Art Marathon collecting funds for the Red Nose campaign

Our meeting point in Espoo, WeeGee, is reaching the age of five years, and celebrating its anniversary with a four-day Art Marathon from 13 to 16 October 2011. At the same time the Art Marathon will launch the YLE Hyvä Säätiö foundation’s Red Nose campaign.

The YLE Hyvä Säätiö foundation was established in 2004 by the Finnish Red Cross, Finn Church Aid and UNICEF Finland. The foundation’s Red Nose campaign begins on Friday 14 October and aims to collect funds to help children in developing countries until the end of the year.  The campaign will culminate in YLE TV2’s Red Nose show on 4 November 2011. The model for Finnish Nenäpäivä is Red Nose Day created by BBC and Comic Reliefin which has been held in the UK since 1988.

WeeGee is an exhibition centre located at Tapiola in Espoo, containing five museums, art galleries, a café-restaurant and a museum shop. During the year of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012, the centre will act as our meeting point in Espoo.

The Red Nose campaign will be strongly visible in WeeGee’s Art Marathon, in which visitors will have the opportunity to put on a red nose and have an adventure in the Red Nose Marathon, or make a fantastic designer medal for a Red Nose celebrity. There will be a programme with plenty of interesting guests and opportunities for audience participation. Mirel Wagner will provide the musical entertainment on Friday, and Jukka Poika and Scandinavian Music Group will do the same on Saturday. 

”It’s wonderful to be involved in promoting a good cause and to challenge as many people as possible to help children in developing countries. A little silliness brightens up everyday life, puts a smile on people's faces and, what's best, provides concrete help for many children and families," says Anna Ylä-Anttila, Chief Guide at the Helinä Rautavaara Museum.

The World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 also has meeting places in other cities. In Helsinki, it is the pavilion that will open on the site between the Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture in May 2012. The Vantaa World Design Helsinki 2012 place is located on Asematie in Tikkurila. Lahti Design station in is operating in an old service station building on Vesijärvenkatu.