Shadow Club (Varjo Klubi) – Hate Speech (Vihapuhe)

The Shadow Club examined hate speech, prejudice and the release of emotions, as well as how the norms of communities shape interaction between people.

The evening started from the question of how hurtful words, suppressed emotions and difficult experiences can be dealt with in a safe environment. Can art help us understand the fears, attitudes and social structures behind hate speech?

1

Participatory sound art – facing hate speech

An interactive work by soundscape artist Stromateis invited participants to explore hate speech through sound, expression and personal experience. In the work, participants read aloud hateful expressions, offensive comments and news items that had been widely covered in the media.

The aim was not to practise hate speech, but to make its mechanisms visible and to offer a way of processing difficult emotions through art. The work made people pause to examine the publicly spoken and written word: what is actually being said here, when it is said like this?

2

Research – community norms and the experience of belonging

The discussion drew on pioneering research material by researcher Pekka Tuominen, which opened up perspectives on the distinctive character of urban spaces, neighbourhoods and communities.

The audience discussion examined how shared norms and local identity influence people's behaviour, their sense of togetherness and their experience of who belongs. Kontula in Helsinki and its distinctive sense of community came up as an example.

3

Cultural work – building a shared space

Helka Ketonen, Director of Culture at Maaseudun Sivistysliitto, brought into the discussion experiences of encounters between people from different backgrounds and of community-based cultural work. At the centre was the idea of a shared in-between space where different people can meet, listen to one another and build understanding instead of estrangement and confrontation.

The University of Helsinki also brought a historical perspective on hate speech and its recurrence in different eras to the discussion.

The venue itself, Hakkila Art Village, offered a concrete example of an alternative community where artists, musicians, craftspeople, entrepreneurs and others share spaces and build their own kind of working culture.

Participatory art, research, expertise in cultural work and open discussion formed a whole in which hate speech was examined not only as an individual experience but also as a phenomenon linked to the structures of communities and society.

The Shadow Club invited participants to consider how, instead of confrontation, space can be created for encounter, being heard and mutual understanding.