Culture as a common cause for the whole city — MDI involved in supporting the development of the city of Porvoo’s Cultural Programme

MDI was involved in supporting the development of the Porvoo Cultural Programme together with our partner, Krista Petäjäjärvi. The purpose of the project was to form a common vision and a concrete operational programme for the development of Porvoo’s culture up to 2030. The project built a common understanding of the growing weight of Porvoo’s culture as part of the city’s identity and attractiveness.

The work drew up a description of the current status of Porvoo’s cultural activities, conducted workshops for various actors and collected material through interviews with key actors in art and culture and a comprehensive survey of local residents.

Based on the interviews and survey responses, residents perceive the city to be a significant city of culture and view culture as a major image factor for the city. However, the responses reflected the need for a better flow of information between different actors and for greater transparency in decision-making in respect of the development proposals. Above all, residents wanted culture to be a common thing for the whole city.

The process was carried out bilingually and as part of the programme process, data cards describing the current state of cultural activities in Porvoo were drawn up, utilising the visual look created for the project. The hybrid workshops organised in the programme process relied on art-driven methods. The workshops included residents interested in development, art and culture professionals as well as city staff and policymakers. The cultural programme developed in the project is condensed into the four thematic entities formed as part of the work process.