SWAMP – Walking Within the Frame
The swamp is the borderland of human power, a field of negotiations, encounters and confrontation. The swamp has been cleared, burned, plowed and blown up. Drained.
SWAMP – Walking Within the Frame is a site sensitive walking performance that brings together nature and technology. It is set in the Sanginjoki Nature Reserve, on peatland once used for forestry and which is now undergoing restoration, – one shovelful at a time. The total duration of the work is four hours.
You can find more detailed information in the Oulu2026 event calendar.
The performance starts with a bus journey from the Culture House Valve in Oulu that takes you to the wet forest of Sanginjoki. There, the performance continues in the swamp and forest, where participants move both together and apart, guided by a mobile phone, until the journey leads back to Oulu.
SWAMP – Walking Within the Frame invites you on a tactile journey into the depths of swamp; to be surprised, to live and to sink. Who is leading and how are the power relations negotiated when the swamp, the attendee and the mobile phone meet?
Performance times
Friday 21 August 2026 at 5:30 pm
Sunday 23 August 2026 at 11:00 am and 4:00 pm
Monday 24 August 2026 at 5:30 pm
Tuesday 25 August 2026 at 5:30 pm
Thursday 27 August 2026 at 5:30 pm
Friday 28 August 2026 at 5:30 pm
Saturday 29 August 2026 at 11:00 am and 4:00 pm
Sunday 30 August 2026 at 11:00 am and 4:00 pm
Tickets for the performance
From Ticketmaster or the Valve ticket office.
Valve ticket office: Ticket inquiries and reservations +358 8 5584 7575 valve.lippumyymala@ouka.fi
Kaikukortti cards are accepted for performances. Kaikukortti seats can be redeemed at the Valve ticket office. Seats are limited. Please reserve your tickets in advance.
Ticket prices
Standard ticket: 22.00 €
Students, unemployed, pensioners: 14.00 €
Basic info and accessibility
The work is not fully accessible, as part of it takes place in the forest and in the swamp, in challenging terrain. The performance begins at the Cafeteria in Cultural Centre Valve (Hallituskatu 7, Oulu), from where we travel by bus to the Sanginjoki Nature Reserve. The bus journey is part of the performance. No special technological skills are required, but participation does require being able to read and hear information from the performance phone during the event.
Please wear rubber boots and otherwise dress according to the weather. The performance is subject to weather conditions. The total duration of the work is four (4) hours.
Further information about the performance:
Maria Oiva +358 44 516 1061, kavelyntiella@gmail.com
Language of the performance
The performance is conducted in Finnish or, alternatively, in English. The phone’s language options are Finnish, English, or Northern Sámi.
Production
Reality Research Center (FIN) and Ferske Scener (NO). The performance is part of the Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture program.
The Reality Research Center (TTK) is a collective of performing arts professionals based in Helsinki. Ferske Scener is an independent performing arts group based in Tromsø, Northern Norway.
Performance concept and artistic direction: Kristina Junttila and Maria Oiva
Location-based design and implementation: Kristina Junttila, Maria Oiva, Seija-Leena Salo
Sound design: Paavo Impiö
Immersive writing: Seija-Leena Salo
Dramaturge: Kristin Bjørn
Producer: Anna Haaraoja
Mobile App: Zoneatlas
The performance is supported by:
Suomalais-norjalainen kulttuuri-instituutti, Valveen kaupunginosakulttuuri, Kulttuuriosuuskunta Ilme, Norwegian Arts Council, BarentsKult
In collaboration with:
Metsähallitus, Loppulan ystävät ry, Loppulan luontotalo. The previous installment of the performance series was featured in the Bodø2024 European Capital of Culture programme
