Welcome to Musta Pispala!

In July anarchist counter-cultural festival Musta Pispala spreads again around the gentrificated landscapes of Pispala region. City centers are becoming more and more a mere subject of commercial activities, offering less and less chances to meet without demands of consumption and adapting to the capitalistic agenda. Musta Pispala is creating its own counterculture for ninth year in a row. We want to bring people together for the weekend to work for a better world, to discuss how to question, destabilize and destroy the present system that is built on principles of oppression and inequality, and to celebrate in atmosphere of creativity, movement, and co-operation. Musta Pispala is open for all antiauthoritarian operatives.

We will not tolerate any oppression or discriminatory actions. No sexism, racism, speciesism, ableism or any other shit. Do not make assumptions about other peoples' genders or sexuality. Respect peoples' personal space: do not take pictures or video without asking permission from all of the persons that are subject to your actions. It is allowed to take pictures during concerts, but be polite and respect if someone wishes not to be photographed. Do not spread pictures from the festival in social media without asking permission from all of the people in the pictures – a permission to take pictures does not equal permission to spread the pictures. If you come across with any oppression or discriminatory actions, contact the festival organizers. You can contact the info number at all times during the festival at 041 7070932. We also help you to find your way to the accommodation.

Please note

that for many of us the festival area is a place of permanent residence, so there is more than enough reason to show some respect to our neighbours as well. The owner of the near-by store is a nice bloke; don't go racking anything from there. Instead of pissing at some neighbour's yard use a bathroom, the public toilet situated at the Tahmela beach, or go to the woods. Please leave the old wooden houses, trees, etc. alone: there's plenty of space nearby for your creative ambitions in case graffiti is your thing. And most important: take care of each other, don't leave anyone stranded, and check that even the most bragging drunks have also some place to go to for the night. Enough complaining already. Have a great festival!

Festival Programme

THURSDAY 17th July

14 –18 Squatters' meeting. (Meet at Club Vastavirta at 14).

18 – Opening party

Glamorous opening party takes you to enjoy beats of hip hop and rap by artists Klikki, Project Loota Kii, Naispyy, JV & Lahti-Samppa, Francis Koira and Jodarok.. Bravest take their skateboards along. Starting time 6 pm at Pispala: ask directions from locals or from bar Vastavirta (address: Pispalan valtatie 39).

Friday 18th July

Morning Exercise

10 – Jogging. Meet at Vastavirta, Pispalan valtatie 39, at 10 am, then run.

10 – 12 Climbing

Let's learn some basics of climbing from equipment usage and maintenance to climbing techniques. Preliminary enrolment (phone/e-mail) by Thursday 17th July – minimum amount of workshop attendants 5 persons. mustapispala@takku.net

Hirvitalo (Hirvikatu 10)



11 ‒ 15 Children's Art Workshop, Hirvitalo

Wall painting workshop for children and like-minded with music. We make a painting to a wall with children's wishes and rules, theme can be dreams, garden, fantasy world, future, only space is the limit... Background music as a source of inspiration.

12 ‒ 14 Anarchism, Hirvitalo

Let's get to know with principles and history of anarchism and the movement in Finland.

14 ‒ 16 Opening info for the festival. Hirvitalo

Presentations of groups and projects, Hirvitalo

You are welcome to present your antiauthoritarian group/project to others, and to get to know and see what is Hirvitalo – contemporary art center of Pispala.

16 ‒ 18 Dinner. Hirvitalo

18 ‒ 20 Critique of normativity as a means of creating equality. Hirvitalo

How and why to question social norms? We discuss the potential of questioning social norms as a tool for creating open, equal communities in political movements. The idea of tolerance, “the majority tolerating the minority”, has been criticized for upholding existing power structures. Respect takes more than tolerance. Learning to question norms can also help us to act in new ways and to get rid of harmful practices in our lives as well as in our communities.

18 ‒ 20 Facililtation: how to have better meetings? Hirvitalo

Meetings can be hard. When a group comes together to make decisions or share information, often the meeting doesnt fulfill its goal, it takes ages, people compete instead of cooperate, etc. However with the goodwill of the group it is quite easy to turn around the style of meetings and actually make them an enjoyable and inspiring experience for everyone. In this workshop we will explore the concept of facilitation and how it can help in creating successful and positive meetings. It is aimed at groups using consensus decision making. This participative workshop is based on popular education techniques.

20 ‒ 21.30 Free space for self-organised workshops at Hirvitalo.

Santalahti

17.30 ‒ 19.30 Direct Street Art Without A Trace.

Meeting in front of Vastavirta, Pispalan valtatie 39, at 17.15. Be in time!

In this workshop we gather and share information about how to paint as safe as possible, and how to hide all traces. This includes computer use, digital technology, and storage of pictures.

