Hunter-gatherers
What is it like to live in the city with a Stone Age mindset? What kind of "nature" is it if you look at it like a forest or a mammoth steppe? What kind of spirits and creatures move there? What is its map like when it consists of stories? How can you survive on what the city has to offer?

Hunter-gatherers is a communal experiment and a utopian art project where a band of urban hunter-gatherers lived in their camp in Kalasatama, Helsinki each summer for 10 days on what they could find. Anybody could join.

You can listen to stories of our experiences here (most are in Finnish, but some in English) and see pictures in the gallery. In 2024 Hufvudstadsbladet (in Swedish) and Yle (in Finnish) wrote articles about us, and a reporter from Yle woke us up one morning to do an interview (in Finnish). You can get information about the future adventures of the Hunter-gatherers by joining the mailing list.

In 2025 we look back at the world we created together. What did we experience and learn? How could we take that with us or pass it on?

 

Hunter-gatherers exhibition

and walks

4.9.–28.9.

Weekdays 10 a.m.–7 p.m
Sat 12–7 p.m.
Sun 12–5 p.m.

Vapaakaupungin Olohuone
REDI shopping centre, 2nd floor
Hermannin rantatie 5, 00580 Helsinki

The participatory exhibition will feature photographs by Oliver Vierkens and objects made or collected by Hunter-gatherers with their stories, videos to watch and stories to listen to.

During the exhibition we'll organise three walks to see the places where the Hunter-gatherers lived and explored. What do they look like now, what did we experience there, what kind of stories do we have about them? You can also experience for yourself what you see and find when you look at your everyday environment from the perspective of your ancestors. The walks will be mostly in Finnish but we’ll accommodate English-speakers as much as we can.

The walk starts from the exhibition and we will return there at approximately 4:30 p.m. You can also leave earlier if you wish. We will walk and rest at a pace comfortable for the participants. In case of rain, we will seek shelter, but it's best to dress according to the weather and bring something to drink if necessary. You can let us know about any special needs and we will see how we can accommodate them: aarni.korpela@gmail.com

The walks:
Sun 14.9. at 2 p.m.
Sun 21.9. at 2 p.m
Sun 28.9. at 2 p.m

Reservations: 10€, Höyhentämö ticket store

Olohuone: vapaakaupunki.fi/in-english