The apartment building is allowed to flourish in its last moments as art, but in autumn the moukari swings, and all that remains is a memory

The demolition art house in Kerava attracted tens of thousands of visitors. We hope for a similar result in Tampere next summer. The artist is not upset, even if the work disappears.

The four-story, fairly ordinary-looking building located on Pinninkatu in Tampere will be demolished in the fall, but before then it will undergo a complete makeover.

The building will be transformed into a total work of art open to the public during the summer. The building’s walls, stairwells and rooms will be filled with art in a variety of ways.

The photo taken outside shows the sharp corner of the brick house.
The brick building located on Pinninkatu was completed in 1951 for use by the footwear industry. The building was originally used by Häme’s shoe factory, and since the 1970s it was used as an office, later also as teaching premises.

The project, which goes by the name Pinni47, is a pilot project that investigates how the demolished buildings could be used in the future to enliven the center of Tampere with the help of art and culture.

Derkutaidetalo opens at the beginning of June and is open until the end of July. When the building is demolished in the fall, it will be replaced by apartments from the Tampere Student Housing Foundation, which is involved in the Pinni47 project.

Disappearance is interesting

Similar demolition art projects have been successfully implemented in the past, for example in Kerava, where more than 30,000 people came to admire the art created in a demolished house. A project of this kind is the first of its kind in the heart of Tampere.

Why does art made in a demolished house interest people so much?

– Maybe it’s exactly that impermanence. There is a couple of months until the building’s swan song and the fact that it is just a pile of bricks, says Simo Ollila.

Meiju Mertanen and Simo Partanen stand in the doorway of a large room and smile at the camera.
Producer Meiju Mertanen and publicist Simo Ollila hope that in addition to local residents, tourists will find their way to Pinninkatu in the summer.

– Tampere has a lot of good cultural sites, but when art and culture are brought to another building, I think it has an impact. We want to see art somewhere else, Mertanen thinks.

\”You don’t have to think about whether you can touch this\”

Sometimes, when inspiration strikes, even the walls have gotten out of the way, when artists have created their works in demolished buildings. Curator Teemu Mäenpää has encouraged artists to cross their limits and take advantage of the possibilities of the house being demolished.

A person wearing a hoodie stands facing the camera in a stairwell decorated with graffiti.  He has turned to the laptop on the stairs.  From a laptop, it goes like a video cannon.
There will be a more open exhibition space on the second floor of the building, which is free to enter. For the third and fourth floors, a paid curated exhibition is planned. The graffiti leaves the walls by the time the house opens. Pictured is media artist Sarri at the computer.

– You don’t have to think about whether you can touch this or put paint on it. It gives a lot of new opportunities, Kallio is happy.

Emmi Kallio looks at the camera.  Behind him, you can see an empty room, the floor of which is covered with a blue cloth.
Emmi Kallio was involved in a similar project a few years ago in Nastola. He believes that this time he will be able to roam even more. In the background you can see the space where his work will be.

When the building is demolished in the fall, the artworks will disappear with it.

Disappearance can be one factor that fascinates the audience, but will the artist himself miss his handprint?

– Not really, when you know the situation in advance. My approach to this is that it will live this summer and then it will be gone. In that sense, doing this is different, because I feel it gives freedom, says Kallio.

In the corner of the room is a large colorful graffiti, next to which is a picture of an expressionless human face.
The overall work of art is completed step by step in the demolition house. Sarri’s demo work can be seen in the corner.

According to Simo Ollila, demolition house art is a great opportunity for artists who are often left in the shadows.

The artists involved in the project are mainly independent artists outside institutions, such as street artists.

– It’s great that a wide variety of voices and creators have the opportunity to be seen in a big way this summer, says Ollila.

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