It’s vappu eve in Finland and everybody in Helsinki is preparing themselves for the annual spring carnival. Everybody? Well, a small group of Aalto staff and students spend this sunny day in the dusty halls of what is to become the Masters of Aalto ’12 exhibition.
Already on the street there are signs that something is going on at JätkäsaariLittle reveals to the visitor that this place, looking like any construction site is going to be Aalto University’s annual year show MoA in little more than a week from today. But once entering the door, producer Tarja is happy to tell that the team is actually a little bit ahead of schedule:
The walls came up faster than planned, which gives us a bit of a head start. Some of the MoA masters already dropped by to install their works, but still, this week is going to be the busiest of all.
And while strolling around the huge space, there are indeed some indicators that this is not your regular construction work going on here:
Testing the surfacesWhile one graduate is testing how the video projection will work in her corner of the space, elsewhere another one is already busy finishing the surface of his video booth:
Painting a video onto the wall?And a view down from the roof terrace we already blogged about last week shows that other people are working on this semi-holiday as well:
The Aalto graduates are not the only ones working with wet paint in Jätkäsaari.But not only on the roof one has to mind one’s step: There are cables, drills and other building material lying around everywhere. And you better mind where to sit – there is saw dust all over the place.
Some of the walls are already prepared for the artworks they will be accommodating later, featuring a set of speakers like a teaser making the observer curious what is going to be shown on this wall.
Impressions from a construction siteAlso the light designer has started his work. Some of the thesis works have taken their final space and the spot lights can be installed since, frankly, the fluorescent warehouse lamps do not really provide the kind of atmosphere you’d like to have at an exhibition. It’s a promising start – and easy to imagine that this space will be looking totally different once all those spotlights are up on the roof.
Installing the lights 
Light and shadow at what is going to be MoA'12It appears somewhat surreal to see fine art hanging between fork lifts, paint and a big table saw. But the timetable is tight and so there is no other option than to finalize on one end while at the other end the team is still building walls.
It’s great we are on schedule – only the toilets are delayed. Let’s see when we’ll get those,
Jenni from the architecture team knows to tell.
Hanging the worksAnd just as the visitor is about to leave the building to wipe the construction dust off his jacket and wait for next week’s opening in anticipation, he notices that the first guest is already queuing for a drink from the MoA café:
An early bird! Literally.One week from now, on Wednesday May 9th, we will be ready to welcome you to MoA’12 at Jätkäsaari. Make sure to check our event calendar and mark the events of interest to your MyMoA calendar. And we promise to swipe the floor before!
