The top names in Finnish culture enter through the door: Jorma Uotinen, Robin, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and many others. They are greeted by two high schoolers interested in culture. The discussion topics include the art of dance, fast fashion, dressing and music. What exactly is it about?

Secondary students interested in culture and art, competition dancers, Aaro Ristola and Markus Kinnunen reflect on how difficult it is to find cultural events and wonder if they could be easily accessible from one place. A company called Art Collective Helsinki is born.

”Art Collective Helsinki is a community focusing on fashion, music, art and culture. We produce a blog, a podcast and our own publication”, Aaro describes.

“This is a community where we enjoy culture and share our experiences so everyone can enjoy it together”, Markus adds.

The soon-to-be-launched Magazine publication will feature a variety of articles, including portraits, video series, and guest pens. In dance circles, the two entrepreneurs have become acquainted with public figures, so it has been easy to entice them to chat in Epicenter’s podcast studio about the burning topics of culture.

All the work is done alongside studies, which is why the two youngsters are usually seen in the office in the afternoons, after finishing school.

”It’s awesome to see the fire of young entrepreneurs creating something new and their wonderful positive attitude with everything they do. For Epicenter’s work community, this is a fresh breeze of interesting ideas that can provide potential for many collaborations”, describes Riikka Jakovuori, Country Manager at Epicenter Finland.

Art Collective Helsinki chose Epicenter as their home base because of its central location and also because, in addition to the workspace alone, the membership also includes community and, through it, an extensive network of contacts.

“We get to chat with interesting companies on a daily basis and exchange ideas. This creates new ideas on both sides. It’s also easy for podcast guests to visit us and join for the discussions because of the central location”, Ristola says.

There are already a few plans for the future: it would be hoped that Art Collective Helsinki would have a functional event application in a few years, and that the company’s name would be known. They are also thinking about expanding the concept to the international market.

Interested in joining our community? See what our versatile membership options can offer for your company or drop us a message via hello@epicenterhelsinki.com and we’re happy to tell you more!