Madee Cole (UK/DK), Aleksandra Lewon (PL/DK), Anouk Jouanne (IS/SE) & Roosa Törmä (FI) are working on a site-responsive project in Helsinki called The Dig.
Madee (choreographer & dancer) & Aleksandra (scenographer & costume designer), are an artistic duo from Copenhagen. After having created site-specific works together since 2021, they are embarking on their first large scale, international site-responsive work. Alongside dancers Anouk Jouanne & Roosa Törmä, they have a 6 week research period funded by Nordic Culture point and are in Helsinki at Villa Elaintarha for 2 weeks during May-June 2026.
“The Dig” is a site-responsive performance research of Nordic cities: Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen. It frames places in rapid transformation like building sites. Through movement & scenography we materialise gentrification’s ecological processes to evoke a sensuous understanding of the in-flux Nordic city & its hunger for growth.
During their two week residency in Helsinki they have been working in Jatkasaari and Kalasatama. Their research questions were: how do the building processes of urbanisation affect a site’s ecology? What has disappeared? Who & what is allowed there? What proliferates? What don’t we see when we look at the site? How can we capture its’s essence? How can we inject ‘place-ness’ into these overlooked site through artistic framing?
Photo Hertta Salokorpi