Mad House Helsinki & Reality Research Center's spring 2026 joint program is here!
LOVE&MAKING workshop. Photo: Rosaliina Elgland
Mad House Helsinki and Todellisuuden tutkimuskeskus (Reality Research Center) will present their first joint programme in spring 2026. These two organisations in the Helsinki independent arts scene are working together to build a new, more stable organisational structure and performance venue. The merger process will progress throughout the coming year.
Mad House Helsinki's familiar stage, the Parvisali in the House of Text, will host the programme, which consists of six works and event of various formats, and a workshop. The spring programme brings together contemporary art works developed within both organisations,a s well as new initiatives by artists from diverse disciplines and backrounds.
The spring season begins in February with the LOVE&MAKING performance. The working group Pie Kär, Lintu Lunar, and Maya Oliva bring material from their other works to develop or re-enter, with the question such as: "How do we love in relation to how we make?" They descripe that the piece may become a romantic ode to dance or a love poem recited with a wry smile, ceaselessly falling in love with the side of dance that has and keeos giving us hope in hopeless times, 4ever. A LOVE&MAKING workshop related to the work will be held in January. Read more about the workshop.
In March, we invite you to the showroom curated event by Remi Vesala, where moving image intersect with performances and spatial interventions. Now organised for the third time at Mad House, this edition explores the tensions between contemporary technology and corporeality, both allegorical and concrete liminal spaces, and staged environments in which different ways of being are performed or required.
At the end of March, we will present hellänä - tender dance work by Eevi Tolvanen & Queer Generations exploring the experiences of care among aging queer and trans people, stretching the boundaries of reality. The lived histories of different generations regarding touch, intimacy, and relationships are embodied on stage through dance and music as intimate everyday acts. The piece serves as the culmination of the Reality Research Center's four-year community art project Queer Generations, in which queer and trans seniors both perform and participate in various aspects of the work's creation.
In mid-May, Mad Housewill host the second editionof Light House ( ), a springtime festival-style performing arts event. Light House brings together a diverse group of artists whose works will be spread across the Parvisali stage and its surroundings. It provides a space where rough drafts and finished performances can meet and intertwine. The next Light House will feature performances by Jan Loukas, ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS, Viljami Nissi, Salla Valle, and Haliz Yosef, among others. The event is organized by the Light House collective, which consists of artists and curators.
In May we will present Kiila Feminist Archive – a reading theatre by visual artist Minna Henriksson, writer Essi Kummun, and Ylimuonion urheiluteatteri. The work explores feminist and leftist themes hidden in the works of female writers from Kiila in the 1930s, which were not recognized by contemporary critics or later historical writing. Henriksson's ongoing art project, Kiila Feminist Archive, traces how feminist perspectives intertwined with the group's ideological foundations alongside leftist and anti-fascist elements. The reading theatre continues this archival work by combining literary excerpts and linking the feminist and anti-fascist resistance of the 1930s to the current rise of the right-wing movements and misogyny, bringing forgotten female artists back into the view.
The Spring seasnon concludes with Alexandra Mitiku's un/real estate, a spoken word performance and exploration of the meaning of the dream home from different perspectives. Reflecting on current global issues such as genocide, gentrification, and tightening immigration policies, the performance
asks: "Who can afford their dream home; who pays the price?" Alexandra Mitiku's words and movements are supported by a soundscape composed bySophia Mitiku's .
We warmly welcome you to experience our joint software!
