Turku

turku/tvo 20.05.2010


description of/satisfaction with:
some are not satisfied. tvo is the only independent space in turku and now it’s closing.
there is one other place in tampere, and one in helsinki.
the music scene is connected to places where beer can be sold. because of the need to have a bar, the scene can’t be that independent.
there are not many “european” kind of squat venues.
after the closure of the all-ages venue in the 90’s, squats are some of the only places for different kinds of people to gather together.
finland has a special law requiring a lot of security for public events, which makes it very expensive to do one-off events.
it is easy to start or join a band.
it is easy to distribute stuff at shows or through the internet.
there is a perception that the independent scene is reserved for white males.
there is  classism in the DIY scene. most people in the punk scene are middle class. class consciousness is very low.
finland is a small country without social illnesses like poverty, starvation, crime and drug trafficking. federal social assistance is readily available.
finns are generally depressed and lack initiative. gaining a political consciousness would help the independent scene.
there is an internet forum that pits “anti-political” people against a DIY punk venue in tampere

publicity:
mostly internet is used for information, but there is also one radical paper and one rock magazine, which cover independent shows and events.

tvo/new place:
tvo is closing because the owner wants to make a launderette and bicycle storage. it’s part of an unambiguous public “cleanup.” there will still be a student section, but shows are no longer possible. they plan to put all tvo stuff in storage.
they tried to make a deal with the city, but got lost in the bureaucracy.
they are still trying to get some support to save the tvo as a finnish heritage location.
trying to heighten visibility about tvo’s situation through a documentary film currently being made.
audiences express sympathy, but not support.
how to pass on the tvo “know-how” if the tvo staff is too burned out to help initiate a new place?
many places were squatted over the last years, but evicted almost immediately.

turku european cultural capital 2011:
there are plans to create a sub-cultural capital including an art slum, squatting, internet radio, and one-off “squat the park” concerts. some are trying to create a front association to press the city for a building, but their efforts are not yet successful.