Campaign for Empathy x Kurkimäki

Fostering a sense of community and understanding through creativity and art.

The Deaconess Foundation and empathy artist Enni-Kukka Tuomala are launching a new shared project in Kurkimäki, East Helsinki. The Campaign for Empathy x Kurkimäki fosters a sense of community and understanding through creativity and art.

The empathy campaign is a part of London-based artist Enni-Kukka Tuomala’s long term Campaign for Empathy-project, which examines the relationship between empathy and community through art. The yearlong empathy project is a part of The Deaconess Foundation’s new “Arvontuottajat” project, which begins in the spring of 2023.

 

 

The Campaign for Empathy is brought to life in collaboration with the new Rinnekodit Silta housing unit, which opened in Kurkimäki at the end of 2022. Silta is a unit for supported living for people in Helsinki who have experienced homelessness.

The aim of the Campaign for Empathy is for the people of Kurkimäki to together shape their environment to encourage empathic, human and equitable interactions, encounters and conversation. Through participating in shared creative activities and making art together, every resident’s unique experiences, perspectives and needs can have the space to emerge.

A text What does empathy means in Kurkimäki?

“We build a sense of community and design models for action making everyday life easier, more safe and more enjoyable for everyone living or working in the area.”

Laura Hakoköngäs, Special advisor on community programmes, Deaconess Foundation

“The project has been received with enthusiasm at Silta. Our aim is to support our residents becoming a part of the surrounding community, and increase interaction with our neighbours.”

Krista Hellström, Unit Head, Rinnekodit Silta

A text What does empathy means for us?

“The Campaign for Empathy is a meaningful statement about the power of empathy. The role of empathy is crucial in building stronger and more equitable communities and social systems. Its radical power is needed now more than ever in a time when the global empathy deficit continues to grow and our values are increasingly polarised.”
Enni-Kukka Tuomala, Empathy Artist

Bringing the community together through art

The Silta housing unit was opened at the end of last year and aims to offer a home or accommodation to over 80 people in Helsinki who have experienced homelessness.

The Campaign for Empathy invites the new residents, guests and staff at Silta, neighbours and people in the wider community to engage in a dialogue and to participate in a shared creative process.

  • The campaign is not based on a predefined concept of empathy and its role in the Kurkimäki neighbourhood, but invites the community to define it together.
  • The aim of the campaign is to map, explore and observe the role of empathy in the Kurkimäki community through playful workshops, creative activities, conversations and artistic experimentation.

    Join us for shared conversation and creative activities! We hope to see you at the Silta open day on 5.5 from 14 to 18 to tell you more.“
A man and a woman standing inside an art work.

Photo Liz Seabrook.

Who is empathy artist Enni-Kukka Tuomala?

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