Musical Sustainabilities symposium
The symposium in Seinäjoki addresses the relationship between music and sustainability in all its diversity.
About the symposium
The Seinäjoki Unit of the University of the Arts Helsinki is pleased to announce an international symposium on “musical sustainabilities.” As the Sustainable Development Goals issued by the United Nations attest, sustainability has become a wide-ranging topic globally. While originally linked to the maintenance of natural resources, it has evolved to cover social, economic and cultural issues. Concerning music, the most apparent of these relate to work, production and industry, consumption and live music, and communities and institutions.
Indeed, music provides propitious possibilities for addressing the multiple and often contradictory facets of sustainability. The music industry has been associated with excessive consumption and waste, and the digital transition is less likely to be green, due to the sheer increase in music – and energy – consumed. The environmental crisis has been diversely represented in musical works and sound art, and civic groups implement musical practices in their campaigning for climate action. At the same time, music plays an important role in the promotion of social and cultural sustainability due to its malleability in identity construction and support to the social resilience of groups and organisations. However, music can also be used as a tool for exclusion, and unequal access to music education reinforces existing social divides. Indigenous communities are especially vulnerable in many respects, ranging from the impacts of global warming to social and economic challenges, thus complicating the transmission of cultural and musical traditions to future generations. Questions of sustainability are furthermore central in music heritagisation, or how diverse groups and institutions work and labour to preserve and safeguard what they consider worthy to be labelled “heritage.”
The organisers are pleased to note that the keynote address will be delivered by Dr Sanna Lehtinen. The title of her presentation is “Sustainability and Aesthetic Value: Implications from Aesthetic Theory.”
The event is in-person only.
Registration
Registration closed on 31 October 2024. If you are still interested in attending the symposium, please contact us at musicalsustainabilities@gmail.com no later than 11 November 2024.
Location
The symposium takes place at the Museum of South Ostrobothnia in Törnävä, Seinäjoki, Finland. Seinäjoki is a regional urban centre located some 300 km north from Helsinki and served by several direct train connections daily. The symposium venue is accessible to all and is located about 4 km from Seinäjoki city centre. There will be a joint bus transport from the Seinäjoki railway station to the museum. For the bus timetable, please see the programme.
Programme
The programme and the book of presentation abstracts have now been published and can be viewed via the links below. The programme and the book of abstracts may be updated.
Please note that the symposium includes a reading circle on Tuesday, inviting all participants to discuss pre-selected scholarly literature. The texts have been chosen by Dr Outi Valo (University of the Arts Helsinki & The Finnish Folk Music Institute), and she is also chairing the reading circle. The readings are listed below and can be accessed via the links. We ask participants to read the material in advance as the reading circle will focus on discussion on the articles.
Reading 1: Eskelinen, Teppo 2021. “Interpreting the Sustainable Development Goals through the Perspectives of Utopia and Governance”, in Forum for Development Studies 48:2, 179–197, https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2020.1867889.
Reading 2: Hurley-Glowa, Susan 2019. “Alaska Native Ways of Knowing and the Sustenance of Musical Communities in an Ailing Petrostate”, in Cultural Sustainabilities: Music, Media, Language, Advocacy, ed. Timothy J. Cooley. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Accommodation
Below you will find a list of accommodation options in Seinäjoki along with booking instructions. For more information about room options and other services, please contact the hotel directly.
Hotel Alma (Seinäjoki city centre)
Ruukintie 4, 60100 Seinäjoki
Rooms from 99€/person/night and 119€/2 persons/night.
Includes parking, breakfast, and sauna. Book your room at www.hotelalma.fi using the discount code musicsus24, or by email at alma@hotelalma.fi.
Scandic Hotel Seinäjoki (Seinäjoki city centre)
Kauppakatu 10, 60100 Seinäjoki
Book your room at scandichotels.fi using the discount code EVNT. Pricing will be determined based on your time of booking, room type, and availability. For more information, contact seinajoki@scandichotels.com.
Original Sokos Hotel Vaakuna Seinäjoki and Original Sokos Hotel Lakeus Seinäjoki (Seinäjoki city centre)
Kauppatori 3, 60100 Seinäjoki (hotel Vaakuna)
Torikatu 2, 60100 Seinäjoki (hotel Lakeus)
5 % discount from the daily rate. Includes breakfast, Wi-Fi, and sauna. Book your room at sokoshotels.fi using the discount code WORKERY.
https://www.sokoshotels.fi
Hostel Matkustajakoti Evakko (close to the city centre)
Kalevankatu 29, 60100 Seinäjoki
Rooms from 59 €/person/night. Breakfast not included. Kitchen and bathroom facilities are shared.
https://majoitusovi.com/kohde/matkustajakoti-evakko-soluasunnot-seinajoki/ and booking.com
Hostel Björkenheim (in Törnävä)
Seuralantie 9, 60220 Seinäjoki
Rooms from 75 €/person/night. Breakfast not included.
Notice that while the Hostel Björkenheim is located in Törnävä, a walking distance away from the symposium venue, return to the hostel from the optional evening program in the Seinäjoki city centre will be at the delegate’s own expense. For arrival info contact info@hostelbjorkenheim.fi.
https://www.hostelbjörkenheim.fi and booking.com
Organising committee and contact information
The members of the organising committee are Antti-Ville Villén (chair), Giacomo Bottà, Karoliina Lummaa, Anna Peltomäki and Susanna Tyrväinen. The event is organised in collaboration with the Seinäjoki Museums, with support from the University Consortium Seinäjoki and the research project “Diversity of Music Heritage in Finland”, funded by Kone Foundation (2023–25).
