18.5.2026

In August 2026, dance artist Heli Keskikallio will be working in the Theatre Museum’s Maneesi space. During her residency, she will be developing a sequel to her solo work Ordinary Matters, which premiered last year.

Ordinary Matters is a serial solo work that brings to the surface the everyday experiential world simmering beneath the skin and the poetry hidden within mundane things. In addition to herself, Keskikallio brings everyday items and materials as performers in the piece. The series is inspired by still-life paintings, which in Finland were once known as hiljaiselo (quiet life). The work ponders the silent relationships between humans and the material world—how everyday items and things act as a kind of silent companion in our lives.

Keskikallio’s Ordinary Matters project progresses as a long-term process, in which the work transforms and inhabits different spaces and situations through different performance versions. The first version was seen in Helsinki during November–December 2025 as part of Kekäläinen & Company’s Conversations with Ants Evening. During her residency, Keskikallio is developing the work towards an installation-like, long-duration performance event in a museum-like open space. In this setting, the audience can observe the process for as long as they wish, leave, and potentially return to witness the installation-performance later.

Heli Keskikallio will be working at the Theatre Museum from August 10th to 23rd, including during the museum’s opening hours. During the residency weeks, visitors can occasionally observe the project’s progress in the Maneesi space. Towards the end of the period, there will be a demo performance open to the public. Further details regarding the performance and any other public programs related to the residency will be announced in August.

The Theatre Museum’s space residency program began in 2022. The program offers the museum a way to connect with performing arts creators and gives artists a workspace and the opportunity for audience interaction during the rehearsal process. For our audience, the residency provides a unique glimpse into the creation of a work.

Heli Keskikallio is a Helsinki-based choreographer, dancer and pedagogue based in Helsinki. She works with performance, dance and multimaterial bodily thinking making performances and performative events, facilitating artistic meeting places, curating and organising artistic happenings, teaching and writing texts of body, dance and the artistic working structures in different contexts.

Ph. Courtesy of © Giovanni Ambrosio