Shaghayegh Ansari: Borrowed Cities

Borrowed Cities is a site-specific audio walk that guides the audience on a guided tour through Helsinki. The performance departs from Caisa Cultural Centre, in the inner courtyard of the Bread Factory at Kaikukatu 4 B.

The work uses the city as a stage and examines how ecological loss and migration shape our spatial experience. By projecting fragments from endangered cities onto Helsinki's streets, it challenges the notion that crises belong only to their places of origin - and reveals how cities absorb stories, grief, and futures from far away. The walk is guided by the narratives of those whose lives have been shaped by ecological trauma: local communities, migrants, and others with direct experience of environmental instability.

Direction: Shaghayegh Ansari, Aref Houshmandnia | Script: Aref Houshmandnia | Performer: Shaghayegh Ansari | Sound design: Maija Suominen

Tickets: 10 € from lippu.fi. During the Night of the Arts on 20.8., two free walks are held at 17:00 and 20:00 - register by email at caisa.tiedotus@hel.fi. Each walk accommodates 10 participants.

Performance language: English / Farsi | Duration: approx. 1.5 hours | Age recommendation: 16 years and older