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With its combination of temporary and permanent tenants, this corridor has become a real impact zone that explodes with energy, ideas and new possibilities. It is exactly the kind of Cable Factory that we originally dreamed of. - Farbe Oy and Galleria Käytävä / Ulla Kuronen, artist (Photo: Outi Törmälä, Quiet)

“For a few years we lived in Stockholm, where I became acquainted with Lukas colours. When we returned to Finland, these colours were not available here. The boss of Lukas at the time proposed that we set up a company in order to import these artist’s colours. Luckily I didn’t know what I was getting into back then: long days and a lot of paperwork, in addition to the attention demanded by two preschool daughters. I couldn’t always find the time to paint.

We were among the first to move to the Cable Factory in 1989. We heard a rumour that space was available here. Some of the old Nokia machinery was still operating on some floors, but Merikaapelihalli – the former marine cable plant – was empty and had a great echo. No one at the time, not even the consultants who were leasing the facilities, had any idea of what was being created. The eyes of an artist could nevertheless see colours on the walls, life in the corridors and the daring that would be required.

Eventually we were offered the former optical cable laboratory on the second floor, where the tenants could build dividing walls. Each tenant built one such wall, and this created the embryo of our functional community. Farbe found a home here, and I got to paint and serve customers, most of whom were other artists at the Cable Factory. Financial success was not a priority at the start – more important to us was the opportunity to be part of creating a unique artist community and, above all, to do creative work. In addition to the artists here, a toy warehouse, carpentry shop, fish skin tanner and handcrafted papermaker provided a fresh perspective on life – even when water from the papermaking process dripped through the ceiling and added an unexpected touch to my watercolours!

At a time when there was not Cable Factory Office yet, everyone came to us as we always had our door open. Farbe was an info desk, therapy room and meeting place all in one.

We were concerned about the future of this unique building, so we set up Pro Kaapeli association among tenants. Amid the great recession at the time, the City of Helsinki accepted our proposal to use the building for cultural purposes as a self-financing organisation. By actively submitting columns to newspapers we managed to dispel the wildest visions of tearing down the building, and in so doing we created a unique combination of art, media, physical culture and commercial activities. The empty walls on our floor inspired us to open Galleria Käytävä, literally the “Corridor Gallery”, together with the Cable Factory.

The exhibitions here serve as a display window for the Cable Factory, and visitors often begin their tour of the building from the gallery. Since the beginning I have been responsible for managing this gallery in addition to everything else. With its combination of temporary and permanent tenants, this corridor has become a real impact zone that explodes with energy, ideas and new possibilities. It is exactly the kind of Cable Factory that we originally dreamed of. Twenty-five years is a lifetime in itself, one that has been filled with both happy moments and darker times. We look after our neighbours.

And it certainly is a luxury to be able to fish for herring from the Cable Factory’s own pier outside!”

I like the philosophy – that money is not invested in the walls so much as in the content. - Zodiak - Center for New Dance / Harri Kuorelahti, Artistic Director (Photo: Zodiak, Jenni Kivelä: Kleine Monster / Marko Mäkinen)

“Founded in 1986, Zodiak – formerly Zodiak Presents – moved to the Cable Factory in December 1989, originally on a short-term basis as Zodiak got the funding to rent the former high voltage laboratory, now the restaurant, for a period of three months. The Zodiak team was keen to show what it was capable of and got to work organising a new dance festival. Comprising five different performances and lasting half a month, the festival generated a lot of positive feedback and helped make Zodiak a permanent part of the growing community of cultural actors and artists at the Cable Factory.

In autumn 1991 the last Zodiak performance was held at the former high voltage laboratory, which was due to be converted into a restaurant. Zodiak’s new home would be a small hall in the staircase F, now part of the Theatre Museum. After a year Zodiak moved into Turbiinisali after its renovation was completed. As a performance space the former turbine hall was beautiful and otherwise quite functional, except it lacked a foyer, which made waiting for performances to begin quite exotic – especially in the freezing winter.

