Aalto Festival 16–31 May

Fashion, future materials, sustainable business models and electronic gadgets.

Aalto University's festival, held in May and consisting of over 60 events, offers diverse experiences around Espoo and Helsinki.

Aalto Festival (16–31 May 2016), now organised for the second time, will include exhibitions, seminars, shows and prototypes as well as plenty more from the fields of art, design, technology and economy. The festival will present the results from projects the university has realised with companies and the public sector as well as solutions for challenges in developing countries.

Designing Cellulose for the Future II is an event for future cellulose applications focused on design and material research. A seminar and exhibition allow visitors to experience new Finnish material production technologies and diverse cellulose materials as well as familiarise themselves with business ideas and new applications of circular economy in textile, construction, 3D printing and many other industries.

The Merikaapelihalli of the Cable Factory provides the stage for fashion and textile design this year. The annual fashion show of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, which has become the most awaited fashion event in Helsinki, attracts an audience of around 1 000 people, including numerous Finnish and international influencers in design, representatives of fashion media and talent scouts. Visitors also get to familiarise themselves with extensive competence in textile design at the same premises. Tekstiili16 exhibition brings the processes related to textile design and production from the background to the main arena.

The versatile events of the festival also include the Spring Steam 2016 event, bringing together an audience interested in visual design at Kellohalli, Teurastamo. The visual communication students living in constant change provide viewpoints to the future in the four-day 'I Used to Be a Graphic Designer' exhibition. During the weekend, the audience also gets an opportunity to participate in workshops and visit Graphic Design Spring Sales.

Product Design Gala held in Otaniemi celebrates the challenging learning projects completed with corporate partners. An exhibition on the results of an interdisciplinary product development course allows visitors to meet the teams, their sponsors and get a closer look at prototypes.

What will emerge when students have time, inspiration and a large stack of electronics as well as, among other things, 3D printers? The final exhibition of the Electrics Workshop course presents the electronic gadgets created during the academic year. Projects completed this spring include humorous robots, vessels moving on the ground and in the air as well as a variety of musical instruments and games.

More information:

You will find the entire programme, timetables and locations on the Aalto Festival website.

Follow the festival also on Facebook.

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