The program of ABOAGORA: Mercury, the Winged Messenger is published!
Aboagora, a well-established part of Turku’s cultural life, will be organised again in September with the theme Mercury, the Winged Messenger. Among the main speakers of the science and art event will be the researcher and author Timo R. Stewart, who brings together today’s challenging communications landscape with the opportunities and ethics of research.
This years ABOAGORA, a meeting place for science and art creators and the public, examines winged words and metaphors in science, art and society, as well as their effects on communication and societal discussion. The effects of climate change on the animal world, such as the migration routes of birds, are also discussed. The three-day event will be held for the 16th time at the Sibelius Museum in Turku, from 23 to 25 September 2026.
Mercury, the Winged Messenger is the third part of Aboagora’s the Planets -themed season. The theme season, inspired by Gustav Holst’s (1874-1934) Planets orchestral suite, will continue until 2030. The seven movements of Holst’s famous composition are named after the planets of our solar system and the mythical deities associated with them.
The event brings science and art within reach of the public
The event consists of keynote lectures (AGORAs) and performative sessions that combine scholarly and artistic viewpoints. This year’s sessions, concerts and workshops will examine communication and dialogue, human decision-making and hesitation, choice, and direction, and messages and networks across time and space. The event will also feature echoes from the old forests and explores the messages conveyed by microorganisms.
The Agora sessions are open to everyone and free of charge!
23.9.2026 | 16:30–17:30
How to navigate an information war?
Timo R. Stewart, researcher and author (Centre for European Studies, University of Helsinki)
24.9.2026 | 16:30–17:30
Death in Kaija Saariaho’s last composition
Susanna Välimäki, Professor of Musicology (University of Helsinki)
25.9.2026 | 16:30–17:30
Migration on swift wings
Susanne Åkesson, Professor (Animal Navigation Lab, Lund University)
In addition at the end of August, there will also be an open Avant Aboagora event, where one topical speaker will share their thoughts on the themes of the year. More information will follow soon.
With the exception of Avant Aboagora and Agora keynote sessions, the event will require registration. Registration for the event will open by the end of May.
Further information:
Producer Liisa Lalu
aboagora@utu.fi
puh. 050 570 4017
Aboagora is a meeting place for researchers and artists, an enabler of cooperation and a space for new creation. The project’s annual activities include an international three-day main event organized at the Sibelius Museum in Turku, a research retreat and open Avant Aboagora pre-events. The project launched in Turku’s capital of culture year 2011 is now a pioneer in the field of science and art cooperation. The event is based on the ethos that comprehensive problem solving requires not only interdisciplinary approach but also combining scientific and artistic perspectives. The organizers of Aboagora are the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi, Turku Academy of Arts, Åbo Akademi Foundation and Turku University Foundation. Aboagora in 2026 is supported by the Kone Foundation, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundationand Svenska Kulturfonden.