Vastavirta, Pispalan valtatie 39

Pub Yläkerta (Upstairs) : Anarchist quiss. Documentary Let’s Not Live Like Slaves.

Alakerta (downstairs): bands starting at 21. 7e (6e for the members of Vastavirta). Armless Children, Lonkkavika, Kovaa Rasvaa, Diskelmä, Hannibal & Black Motor.

SATURDAY

Tahmela beach

10 ‒ morning exercise at the beach. Relaxation exercises.

Hirvitalo, Hirvikatu 10

10 ‒ 12 Radical Cross Stitches. Hirvitalo

We make small but meaningful cross stitch works and other needlework. utopiahelsinki.wordpress.com

10 ‒ 12 How to deal with conflict: introductory workshop. Hirvitalo

Every group and relationship experiences conflict, regardless of whether we are trying to bring about an anarchist revolution or play dominoes on the street. Conflict is bound to happen while we un-learn old habits, and develop new skills and awareness to work co-operatively and challenge oppression. This workshop aims to define what conflict is and to explore a few tools we can use to deal with it in our groups. It is aimed to grassroots groups using consensus.

10 ‒ 12 Direct action and informal organisation

14 ‒ 16 Do we need a countrywide anarchist organization in Finland? Discussion. Hirvitalo.

14 ‒ 16 Children’s art and plant workshop. Hirvitalo

14 ‒ 16 Work against mining industry in Finland. Hirvitalo.

We discuss anti-mining work in Finland in focus. The aggressive expansion of mining industries in Finland and the resulting environmental problems have been under discussion in recent years. The most well-known environmental disaster, Talvivaara, is only one example of the problems.

16 ‒ 18 Dinner. Hirvitalo

18 ‒ 20 Anarchism and antifascism in Poland. Hirvitalo

20 ‒ 22 Neighborhood activism as an alternative for alienation and as a platform for reclaiming basic needs

20 ‒ 22 Doing hair: some fun together. Hairdressing and hanging out, come and relax. Hirvitalo

Santalahti

18 ‒ 20 Graffiti and gender. Meeting 17.45 at Vastavirta, Pispalan valtatie 139, be in time!

Club Vastavirta, Pispalan valtatie 39

13 ‒ 18, Downstairs: Book and record fair.

15 ‒ 17 bands: Death By Snoo Snoo, Reisengruppe Morgenthau

18 ‒ 20, Upstairs: Co-operatives as a form of anarchist activism. Panel discussion.

Some see co-operatives as an alternative for capitalist production, others as the longest route to capitalism. Can a co-operative be more than a momentary compromise? Different co-operative projects have been started in Finland in recent years. Some of them (such as Vastavirta itself) now are part of a steady ground of alternative infrastructure, others have fallen for one reason or another. Representatives of different co-operatives tell about their projects and share what they have learned from them.

Downstairs

21‒ Bands. 7e (6e for members of Vastavirta) Stereotypia, Backlash, Konkurssi, White Tears, Yhteiskunnan Ystävät?

SUNDAY

Hirvitalo, Hirvikatu 10

10 ‒ 12 Cartoons of anarchisms

We make together a cartoon zine showing different sides and meanings of anarchism.

There will be equipment available and you may bring some, too.

12 ‒ Museum tour: Home museum of Lauri Viita (Portaanpää 8)

Home museum of the local writer Lauri Viita (1916 ‒ 1965) is open Saturday and Sunday klo 12 ‒ 15. All festival participants are welcome to visit the museum of the writer who became famous for his descriptions of worker’s lives in the first half of the 20th century. We leave together from Hirvitalo at 12.Tickets 2/1e.

12 ‒ 14 Film screening: Radical portrait : Jyri Jaakkola. Hirvitalo.

Solidarity activist Jyri Jaakkola was murdered by paramilitaries in Oaxaxa, Mexico in 2010. In this video Jyri tells about his politics and his ideas about activism. Jyri’s mother will be introducing the film. The “radical portrait” is a project by artists Hanna Saarikoski and Johanna Raekallio. It includes paintings and filmed interviews of people from different political movements.

klo 14 ‒ 18 pyöräpaja. Hirvitalo

klo 14‒ 16 CrimethInc. goes Finland!

Discussion about translating CrimethInc. texts to Finnish.

16 ‒ 20 Free space for self-organised workshops at Hirvitalo.

Tahmela football field, Tahmelankatu (close to Hirvitalo!)

14.30 ‒ 18.30 Antifascist football tournament

Bring your team! Five persons (+substitutes), games of 20 min., fair play…

Registrations by Friday 18.7. . mustapispala@takku.net , tel.041 7070932.

Lunch will be served on site.