On 6 Oct, Otaniemi Night of Arts gathered Aalto people, Aalto alumni and residents from the area to celebrate creativity with more than 50 interartistic subevents.

Otaniemi Night of Arts had something in the programme for all ages, from architectural tours and outdoor cinema to a vocal group matinee and a rap night. Many of the workshops enabled participants to express their own creativity, for example, by painting park benches or welding car parts into a sculpture. In addition to students, an exceptional amount of families and Aalto alumni were seen moving around Otaniemi.

Among the guests was also the Mayor of Espoo, Jukka Mäkelä: “This is so much fun. I really wish from the heart that Otaniemi Night of Arts is continued and expands further.”

A district event is not created overnight. Otaniemi Night of Arts has been under preparation at the Student Union’s office ever since February.

“In terms of the setup, the event went smoothly, and it was great to see the festival attract people of all ages,” says the event’s producer, Executive Manager for TOKYO and AYY’s Advocacy Expert for ARTS students Tero Uuttana.

Otaniemi Night of Arts was a celebration of volunteer work. The programme and practical setup were arranged by the fifty involved communities and associations and around twenty volunteers.

“Without the community’s input, we could not have made Otaniemi Night of Arts happen,” remarks the Board member responsible for Artistic Activities Julius Luukkanen.

Host of the Chemistry Guild Lotta Wallinmaa directed the lava lamp workshop, which proved to be a hit with the audience. “This is a really quite simple demonstration of how acids and bases behave in a water solution,” says Wallinmaa of the workshop’s content. The number of participants reaching into hundreds exceeded also Wallinmaa’s expectations: “We’ve had to wash up some glasses and recycle oil.”