What does “home” evoke, and how do we respond to the longing for home in an other place? How can we care for and empower one another? How do we meet the unknown and the unfamiliar through our bodies and lives? What memories, gestures, feelings, sensations, and contrasts make us feel at home?
In recent years, environmental disasters and climate change, wars and conflicts, and rapid technological transformations have become some of the main reasons why people around the world migrate, are displaced, and move from one place to another in search of a new home. The idea of home as a fixed, physical nest seems to be shifting; it is gradually transforming into something more hybrid, perhaps even a mobile hope.
“Where is home in the unknown?” is a three-day co-creative exploration that will take place from 31 March to 2 April, 17:00–20:00, at Sweetspot, Haapaniemenkatu 7-9B, Helsinki. The sessions will be facilitated by Gesa Piper, Venla Kotilainen, and Nicolina Stylianou. This initiative is co-organised by Noise Traffic, Catalysti ry, Free Movement, andTIAN.
During these explorations, we will explore different constellations of thoughts, questions, perceptions, and expressions around the theme of home through shared discussions, spatial explorations, movement, visual imagery, mapping, writing, and drawing. Rather than proposing a single idea of what home might mean, we aim to collectively shape a space where our experiences of reality can unfold and be shared.
Related themes such as emancipation, self-discovery, enablement, missing, absence, silence, and longing will also be welcomed; approached with the same openness as more comforting ideas of home. Over these three days, we will explore “home” as a socio-spatial encounter shaped by experiences, sensations, perceptions, dreams, gestures, and collective memories, felt both within our own bodies and in relation to one another.
The exploration will be held mainly in English, with the possibility of on-the-spot translation in Finnish, Greek, and German. If you need translation to another language please bring someone who can translate for you or notify us in advance and we will try to arrange one.
No prior experience or specific skills are required to participate.
During the sessions, tea, coffee, and snacks will be available. In the final session, we will reflect on the previous days and share a meal together. We warmly invite participants to bring a small taste from their home to share with others.
As a gesture of appreciation, we are able to support participants with HSL tickets or grocery store gift cards. We are also open to discussing other ways we might support your participation if needed.
We understand that everyone has different schedules and may not be able to attend every session. However, we encourage participants to join all three days, from Tuesday to Thursday, in order to nurture a comfortable, cozy, and safe space within the group.
Participation is free, and anyone interested is welcome to join. Participants are free to arrive late, leave early, or take breaks during the gatherings.
If you are interested please apply through google form here: https://forms.gle/zqPAm1KuNo6iTNTs6 or please send us a text message that states your interest in the workshop via DM message through our social media by 28th March 2026 midnight.
Short bios:
Gesa Piper (she/her) is a German born dance-artist and -pedagogue based in Helsinki (FI). She is active as a performer, teacher & choreographer in various parts of the world. Her artistic interest deals with embodied ecological intra-relationality, process oriented psychophysical practices, ancestry and sociopolitical questions. Furthermore, she coordinates a network for international artists.
Venla Kotilainen (she/her) is an architect and visual artist born in Finland and based in Helsinki. She is a member of Free Movement network, a group advocating for migrant rights in Finland. She is currently exploring community-led care, collaborative processes, conflict resolution and how these contribute to a safer environment.
Nicolina Stylianou is an artist, curator, and cultural producer from Cyprus. Growing up in the last divided city, her work reflects the complexities of the sociopolitical structures she embodied while growing up. She explores the conditions of noise, its role and necessity in today’s contemporary society. In her work, noise functions as a method and a lens to generate material, challenge the status quo, and, through creative analysis, unlock the performativity of the world.