{"id":16801,"date":"2026-09-21T20:38:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T18:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/?p=16801"},"modified":"2026-09-21T20:50:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T18:50:42","slug":"why-do-you-make-art-puheenjohtaja-mikko-aaltion-puhe-taideyliopiston-lukuvuoden-avajaisissa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/2026\/09\/21\/why-do-you-make-art-puheenjohtaja-mikko-aaltion-puhe-taideyliopiston-lukuvuoden-avajaisissa\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do you make art? \u2013 puheenjohtaja Mikko Aaltion puhe Taideyliopiston lukuvuoden avajaisissa"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of the Opening of the Academic Year 2026-2027, TaiYo’s chairperson Mikko Aaltio gave a speech. Read the trilingual speech below.<\/em><\/p>\n

And now for something completely different. Ootteks te valmiita? Nu k\u00f6r vi.<\/p>\n

Hyv\u00e4 rehtoraatti, k\u00e4ra konstn\u00e4rer, dear community of Uniarts<\/p>\n

I am Mikko Aaltio and as the chair of TaiYo I am going to hold the longest 5-minute speech you’ve ever heard. If you remember only one thing from this speech let it be the question
\n”why do you make art?”<\/p>\n

I am a 33-year-old film and game composer currently studying their fourth university-level degree. I am on my second year of masters’ studies, burn-out and depressed, taking sleeping pills and antidepressants that don’t seem to work. If I am not studying, I need to work to afford food, rent and therapy. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

Ilman mun henkil\u00f6kohtaista kriisi\u00e4kin maailma on jo t\u00e4ynn\u00e4 niit\u00e4. Jos oot yht\u00e4\u00e4n ku meik\u00e4l\u00e4ine, maailmantuskaa potiessas saatat mietti\u00e4, ett\u00e4 miks m\u00e4 teen taidetta
\nku t\u00e4rkeemp\u00e4\u00e4kin tekemist\u00e4 ennallistaa raakkujoet, sammuttaa mets\u00e4palot, ratkaista energiakriisi, pys\u00e4ytt\u00e4\u00e4 n\u00e4l\u00e4nh\u00e4t\u00e4 ja pandemiat sek\u00e4 rikkoa l\u00e4nsimainen patriarkaatti, kolonialismi ja j\u00e4lkikapitalismi.<\/p>\n

Allts\u00e5 fr\u00e5gar jag mig sj\u00e4lv, varf\u00f6r m\u00e5ste jag skapa konst? \u00c4ven n\u00e4r min egen livssituation \u00e4r oh\u00e5llbar. Vad \u00e4r orsaken att forts\u00e4tta? Visst, det skulle ju nog kanske finnas viktigare saker.<\/p>\n

The reason why for me is very simple. Art changes lives. It has changed my life many times, and always for the better. I, too, wish to make a difference in the world.<\/p>\n

As a film composer, I watch a lot films. There are three documentaries in particular that have had a great impact on me.
\n1. Cowspiracy by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn (2014) tells the story of the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues. The film made me go vegan.
\n2. The Work by Gethin Aldous and Jairus McLeary (2017) tells the story of three free men participating in a four-day group-therapy retreat in prison. The film made me seek help in therapy
\n3. You Are What You Eat by Louie Psihoyos (2024) tells the story of identical twins adopting different diets and lifestyles for 8 weeks. The film made me start going to gym and taking care of my body.<\/p>\n

Toki elokuvamaailman ulkopuolellakin on lukemattomia esimerkkej\u00e4 vaikuttavasta ja yhteiskunnallisesta taiteesta. T\u00e4ss\u00e4 muutama poiminta henk.koht. taidehistoriastani. Esimerkkin\u00e4 teatterimaailmasta William Shakespeare’in Macbeth varoittaa meit\u00e4 vallanhimon vaaroista. Kirjailija Margaret Atwoodin Orjattaresi eli The Handmaid’s Tale taas kuvailee pelottavan ajankohtaisesti uskonnollisen fundamentalismin luomaa dystopiaa. Kuvataiteesta ensimm\u00e4isen\u00e4 tulee mieleen Frida Kahlon and Artemisia Gentileschin \u00e4\u00e4rimm\u00e4isen realistiset ja monisyiset kuvaukset naisista. Musiikin saralta haluan mainita Kev\u00e4tuhrin, jolla s\u00e4velt\u00e4j\u00e4 Igor Stravinsky, koregrafi Vaslav Nijinsky’n ja puvustaja\/lavastaja Nicholas Roerich’in kanssa r\u00e4j\u00e4ytti l\u00e4nsimaisen taidemusiikkikent\u00e4n tavalla, josta jengi ei oo vi\u00e4k\u00e4\u00e4 oikein toipunu. Nu tillbaka till filmbranschen och konstens p\u00e5verkan.<\/p>\n

N\u00e4r vi tittar p\u00e5 serier och filmer med min fru, brukar vi kommentera olika karakt\u00e4rer i stil med ”det d\u00e4r \u00e4r ju du” och ”du e han”. Genom konst \u00e4r det l\u00e4ttare f\u00f6r mig att k\u00e4nna igen mig i andra m\u00e4nniskor \u2013 och i detta fallet i min fru. Som har alltid haft r\u00e4tt \u2013 \u00e5tminstone hittills.
\n…min tur kommer alldeles strax.<\/p>\n

Of course, art is not all about impact and social change. It can also create and foster communities. People to share meaningful moments with, people to collaborate with, and people to agree heartily and disagree vehemontly with. The older I get the more I appreciate and rely on this side of art. I need to feel like I belong in a community. Maybe you can relate?
\nNow your values and reasons may differ from mine … and that is fine \u2013 I do welcome a healthy discussion and debate. And regarding the point of this speech, one’s values do not make a difference.<\/p>\n

For the closing remarks, I refuse to tell you what to do \u2013 as I hold no mandate over you.
\nI even hesitate to give you advice \u2013 as I myself don’t know what the hell I’m doing.
\nIn fact, you should not even listen to me. In this world of constant noise, chaos and turbulence \u2013 you should listen to yourself. Your mind, your body, your soul. And ask yourself:
\nWhy do you make art? Varf\u00f6r skapar du konst? Miks s\u00e4 teet taidetta?<\/p>\n

Cheers. Tackar. Kiit\u00e4n.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of the Opening of the Academic Year 2026-2027, TaiYo’s chairperson Mikko Aaltio gave a speech. Read the trilingual speech below. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":16805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,143982104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taiyo","category-taiyo-blogi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2w00X-4mZ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taiyo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/260910_Lukuvuodenavajaiset_mikko1.jpg?fit=3000%2C2167&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16801"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16808,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16801\/revisions\/16808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}