UNIMA FINLAND REPORT
2016-2017
OFFICE AND STAFF
The office of UNIMA Finland is in the Cultural Centre Vernissa in the city
of Vantaa, 30 minutes’ drive from the capital city Helsinki. The part-time
secretary’s temporary agreement has been regularised.
MEMBERS
Unima Finland has about 200 members, individuals, students and companies
EVENTS
Finnish Puppetry Day
UNIMA Finland celebrates the Finnish Puppetry Day on the 11th of
February. According to a tradition, the Declaration of National Puppetry Day
is written and announced by a person or a group, having remarkably developed
Finnish puppetry and having thus received the Finnish UNIMA’s annual Puppetry
Award. In 2017, the award was given to Satuteatteri Punahilkka (Theatre Little Red
Riding Hood) for its 35 years high-level work on the field of amateur puppetry.
Finland 100 Years: Showcase of Finnish
Puppetry 2017
Among about 5000 projects, the
Finnish UNIMA’s festival Showcase of Finnish Puppetry received the status of being a
part of the official Finland 100 Years jubilee programme. The projects and
their events created the widest jubilee programme ever built in Finland on six
continents and in over a hundred countries.
The Showcase festival was held in the Cultural Centre Vernissa
(Vantaa). Its 12th edition on the 6th-7th October 2017 consisted of
10 Finnish puppet shows performed. In addition, the programme included a puppet
exhibition, a workshop on puppet making, a presentation of a Finland 100 Years
community puppet art project, animated films and street performances. The festival also facilitated an event in
which a theatre director Kirsi Siren and a puppet theatre artist Leila Peltonen
were honoured by UNIMA Asia-Pacific Commission for their long-lasting work in
the art of puppetry.
Katsos! Charleville-Mézières
As part of its Finland 100 Years project, UNIMA Finland supported the
realisation of KATSOS! – the showcase of Finnish puppetry in
Charleville-Mézières, France. The showcase, consisting of eight Finnish shows
and 26 performances, was included in the main program of the festival.
Power of Object Expression – seminar
UNIMA Finland participated in organising a seminar for discussing object
theatre, focusing on both artistic and applied contexts of object expression for
adults. The seminar was held in 2017
and the main organiser was the Art Promotion Centre Finland.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
UNIMA Finland publishes a magazine
Nukketeatteri (Puppet Theatre) twice a year. Nukketeatteri is a member of The Association for Cultural,
Scientific and Advocacy Magazines and is financially supported by Ministry of Education and
Culture. For the members of Finnish UNIMA, the magazine is included in the
membership fee. Moreover, complimentary copies are regularly posted to
decision-makers in the field of culture and to the stakeholders of UNIMA
Finland. Since 2016, the issues of Nukketeatteri include articles not only
in Finnish but also in English and are available for al in the internet: http://unima.biz/publications.html
UNIMA Finland on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UNIMAfinland
EDUCATION
The 4-year degree of puppet theatre at Arts Academy Turku /University of
Applied Sciences was closed in 2015. Students of theatre can still include
courses on puppetry in their curriculum. It’s also possible to accomplish
vocational examination in either puppetry education or puppet building. To
complete this competence-based qualification, candidates must demonstrate
certain skills and competence required in the profession. These skills are
outlined in the Requirements of Competence-based Qualifications defined by the
Finnish National Board of Education.
In 2017, UNIMA Finland organised two short courses focusing on puppet
building. On its web pages, UNIMA
Finland admins a record of artists and companies that organise courses in puppetry.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
In its general assembly 2015,
UNIMA Finland appointed three councillors for the term 2016-2020. The
councillors are Ms Johanna Salo from Lapland, Ms Katriina Andrianov from
Western Finland and Mr Aapo Repo from Eastern Finland.
UNIMA Finland is a member
of NEECPA - The Northern and Eastern
European Centre for Puppet Arts, a cooperation network of Northern and
Eastern European puppet theatres and organizations (founded in 2011).
In 2016-17, UNIMA Finland
created a directory of Nordic puppeteers and a net portal www.nordpu.net for collecting information on both actors and activities in Sweden,
Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland. The objective of this project is to
create a Nordic network for collaboration and for developing the professional
puppeteers’ visibility and employment.
FINANCES
UNIMA Finland’s incomes consist of grants, membership fees, ticket sales
and magazine subscriptions. In 2016-2017 the membership fees were 30 €, 15 € (student)
and 120 € (company). Support of the state is vital.
TRADE UNION WORK
In 2009, a Puppetry guild was
established within the Trade
Union for Theatre and Media Finland. Since then, UNIMA Finland have organized annual guild gatherings for
discussing the present state of puppeteers’ working conditions and salaries. In
2017, the focus was on creating a unified employment contract.
Contact information:
UNIMA Finland, Tikkurilantie 36, 01300 Vantaa, FINLAND
Tel. +358 46 811 4024
