ANTI Festival – 25 years of international contemporary arts in Kuopio, Finland

From the very beginning, participating in the ANTI Festival has been an experience that revolutionises one’s thinking and understanding of the arts and the world. The anniversary programme explores alternative ways of seeing and presenting, and highlights perspectives on the festival’s history, the present, and the future.

“In addition to the anniversary year, the programming has been driven by the festival’s ongoing desire to envision queer feminist futures in collaboration with artists. Onur Tayranoǧlu (Turkey), Julischka Stengele (Austria), and Keioui Keijaun Thomas (United States) all deconstruct, in their own ways, the illusions and assumptions of melancholy associated with queer lives, and build spaces for recovery and social transformation”, Lead Curator Elisa Itkonen writes.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary, we have put together a diverse programme of artistic and discursive events. It includes, for example, an installation and a typographic poster series by the festival’s long-term graphic designer, artist Tomi Leppänen (Finland), as well as the ANTI 25 podcast series and discussion events. We will also revisit the venues and works of past ANTI Festivals through lecture performances by Kira O’Reilly (Ireland) and Tuomas Laitinen (Finland).

Read the full curatorial statement, including descriptions of the festival works, on our website.

The ANTI Festival programme presents live art works by international and Finland based artists in various different locations across the city of Kuopio. All events are free of charge for the audiences. For the first time, we have also opened up the festival week to a partner programme, and ANTI itself is part of the Kuopio Art Weeks.

ANTI Festival 2026 – Main Programme

Onur Tayranoǧlu (TR): Queer Autonomous Zone (Kuopio)

Keioui Keijaun Thomas (US): Come Hell or High Femmes: The Dolls Rise

Julischka Stengele (AT): Offering Space

Kira O’Reilly (IE): Untitled Performance Lecture (a gift, redux)

Tuomas Laitinen (FI): Life is temporary

Tomi Leppänen (FI): (empty space)

Sara Grotenfelt, Lotta Hildén & Tuisku Ojanperä (FI): Kids’ Station

Katja Hänninen & Laura Jänicke (FI): stoneless

Festival Club: Elsi Sloan (FI)

Partner Programme:

Dance Theatre Tsuumi & Sonja Jokiniemi (FI): Kyynelpaikka workshop

Tekstin talo (FI): Learning Lab for Text Workers

Kuopio Art Weeks (FI)

ILME (FI), Adam Kinner & Christopher Willes (CA): MANUAL Oulu

More coming up

During the summer, the festival programme will be complemented. The daily schedule and bookings (required to some of the performances) for the festival will be published in August.