives and works in Helsinki. Crisólogo has released six poetry collections, and her poems have been translated into numerous languages.

Kasper Salonen is an Espoo-based stage poet, visual artist, translator and active participant in literary circles. His poems contain metaphysical, psychedelic and shamanistic echoes, but also social criticism and metamodern reflections. Enostone published Kiertoreittejä, his Finnish debut novel that he illustrated himself, in 2021.

Mikko H. Haapoja (M.Mus.) is a composer, music producer, media and audio artist and multi-instrumentalist from Helsinki. In his music, Haapoja combines influences from Savonian-Karelian tradition, alternative electronic pop and electroacoustic contemporary music. His project 'The Routes of Helsinki' is recording a substantial archive and media art series of the city's soundscapes. It can also be heard in the permanent exhibition of the Helsinki City Museum and Yle Areena.