Warmly welcome to our panel discussion at EMMA – the Espoo Museum of Modern Art. In this discussion, we will dig deeper with our guests into the issue of self-censorship within the artistic community: why are we not louder as artists when the world is burning?
The event is open to everyone, but we kindly ask you to register in advance by 8 June.
Programme
15:00-15:30 Overview from Director of Culture Espoo, Susanna Tommila
15:30-17:00 Panel discussion: WHY DO WE SHUT UP? – on self-censorship in the arts and the mechanisms of keeping quiet.
In the Nordic countries, we thought we were free to express ourselves. We thought public funding saved us from censorship and the traps of capitalism and corruption. However, with the entry of far-right movements into the political arena, artists in the Nordic countries are no longer sure of that freedom. Even if the authorities don’t censor the content, there seems to be a tendency among leaders of arts organisations to keep quiet and hold back. They are careful not to provoke anyone or break the apparent consensus. The panel will discuss cases of real censorship vs. self-censorship, threats against artists in the Nordics, as well as mechanisms to notice the fine lines of censorship within the arts.
Speakers:
Mika Myllyaho, Head Director, Finnish National Theatre
Milica Pekic, Art historian and curator, Serbia
Chong Gua Khee, Director and dramaturge, Singapore/Finland
Moderator: Jussi Sorjanen, Artistic Director, & Espoo Theatre
The event will be held at EMMA – the Espoo Museum of Modern Art (Ahertajantie 5, Tapiola). The event will be conducted in English.
Mika Myllyaho
Mika Myllyaho is the Head Director of the Finnish National Theatre. He is a playwright and director whose works have been widely performed both in Finland and internationally.
As a director, he has worked not only at the Finnish National Theatre but especially at Ryhmä Theatre, where the plays of his successful trilogy Panic, Chaos, and Harmony premiered.
Photo: Tuomo Manninen
Milica Pekić
Milica Pekić, PhD is an art historian and curator based in Belgrade. Her research focuses on avant-garde artistic practices, alternative forms of collective authorship, collaborative art practices, institutional transformation, and interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary art production and art historical research. Actively engaged in the civil cultural sector for nearly two decades, she has been involved in numerous national and regional initiatives shaping the development of the independent cultural scene and fostering regional collaboration. She is the co-founder of the KIOSK art collective, within which she explores—together with numerous artists, researchers, and collectives—the relationship between art and society.
Chong Gua Khee
Chong Gua Khee is a director and dramaturg based across Singapore and Helsinki/Finland. She is endlessly curious about so many things, but especially about how your everyday experiences are shaped by societal factors - and how you in turn shape the world around you!
Gua Khee is part of CITRUS practices, a ground-up collective of arts workers that supports other arts workers in Singapore to build capacities and networks around care practices in the arts. She co-directed the biennial gathering CITRUS fest in 2024, and is Festival Curator for 2026’s edition.
Photo: Shirlene Loo
IETM Pre-meeting in Espoo
IETM – International network for contemporary performing arts is one of the oldest and largest international cultural networks, representing the voice of over 500 performing arts organisations and individual professionals working in the contemporary performing arts worldwide.
The IETM Plenary Meeting 2026 will be held in Oulu from 15 to 18 June 2026. As the largest professional event of the European Capital of Culture 2026 year, it will bring together hundreds of theatre, circus, and dance professionals from around the world.
As a part of IETM Oulu Plenary Meeting 2026 we host together with CultureEspoo pre-meeting in Espoo on 13-14 June 2026.
