PLAY
Screening series in spring 2026
PLAY is a series of screenings organised by VAFT in Kino Kilta, Turku. Each screening is curated by a different artist, approaching the theme in their own way. The screenings are free of charge and include a discussion with the curator and artists.
Not not amusement only
Wednesday 25.3.2026 at 6 PM
Kino Kilta, Nunnankatu 4
65 min
”In relation to this, that Sibelius comes in, that is way too mundane.” ”Strawberry secrets and corners of rooms” ”Still like too mundane. Use bigger imagination.” ”Maybe that’s the joke.” ”Christo in Turku?” “RUE du POURQUOI-PAS” ”Now you are like playing to do the things. What you need to do, is to do the things.” ”Sixty people curating in ecstasy” “You are a person. Person who has chosen to run.” “Still waiting to see What kind of animal you’ll become next.” The works in the Not not amusement only screening are in dialogue with the theme of Play. Playfulness, jocularity, different roles and performances are topics that penetrate this screening, each piece diving into the topics in their own style. ”Soon, when you, dear guests, have left, I will bathe in sauna. I will bathe as my heart desires."
Curator
janne punkari
Janne Punkari is a visual artist who graduated from the Turku Academy of Arts in 2024 and is currently completing his master's degree at the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki. His artistic work is based on photography and photographic thinking, which often take on material and spatial dimensions in his installations. In recent years, Punkari's works have been exhibited in Turku and Helsinki, as well as in Reykjavik, Los Angeles, Karjaa, and Paris, among other places.
photo credit: Hertta Kiiski
WORKS
Playing with law / tricksters, receding
Wednesday 8.4.2026 at 6 PM
Kino Kilta, Nunnankatu 4
TBA min
Play is voluntary, an activity that arises from the internal motivation of those playing and brings pleasure to them – at least initially. Successful play is captivating and always inclusive. The real world is forgotten as players immerse themselves in an imaginary reality governed by their own rules. Since nothing really happens, play allows you to try things that would be unthinkable in the real world. That is why the journey from play to violence is a short one. Players do not always even notice the dark undertones of their actions, because they are too caught up in the excitement of the game to stop and think. It is easy to slip on a slippery path, and soon someone gets hurt. Play is not just for kids. We all play: we create rituals and practices to guide our actions. We don't always realize the power of play until it breaks down — when someone breaks the rules or the game is interrupted. In the videos selected for the screening, the characters enter a magical circle of play. They distance themselves from reality and surrender to their imaginations. A woman confides in the emptiness of her student apartment. A person imagines seeing omens in a magazine. Children set up roadblocks on highways. The game continues uninterrupted, and reality slips further and further away. Snowflakes cover the field of vision. The characters embrace a new normal. But that's okay. It's harmless.
Curator
siiri torvinen
Siiri Torvinen is a visual artist, writer, and illustrator based in Turku. Her works deal with social connections, girlhood, and outsiderness through play. In her works, Torvinen combines word art with video art and embroidery. She is inspired by children's literature, which romanticizes everyday things and exaggerates them to enormous proportions.
Torvinen graduated in spring 2024 from the Turku University of Applied Sciences Academy of Arts (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and the Viita Academy's three-year writing school. Her works have been exhibited at Mältinranta Studio in Tampere, B-Galleria in Turku, and Gallery Ars Libera in Kuopio, among other venues. In the summer of 2026, Torvinen's video work will be featured as part of the Amos Rex Generation 2026 exhibition in Helsinki.
WORKS
Still there, playing with
Wednesday 22.4.2026 at 6 PM
Kino Kilta, Nunnankatu 4
TBA min
What is beautiful in play and games is sincerity, aimlessness, and the movements between bodies that arise from them; awkwardly tense moments that are ultimately released. Contrasts, passion, aggression, and encouragement, cooperation and competition — sometimes the action resembles sports, sometimes choreography, sometimes a video work. For this screening, I selected works that present absurd, alternative worldviews. I sought sincerity, playfulness, and a playful attitude. Some of the works poke us in places that ought to be poked. Some show how public space can be shaped. We must take risks, both mental and physical. Combined with madness and order, chaos and seriousness, they can lead to an excellent game or play. Play/games are the realization of freedom. In them, you can fail and succeed as many times as you can manage, and remain in a constant state of change. There are secrets involved — you never expose everything. It can be annoying, childish, cheeky, wonderful, scary, soft, disgusting, beautiful, and suddenly, everything can change. I invite us to immerse ourselves in the worlds of wonderful artists, where rackets swing and balls bounce, underpants swing, referees are irritated, and furry creatures spout the harsh truths of life. Deep inside me, even when the air stings my face, even when the landscape is gray. I try to remember that inside us: We’ are Still there, Playing with Each other.
Curator
miradonna sirkka
Miradonna Sirkka is a contemporary circus and performance artist, director and performer based in Helsinki. Her art works are multidisciplinary blends of performance art, video, sound and media art. Inspiration arises from pleasure, emotions that are too big to handle, disgusting and top secret thoughts, human contact and everyday awkwardness. Every detail is thought through too many times and then dipped into a sugar bowl and digged out gruesomely realistic. Plasticity, pine forest, femmeness and grittiness all feature in the works. Miradonna graduated as a circus artist from Turku University of Applied Sciences and as a Master of Arts from Aalto University (ViCCa). Miradonna is the founder and co-Artistic Director of Recover Laboratory, a multi-disciplinary art collective.
www.recoverlaboratory.com www.miradonnasirkka.com
https://www.instagram.com/miradonnasirkka_official https://www.instagram.com/recoverlaboratory
photo credit: Iida-Liina Linnea