ABOAGORA Workshop series
Art and Science Communication in a Changing World
Are you working out how to talk about your research or your art in today’s media landscape? The ABOAGORA Workshop series invites MA arts students, doctoral researchers, and newly graduated doctors in the arts, humanities, and sciences to spend three days this autumn in Turku/Åbo — in talks, workshops, and casual get-togethers — reflecting on the challenges, possibilities, and responsibilities of communicating science and art today. The series closes with an invitation to ABOAGORA: Mercury, the Winged Messenger, 23–25 September.
Programme
28.8.2026 at 17-18: Avant Aboagora: Winged Messaging in a Foreign Language
Bonfire Hall, Astra, Porthaninkatu 3
Journalist and writer Maxim Fedorov will explore how creative expression in a foreign language can open new ways of communicating across cultures and emotional experiences. This talk is open to the public. Before it starts, drop by Solsidan — the restaurant right next to the hall — for relaxed afterwork drinks with the ABOAGORA team and your fellow applicants, and a good chance to ask us anything about the workshop series or ABOAGORA more broadly. Selections won’t have been made yet at this point, so it’s also a chance to meet everyone in the running, not just those chosen for the workshop.
18.9.2026 at 11–16: Creating Meaningful Connections: The Importance of Trust in a Changing World
Bonfire Hall, Astra, Porthaninkatu 5 & BlackBox ARC 269, Arcanuminkuja 1
In an age where fake news, rumors, and AI-generated content are flooding our feeds, we face new challenges. How do we know what is true? Who can we trust? And how is our society affected when disinformation, polarization, and artificial intelligence shape our perception of reality?
Emma Frans is a researcher and author. She has been named Public Educator of the Year twice and writes for Svenska Dagbladet. She is the author of several popular science books and conducts research in epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet.
In her talk and workshop, Emma will talk about how to build trust, preserve curiosity, develop cognitive capacity, and continue to learn throughout life. She will give you the keys to cultivating the human abilities that give you resilience in an increasingly automated world. Emma will first give an open talk at the Bonfire-hall, after which she will lead a short workshop session with the participants.
22.9.2026, 14–17: Art and Science Communication in a Changing World
Hilma, Astra, Porthaninkatu 3
This afternoon turns the spotlight on the people who tell science and art’s stories to the wider world. Chaired by media researcher Laura Saarenmaa, the panel brings together journalists Henry Tikkanen (YLE, Tiedetrippi-podcast) and Vaula Helin (Uusi Juttu), together with Mikko Tikkanen, Associate Professor of Molecular Plant Biology at the University of Turku, to discuss topical themes in contemporary science and arts journalism, as well as their own work.
Mikko Tikkanen leads the Plant-Machine Interactions (PMI) research group studying the regulatory mechanism of photosynthesis. Beyond the lab, he’s an active voice in university sustainability initiatives and public outreach, advocating for honest, transparent communication about the true scale of today’s sustainability challenges.
Vaula Helin: What makes research or art worth a story?
Vaula Helin is a journalist at Uusi Juttu, a member-funded, ad-free Finnish digital media startup, which develops audio-based journalistic storytelling. She works on the culture desk, co-hosts the weekly culture programme Kerma, and writes feature articles on a wide range of cultural phenomena. Helin holds a PhD in Sociology and has worked in science communication earlier in her career, which shapes how she communicates research and art to wider audiences.
Henry Tikkanen: Hook, Line, and Podcast — The Art of Making Science Irresistible
Henry Tikkanen is an award-winning science journalist and creator of Yle’s hit podcast Tiedetrippi. With a Master’s degree in the History of Science and Ideas, he has become a familiar voice and face across Finnish media — from YleX radio to television shows like “Viki, Köpi ja Henkka – tieteen armoilla” — building his reputation on making science irresistible through authentic, dramatic storytelling.
23–25 September — ABOAGORA: Mercury, the Winged Messenger
Workshop participants are invited to the main ABOAGORA event at the Sibelius Museum, bringing together the humanities, natural sciences, and the arts to explore this year’s theme, Mercury, both literally and metaphorically. See the full program here.
Contact
Questions? Email aboagora@utu.fi.
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 University Foundation and Turku University Foundation. ABOAGORA in 2026 is supported by the Kone Foundation, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Svenska Kulturfonden and William Thurings stiftelse.