Please direct enquiries about the symposium to musicalsustainabilities@gmail.com
About the symposium
The Seinäjoki Unit of the University of the Arts Helsinki is pleased to announce an international symposium on “musical sustainabilities.” As the Sustainable Development Goals issued by the United Nations attest, sustainability has become a wide-ranging topic globally. While originally linked to the maintenance of natural resources, it has evolved to cover social, economic and cultural issues. Concerning music, the most apparent of these relate to work, production and industry, consumption and live music, and communities and institutions.
Indeed, music provides propitious possibilities for addressing the multiple and often contradictory facets of sustainability. The music industry has been associated with excessive consumption and waste, and the digital transition is less likely to be green, due to the sheer increase in music – and energy – consumed. The environmental crisis has been diversely represented in musical works and sound art, and civic groups implement musical practices in their campaigning for climate action. At the same time, music plays an important role in the promotion of social and cultural sustainability due to its malleability in identity construction and support to the social resilience of groups and organisations. However, music can also be used as a tool for exclusion, and unequal access to music education reinforces existing social divides. Indigenous communities are especially vulnerable in many respects, ranging from the impacts of global warming to social and economic challenges, thus complicating the transmission of cultural and musical traditions to future generations. Questions of sustainability are furthermore central in music heritagisation, or how diverse groups and institutions work and labour to preserve and safeguard what they consider worthy to be labelled “heritage.”
The organisers are pleased to note that the keynote address will be delivered by Dr Sanna Lehtinen. The title of her presentation is “Sustainability and Aesthetic Value: Implications from Aesthetic Theory.”
The event is in-person only.
Registration
Registration closed on 31 October 2024. If you are still interested in attending the symposium, please contact us at musicalsustainabilities@gmail.com no later than 11 November 2024.
Location
The symposium takes place at the Museum of South Ostrobothnia in Törnävä, Seinäjoki, Finland. Seinäjoki is a regional urban centre located some 300 km north from Helsinki and served by several direct train connections daily. The symposium venue is accessible to all and is located about 4 km from Seinäjoki city centre. There will be a joint bus transport from the Seinäjoki railway station to the museum. For the bus timetable, please see the programme.
Programme
The programme and the book of presentation abstracts have now been published and can be viewed via the links below. The programme and the book of abstracts may be updated.
Please note that the symposium includes a reading circle on Tuesday, inviting all participants to discuss pre-selected scholarly literature. The texts have been chosen by Dr Outi Valo (University of the Arts Helsinki & The Finnish Folk Music Institute), and she is also chairing the reading circle. The readings are listed below and can be accessed via the links. We ask participants to read the material in advance as the reading circle will focus on discussion on the articles.
Reading 1: Eskelinen, Teppo 2021. “Interpreting the Sustainable Development Goals through the Perspectives of Utopia and Governance”, in Forum for Development Studies 48:2, 179–197, https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2020.1867889.
Reading 2: Hurley-Glowa, Susan 2019. “Alaska Native Ways of Knowing and the Sustenance of Musical Communities in an Ailing Petrostate”, in Cultural Sustainabilities: Music, Media, Language, Advocacy, ed. Timothy J. Cooley. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Accommodation
Below you will find a list of accommodation options in Seinäjoki along with booking instructions. For more information about room options and other services, please contact the hotel directly.
Hotel Alma (Seinäjoki city centre)
Ruukintie 4, 60100 Seinäjoki
Rooms from 99€/person/night and 119€/2 persons/night.
Includes parking, breakfast, and sauna. Book your room at www.hotelalma.fi using the discount code musicsus24, or by email at alma@hotelalma.fi.
Scandic Hotel Seinäjoki (Seinäjoki city centre)
Kauppakatu 10, 60100 Seinäjoki
Book your room at scandichotels.fi using the discount code EVNT. Pricing will be determined based on your time of booking, room type, and availability. For more information, contact seinajoki@scandichotels.com.
Original Sokos Hotel Vaakuna Seinäjoki and Original Sokos Hotel Lakeus Seinäjoki (Seinäjoki city centre)
Kauppatori 3, 60100 Seinäjoki (hotel Vaakuna)
Torikatu 2, 60100 Seinäjoki (hotel Lakeus)
5 % discount from the daily rate. Includes breakfast, Wi-Fi, and sauna. Book your room at sokoshotels.fi using the discount code WORKERY.
https://www.sokoshotels.fi
Hostel Matkustajakoti Evakko (close to the city centre)
Kalevankatu 29, 60100 Seinäjoki
Rooms from 59 €/person/night. Breakfast not included. Kitchen and bathroom facilities are shared.
https://majoitusovi.com/kohde/matkustajakoti-evakko-soluasunnot-seinajoki/ and booking.com
Hostel Björkenheim (in Törnävä)
Seuralantie 9, 60220 Seinäjoki
Rooms from 75 €/person/night. Breakfast not included.
Notice that while the Hostel Björkenheim is located in Törnävä, a walking distance away from the symposium venue, return to the hostel from the optional evening program in the Seinäjoki city centre will be at the delegate’s own expense. For arrival info contact info@hostelbjorkenheim.fi.
https://www.hostelbjörkenheim.fi and booking.com
Organising committee and contact information
The members of the organising committee are Antti-Ville Villén (chair), Giacomo Bottà, Karoliina Lummaa, Anna Peltomäki and Susanna Tyrväinen. The event is organised in collaboration with the Seinäjoki Museums, with support from the University Consortium Seinäjoki and the research project “Diversity of Music Heritage in Finland”, funded by Kone Foundation (2023–25).
Please direct enquiries about the symposium to musicalsustainabilities@gmail.com