Join us in welcoming Espoo’s Nelli to Leppävaara’s Sello Shopping Centre on Saturday, June 1, at 2:00 pm

Nelli’s location is chosen by ‘passing a baton’. The sculpture was unveiled in Haukilahti in 2022. The sculpture's most recent home in Kalajärvi’s Saudarkrokur Park was chosen by the Espoo Youth Council, who in turn passed the baton to Espoo’s Disability Council. Accessibility and availability of services were prioritized in the choice of Nelli’s new location. Because subsidized mobility support services are limited to a certain number of trips per month, the Disability Council wanted to locate Espoo's Nelli in a place where disabled people can run several errands simultaneously.

“Nelli is highly approachable not only because of her warm-hearted presence, but also from a multisensory viewpoint. You can sit next to her, and she doesn’t even mind being touched! We are grateful to the Youth Council for the opportunity to take part in this interesting process. Our collaboration with EMMA has offered us the opportunity to use art to raise issues that are important to us,” enthuses Pirkko Kuusela, chair of Espoo’s Disability Council. “We chose Sello’s Viapori Square as Nelli’s new home, as the mall offers good accessibility to many services that are important to us. The sculpture will be located outside the main entrance of Sello Library, and an audio beacon has been installed next to Nelli to help visually impaired people find her.” 

Nelli’s arrival in her new home will be celebrated on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at 2 pm at the main entrance of Sello Library (Leppävaarankatu 9). There will be speeches and a musical performance, and the Disability Council will pass the baton to the next organization to name Nelli’s location.

“We will be passing the baton to Espoo’s Elderly Council, one of the Disability Council’s important partners and an influential collaborator in the city’s decision-making. It will be interesting to see where Nelli ends up next!” concludes Kuusela.

Speakers at the event:
Reetta Kalajo, EMMA’s Chief Curator
Pirkko Kuusela, Chair of Espoo’s Disability Council 
Olli Männikkö, Chair of Espoo’s Elderly Council 

Trumpet performance by Markku Känninen 

This event is open to everyone (weather permitting).

Espoo’s Nelli is a motherly, warm-hearted canine-human hybrid who holds a puppy under one arm. The sculpture is part of Animal Humans and Human Animals, Kerttu Horila’s imaginative series of storybook fusions of humans and animals.