„Process“ (prosessi in Finnish), an urban scape and street art festival centering around an international exhibition by the same name, took place in Suvilahti, Helsinki on June 12th. Notably, one of the main promoters and curators behind the festival was a fellow Estonian.

Viktor Gurov, the curator of the festival, relocated to Helsinki in the autumn of 2012 with an aim to study, but also to organize a small personal exhibition. The idea was to show the relationship between urban scapes and street art. The environment we are surrounded by inevitably influences us, so the festival focused on artists with a purpose and place in designing cityscapes. The group of artists invited to participate, comprised of representatives of various styles and generations, in order to show the versatility of graffiti. Representing Estonia were Multistab (Signor Sick, Karma and Pheriskoop), Lé 60 (Ryrerei and Oby), Uku Sepsivart and MinaJaLydia. Other featured artists included Egs, Frank & Japhy, JussiTwoSeven and Pallo from Finland, Nug (SWE), 2Shy (FRA), Petro (UK) and Flying Förtress (DE).

The atmosphere preceding the exhibition was sincere, free and positive – the more established members of the graffiti community, the superstars, also mingled with their younger colleagues as equals.
Enjoying the exhibition also provided the opportunity to educate oneself and one’s tastes. I was engaged in a dialogue with the art and as a result, I hope to view street art in urban areas with a fresh perspective. In addition to the aforementioned, the festival also offered a photography and comics exhibition, performances by buskers, and artist talks. Admirers could also purchase art and trinkets. There were also workshops and a notice- and graffiti wall where visitors could leave their own message.

The opening of the festival saw a speech by Finnish culture minister Paavo Arhinmäki, which is a clear testament to the respect and attitude towards the event. Although such an event on a big scale would not yet be thinkable in Estonia, it is admirable that Estonians abroad are successfully doing their own thing. Let our talents play ball internationally and be an example to us in Estonia.

Photographed by Lauri Täht.

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