We are delighted to announce that You have been selected to study at the University of Kucku!
The world’s shortest and most unofficial Bachelor’s studies begin with the opening ceremony and conclude with the closing ceremony.
OPENING CEREMONY PROGRAM (Fri Sep 18 at 4 p.m., Kino Marilyn):
4:00 p.m. Unveiling of the University of Kucku pillars at the main entrance of Kino Marilyn
4:15 p.m. Opening speeches and student orientation, launching of the Kuckun Sanomat newspaper
5:00 p.m. Keynote lecture by Pontus Purokuru: Cats as Philosophers of Delay
CLOSING CEREMONY PROGRAM (Sun Sep 20 at 4:15 p.m., Kappelinpuisto):
4:15 p.m. Closing remarks and thank-you speech
4:30 p.m. Festive performance: Shelter for One installation, Loviisa Solidarity Choir.
LANGUAGES: Finnish, Swedish, English
AGE RECOMMENDATION: Suitable for all ages
ACCESSIBILITY:
Opening Ceremony: Kino Marilyn is wheelchair accessible through the back door, which the staff will open upon request. There is a ramp and a stairlift in the courtyard, but the ramp is quite steep. Wheelchairs can move freely inside the theater hall. The cinema has an accessible toilet.
Closing Ceremony: Kappelinpuisto park has barrier-free, wheelchair-accessible entry.
THE LOVIISA ORDER OF COLUMNS
Visual artist Kati Rapia has created “The Loviisa Order of Columns” to challenge the age-old Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian architectural orders.
The Loviisa order of columns attempts to map out which values support us today, and what kinds of structures hold up our thoughts. What are today’s liminal spaces* like, and do we dare to walk through them?
Rapia’s two-dimensional pillars in a multidimensional world act as gateways to the world of art and exploration at the University of Kucku performance venues.
*liminal: being between two states, or on a threshold; a state of transition; an interface
Kati Rapia explores the world through the means of a multidisciplinary visual artist—drawing, writing, and photographing. She is most likely to be spotted near water, in small flocks, or behind stacks of books.
For the University of Kucku, Rapia has created her own gateway theory and, accordingly, a liminal Loviisa order of columns for the university.
SHELTER FOR ONE
At the closing ceremony of the Kucku Festival, Shelter for One rises into a large tent. How many people can fit under the amount of textiles that a single human being consumes?
Shelter for One is a hybrid of a tent and a dress, designed by visual artist Heidi Lunabba. During the festival’s closing ceremony, the artwork will be raised, and visitors can seek shelter under its massive dress. The town of Loviisa was named after Queen Lovisa Ulrika, the spouse of King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden. Her coronation dress was a staggering 2440 mm wide—making its circumference considerably larger. It is easy to think that this 18th-century gown reflects unreasonable overconsumption.
In Finland, one person bought an average of 13 kg of new clothes per year in 2025. With an average life expectancy of 82 years, this equals over a ton of clothes per person during a lifetime.
Shelter for One is an installation and a performance that visualizes the massive amount of textiles we consume during our lives. The artwork is currently in progress, and the amount of textiles used in the piece exhibited in Loviisa so far represents only a fraction of what one person consumes in a lifetime. It remains to be seen whether it is physically possible to complete the piece—is it possible to sew a ton of fabric into a single dress?
Shelter for One has been created as a collective artwork in workshops involving local residents from Loviisa.
Heidi Lunabba works with participatory and community-based art in public spaces and as part of social dialogue.
Through installations, photography, video, and collective processes, she explores questions of identity, communication, and sustainability, where the participants’ experiences and ideas form a central part of the artworks.
She views the artist’s role as creating the conditions for encounters and shared making, which can take shape in meaningful and aesthetically refined works.
