Elsa Tölli’s performance Finale’s song (in Finnish)

Elsa Tölli is a poet, performer and a free spirit. They have made poetry videos and performances, toured as a performance poet and co-founded Lavarunoakatemia, an academy of performance poetry, which combines community learning and cultural disruption. Tölli’s work focuses on embracing life, being present and a sense of camaraderie. As an artist, they challenge structures based on rivalry and toiling away alone by methods such as writing with other people, arranging workshops to share what they have learned, and strengthening long-term collegial relationships.    

www.elsatolli.com 

A Finale Song plays, sweaty and monstrous, in the final act of the shiny Diva. An out-of-tune poem song is performed about a firestorm, fury at the barricades and quiet encounters between invisible insects underground. The aria moves through a surreal glass bubble, in a post-glamour mess, scraping the fire with her nails. We’re going to explore what happens when the texts become flesh and pulse on stage in the costumes of stage fright, adrenaline and presence.

Ella Snellman is involved in this work as a costume designer and as an outside observer.

Meeting at the HAM ticket counter. The performance is free, but please remember to register here.

Elsa Tölli’s performance is part of the Nuoret 2023 exhibition of today’s young artists in Helsinki. The exhibition is organised by the Artists’ Association of Finland. HAM Helsinki Art Museum has sponsored Elsa Tölli and supported their salaried work as part of a new model for employing artists under contract, which is being tested by the Artists’ Association of Finland. 

Read more about Nuoret 2023 exhibition.