The Zodiak Center for New Dance was formed in 1997 after the Ministry of Education made the wise decision to include it within the scope of the Theatres and Orchestras Act. This increased the amount of state funding we received, as well as funding from the City of Helsinki. We began with our own Zodiak Stage, but these days we also have activities and performances in Pannuhalli and our two studios. We have since been given the task of serving as Helsinki’s regional dance centre, in which our role is to support local artists and serve as a channel for locals to enjoy the art of dance.

We have always been happy here at the Cable Factory. I like the philosophy – that money is not invested in the walls so much as in the content. Each year we have around 30 different productions, around half of which are premieres. Our activities focus on hiring freelance artists for our performance and on our public work that we perform in workshops, meet the artist events, courses and lectures.

We want to profile ourselves as a place where audiences think, “Aha, the Cable Factory and Zodiak, they always have performances there and you can see what’s happening in the field of dance”. When it comes to dance, the Cable Factory is increasingly appealing as more and more dance schools and other related actors move in.

Our guiding principle here at Zodiak is that we respect the arts and listen closely together with our dance artists. I believe that this leads to quality: Zodiak’s productions also tour a lot overseas and have enjoyed success internationally. Just as Kiasma guarantees high-quality contemporary art for audiences, so we are the contemporary art museum of dance.”

Whenever we want, even on a daily basis, we can visit some gallery with our students or visit the studios of artists. The freight elevator, which can fit a car, is very popular among the students – you can see its counterweights, so it makes for a very illustrative and educational experience. - Arkki, School of Architecture for Children and Youth / Pihla Meskanen, Director and Founder (Photo: Outi Törmälä, Quiet)

“When architecture was included in the arts curriculum in 1993 along with circus, my mother Tuuli Tiitola-Meskanen was serving as an expert on the arts education committee at the Finnish National Board of Education. I was then an architecture student, so she asked me whether I would be interested in forming together with fellow students some kind of group to provide basic lessons in architecture to children. I thought it was a good idea – I had the crazy confidence typical of a young person.

So together with my mother and Miina Vuorinen we founded Arkki.

The idea was strange to a lot of people at first. They thought that if a young person studies architecture, he or she would become an architect, but that’s silly. After all, many kids start taking violin lessons at the age of 4 without ever thinking of becoming a professional violinist.

Initially Arkki offered courses for 7 to 14 year olds, but now kids can begin already from the age of 4 and continue all the way until upper secondary school. Around 600 children and young people attend our classes each week. For some reason, most of our students are boys: as one mother put it, we are a kind of “counterbalance to ice hockey”.

Our courses are held in evenings and on weekends. In addition, our teachers visit schools to teach architecture, and during the daytime various groups also visit us – such as students from the KULPS culture and sports programme in Espoo, as well as employees from companies participating in occupational wellbeing workshops. In recent years we have also organised numerous open events; for example, during Night of the Arts at the Cable Factory we always have a workshop. In summertime we offer short courses along with other groups offering art education here at the Cable Factory. Kids attending our house-building courses and miniature model courses like exploring this area and even go swimming at the nearby Hietalahti beach on hot days.

We moved to the Cable Factory from Kauniainen in 1996. I was studying at the Department of Architecture, which had facilities here. I knew that the spaces were suitable for our purposes, but they were also in demand. Masters courses were previously held in our current facilities, and I knew in advance that they would soon be made available by the previous tenant.

The Cable Factory is ideal for us. We can explore the building easily and safely with the kids. Whenever we want, even on a daily basis, we can visit some gallery with our students or visit the studios of artists. The freight elevator, which can fit a car, is very popular among the students – you can see its counterweights, so it makes for a very illustrative and educational experience.

Several of our classes recently performed as shadow images for an installation by the artist Jaakko Niemelä. These kinds of experiences are easy to arrange among the other tenants here. One year our students made clay relief decorations of the Cable Factory to hang on the traditional Christmas tree.

We could always do with more space, of course, as storing all our materials and the students’ works takes up a lot. Once when we had foreign guests visiting us they thought that the entire Cable Factory was used by Arkki. I then led them to our 300-square-metre facilities and everyone had a good laugh!”