Virtual Art House and Extra Live Opens a New Era for Art House Turku

The Virtual Art House (VAH) webpage by Art House Turku is now live at www.virtualarthouse.com. This internationally unique, VR-powered digital environment offers new modes of artistic and cultural expression—fully virtually and in hybrid connection with the physical world.

The platform’s technical development has been realized by Proverse, with visual identity designed by Form Union. The project is created and coordinated by Ville Laaksonen.

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A New Reality for Experiencing Art

What does the future of art and culture look and feel like? VAH aims to offer something truly unique: meaningful, shared experiences in real time across virtual space—just like in the physical world, but without the limitations of geography.

VAH is a SocialVR platform, accessible via VR headset and desktop computer (mobile version coming soon). It serves as a partial digital twin of Taiteen talo, expanded with virtual architectural elements: a gallery, performance stage, high-rise tower, infinite multipurpose hall, and endlessly cloneable rooms. In virtual space, gravity and scale are no longer constraints—creativity becomes limitless.

This immersive environment opens the door to an entirely new way of creating and sharing art and culture—from people to people, through technology.

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Extra Live: The First Production in VAH

Launching with the platform on June 1, 2025, Extra Live is a large-scale, global art event that will continue to evolve through the end of the year. The program will feature live performances, digital exhibitions, and collaborative experiences from across the globe.

The project is mainly created by CULTURHUB, an international cultural community founded by Art House Turku in 2024. CULTURHUB connects artists, technologists, and researchers from every continent (except Antarctica), offering a space for virtual residencies and co-creation in the digital age.

VAH, CULTURHUB, and Extra Live are all part of the Digital Taiteen talo initiative, supported by NextGeneration EU funding.

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Extra Live – Curators

Rebeka Kovacs, Yev Kravt, Laura Reséndiz, Shashank Satish, Virpi Vaittinen (Vivian White)

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Participating Artists (Selection in alphabetical order)

Adonis Archontides / Aki Silventoinen / Alex Valentina / Ambulance (Kaisa Penttilä & Reetta Neittaanmäki) / Benjamin Pompe / Carmilla Sumantry / Christelle Mas / Cultural Inquiry (Jose Antonio Gordillo Martorell & Pepe Borras) with Anggi Yanuariska & Brian Contreras / Fabianna de Barros / Faysal Mrouehs / Gohar Martirosyan / Eko Saputra / Elina Ruohonen / FlyAR & Sheikki / Giorgia Lolli / Harshit Agrawal / Hui Zhang & Zoey Zhao / HYENAZ (Adrienne Teicher & Kathryn Fischer) / Jamie McGhee / Jinn Laun (aka Beh Chin) / Jonas Lund / Jouna Karsi / Jukka Hakanen / Kathryn Carter / Kevin Bray / Leena Jääskeläinen / Lilli Haapala / Linda Young (Yellow Wasabi) / Lotta Leka / Maciej Tomaszewski & Eero Tiainen / Maria Touloupou / Maria Nurmela & Vesa Loikas / Marie Samuel Levasseur / Michalis Charalambous / Mike Pelletier / Sini-Meri Hedberg / Mica Cabildo & Curtis Cresswell / Natasha Singh / Ollipekka Kangas / Paul Wiersbinski / Paulo Majano / Perttu Pölönen / Raiël Solomon / Robert Lisek / Roberto Santaquida / Roope Rainisto / Seamy Side Quest (Iida Pitkänen & Jenni Kemppainen) / Sahil Betigeri / Shashank Satish / Simone Martinotta / Teren Marko / Toni Hautamäki / Verna Tähtinen / Yogesh Ramkrishna / YOU?

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More info:
🌐 www.virtualarthouse.com
📩 Ville Laaksonen — ville.laaksonen@taiteentalo.fi