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Climbing over Oulu is a project that will run from 2024-26, based on a pilot project carried out since 2020 in European Capitals of Culture (Eleusis in Greece, Timisoara in Romania and Veszprém in Hungary). The project will be implemented by Le Plus Petit Cirque du Monde from France in partnership with Flow Productions. The project is part of the Oulu 2026 Capital of Culture programme.
The project aims to create a space for dialogue, research and international cooperation. Urban planning, architecture and performing arts will be combined to create a transformative force in the development of the city. The project will promote initiatives by citizens, artists and creative entrepreneurs who will use the ECOC’s potential to transform the city’s daily life, image and attractiveness.
The project includes three types of activities:
Artist residencies: Artistic creation residencies for a total of ten French and Finnish artists, bringing together artists from the fields of contemporary dance, contemporary circus and music. The French artists have been selected by PPCM, the Finnish artists by Flow Productions. Under the artistic direction of Gaëtan Levêque, the artists will exchange knowledge, offer open rehearsals and build artistic performances in public spaces, inspired by the landscapes and culture of the people of Oulu.
Pop-up events: At the end of each residency, there will be a community Pop-up event prepared by the artists for the Oulu audience.
Urban walks: organised in different parts of Oulu, the urban walks aim to create new connections between the public and citizens, architecture, urban planning and the performing arts. These workshops are participatory and led by Amine Slimani, an architect from the team of renowned French urban planner Patrick Bouchain (2019 National Urban Planning Prize). The main objective is to document the participants’ proposals on how to transform the city in a new way into a space for collaboration and creativity.
Project timeline:
The first residency took place from 8 to 13 June 2024 and included the artists’ work and the resulting Pop-up event at the Aalto Silo, as well as three urban walks for city residents.
Second residency: 27.5.-6.6.2025 (Oulu)
Third residency: June 2026 (Oulu)
Working group:
Artistic Director: Eleftérios Kechagioglou
Artistic director: Gaëtan Levêque
Artistic development/production: Mathilde Lajarrige
Circus and dance artists: Lucille Chalopin, Julia Tesson, Erika Matagne, Johnson Saint-Félix, Petteri Savikorpi, Katariina & Jared van Earle
Musicians Stefanos Floras, Mahdi M’Kinini, Mélian Vlachos, Pauliina Kauppila
Architects: Amine Slimani
In collaboration with: Valentino Tignanelli, Factum Foundation, Kulttuuritalo Valve
Production support: Oulu2026
Co-production: PPCM, Flow Production
