Dance artist Heli Keskikallio is working in the Theatre Museum’s space residency programme during August. During her residency, she continues developing her solo work Ordinary Matters, from which a demo version will be presented on Saturday, 22 August. The performance will be followed by a discussion with the artist.

When	Sat 22.8.2026 at 14:00–16:00
Where	Theatre Museum Maneesi
Admission	With a museum admission ticket or a Museum Card

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. The project progresses as a long-term process in which the work transforms and inhabits different spaces and situations through successive performance versions. The first version was presented in Helsinki in November–December 2025, and Keskikallio is now developing the work towards an installation-like, long-duration performance event that audiences can experience for as long as they wish, leave, and later return to.

The series is inspired by still-life paintings, which in Finland were once known as hiljaiselo (“quiet life”). In addition to herself, Keskikallio brings everyday items and materials into the work as performers. The works explore the silent relationships between humans and the material world, asking how ordinary matters and things act as a kind of quiet companion in our lives.

The demo performance lasts approximately one hour and is followed by a discussion with the artist.

Heli Keskikallio is a choreographer, dance artist and pedagogue. She works with dance and multimaterial bodily thinking making performances and performative events. Her practice extends to facilitating artistic meetings and happenings, curating,  teaching in different contexts and writing texts on body, dance and the artistic working structures.

Photo: Courtesy of © Giovanni Ambrosio