Painting Science in Helsinki

We took science to the streets of Helsinki using urban art in order to foster communication between scientists and the general public.

Researchers from the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) and Finnish Meteorological Institute, together with artists from Helsinki Urban Art co-designed a public mural that joined climate research, art and literary characters of Alice in Wonderland. The Climate Wall illustrates the 1.5°C and 4°C pathways and highlights the need for a transition from a greenhouse-gas spewing caterpillar into a sustainable butterfly. The wall includes the hashtag #ScienceInHelsinki and INAR’s twitter handle inviting passers-by to ask scientists questions anytime.

The design of the mural was a joint effort, from posing the starting question, “what is the key message we want to deliver?”, to the final imagery used on the wall (and some actual painting!). Methods used for the co-design process included in-person workshops, a facebook group, and online virtual ‘whiteboards’, which resulted in a collateral result of this project: how scientists and artists can work together effectively.

The Climate Wall was inaugurated in a public event at Helsinki Central Library Oodi auditorium in December 2019 with a short presentation, a panel discussion with some of the scientists and artists, and a children’s workshop (“The Art of Asking Questions”).

The project took place from May 2019 until the mural’s completion on October 2019, and was funded by the Finnish Arts Promotion Center (Taike).