Extra Live

Curated by Rebeka Kovacs, Yev Kravt, Laura Resendez, Shashank Satish & Virpi Vaittinen
Artists: 1,2,3,4,5,etc
Concept & Coordination by Ville Laaksonen

Extra Live was created by the partners of the CULTURHUB community during spring 2025, collaborating through virtual residency programs for artists and curators.

Extra= Artists and curators have explored VAH is an another level of existence and reality, parallel to the physical world. VAH spaces are combination of industrial scale digital twins from the physical Art House Turku, combined with custom VR spaces.

Live= Everything in VAH metaverse is happening and shared with other quests in real time, just as ordinary life. This SocialVR experience is shared with other quests by interacting verbally and non verbally as avatars, during random visits, guided tours, artists talks and live sub events.

Together we joined the world building of EXTRA LIVE event. We have co-created something extraordinary for the visitors to explore and share this experience with other visitors together.

Exploring the digital possibilities for all forms of arts and culture, one the questions we wanted to answer to is: ”How will the art and culture of the future be made – and how does it feel to experience it?” Read more of the curators individual approaches, expanding concept and theme of the Extra Live further.

Extra Live:

AI | Metaverse | DOPPELGÄNGER | Virtual Art House

Follow the bread crumbs and see how deep the rabbit hole goes?

Reflections, Replicas and the Self in the Age of the Digital Double

We live in a time of endless reflection. One body, many selves—physical and digital, authentic and fabricated, curated and corrupted—fractured across timelines, networks and platforms. The notion of the doppelgänger has haunted human consciousness for centuries, surfacing in ancient myth, in psychoanalysis, in cinema, and now in the very devices we keep in our pockets. Today, it is not merely a spectral figure or literary trope; it is a login, a bot, a dataset. A silent algorithmic mirror that watches, predicts and sometimes betrays.

The Doppelgänger exhibition, curated by Yev Kravt, brings together x digital artists, designers, architects and musicians whose practices engage with mirroring and multiplicity. Some approach these themes philosophically, others through a social lens. Some address it performatively, with an air of deliberate deceit. All of those featured here work on the same unsettling question: In a world where everything can be copied, what remains that is still real?

Seeing Double

Throughout history and across cultures, the double has served as both aspiration and threat, representing our hopes as well as our fears. In myth, the twin can take the form of a divine companion—a ghostly spirit, a paranormal appearance or an embodiment of the soul.  Though our interest in the double might be ancient, our new reality multiplies the self by design—across social media, virtual worlds and AI-driven platforms.

This exhibition unfolds entirely within a digital copy of the CULTURHUB in Finland, a 3D-rendered replica of the physical space in Turku. Visitors enter through a specially designed virtual pavilion; once nside, an underground corridor reveals artworks that appear familiar—variations on known paintings, sculptures or architectural forms—yet they have all been warped by algorithmic processes and machine learning. AI in many ways is a replica of human behaviour: it trains itself on our images, our words, our ideas and our histories. At its core, it is the ultimate doppelganger of all that has ever existed.

What happens when your reflection no longer reflects you? Can a double outlive the self? And in a world where everything can be copied—what remains real? As we scroll through social feeds, enter dialogue with AI assistants or slip into VR headsets, do we become more connected or more fragmented? Are we glimpsing our future or confronting new shadows? The doppelgänger speaks to the tension between these extremes—between liberating multiplicity and existential dread, between transcendent self-knowledge and inescapable self-deception.

The artists and designers in Doppelgänger. Reflections, Replicas, and the Self in the Age of the Digital Double approach many of the aforementioned questions from every angle; some embrace the beauty of fluid identities, while others reveal the potential dangers of manipulation and echo chambers. The CULTURHUB in Finland becomes a stage where illusions meet realities, leaving visitors to navigate a labyrinth of layered narratives. Through this carefully-choreographed journey, you might just find that the most unsettling reflection is the one that greets you in the mirror each morning.

EXTENDED PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATION

VAH is not just a virtual culture center, running it’s own curated and customised program. VAH is a platform, which can be the partner for art and culture professionals, organisations and institutions as a service. VAH can provide different scales of collaboration, customised to any scale of desired collaboration from individual professionals to large networking or organisation partnerships and beyond.

1. UNIQUE (Solo artist – User Created Content)
Create your own space in the VAH skyscraper’s Infite Culture Tower. Deploy digital content or showcasing digitized artworks using one of VAH’s community spaces (User admin tools available).

  • Timeframe: Available from early 2026 onwards.
  • Cost level: Free (Also for commercial purposes)
  • Best for: First available ONLY for Art House Turku and CULTURHUB community partners.

2. AGILE (Small productions – live performance)
Quick and simple collaboration—ideal for piloting digital content or showcasing digitized artworks using VAH’s existing virtual spaces or as time based, temporary interventions or live events.

  • Timeframe: Available from late 2025 onwards
  • Cost level: Starting from €X,000
  • Best for: Rapid deployment, initial testing, small-scale digital exposure.

3. SCALE (Single space exhibitions – productions)
Expanded and tailored digital productions or virtual exhibitions, utilising one of either existing or custom-designed virtual space. Ideal for showcasing collections and unique creative projects.

  • Timeframe: Throughout 2026
  • Cost level: Starting from €XX,000
  • Best for: Customized content, broader audience reach, significant creative impact.

4. GRAND (Full customisation – MaaS)
Fully customized, large-scale virtual environments and strategic partnerships. Option for a partner-managed independent metaverse space integrated with own content management system and separate website.

  • Timeframe: From 2026–2027
  • Cost level: Starting from €XX,000 (larger projects via joint funding)
  • Best for: Comprehensive digital infrastructures, independent virtual spaces, major digital presence and impact.