KAAPELI’s cultural centre model has worked for 35 years – now international peers are coming to learn from it

From San Francisco to Helsinki

Cultural spaces are under growing pressure in many cities. Rising rents have made it increasingly difficult for people working in the cultural and creative sectors to keep their spaces and remain part of their local communities.

Creative land trust models are one response to this challenge. Through property ownership, they aim to ensure that spaces remain permanently in cultural use.

The first Creative Land Trust Summit was held in San Francisco in May 2025. It explored approaches developed in different parts of the world and laid the groundwork for international collaboration between organisations working in the field. In Helsinki, the discussion will dig deeper into how these approaches work in practice and what can be learned from them.

The event organisers were already familiar with the work of KAAPELI (Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo), and its managing director Kai Huotari was invited to be one of the keynote speakers in San Francisco.

– Coming to Helsinki to hold this event was a natural next step. KAAPELI continues to be recognised the world over as a successful large-scale space based on a model that sees a successful collaboration between government, the artistic community and an arm’s-length management company, says Michelle Tabet, executive producer of Creative Land Trust Summit Helsinki 2026 and director and founder of Left Bank Co. – It’s a place and a model that the international delegation needed to experience for themselves and learn from in depth, she continues.

35 years on, it’s still a work in progress

KAAPELI is a real estate company that began operating in September 1991. Today, it owns and manages nearly 100,000 square metres of space in Helsinki. More than 700 tenants operate in the former industrial properties Cable Factory, N10 and Suvilahti, ranging from artists and creative sector actors to cultural organisations. KAAPELI funds its operations through its own income and receives no public funding for its operations, which is unusual in the cultural sector.

KAAPELI’s 35 years of experience make it an interesting reference point for international organisations in the field. At the same time, adapting to climate change, rising property and renovation costs, and the increasingly difficult financial situation facing cultural organisations are challenging KAAPELI’s model.

– Over the past 35 years, we have faced many problems and found solutions to them. The scale of our operations partly explains the resilience of our model: we are exceptionally large compared with most similar organisations. Just as important is the fact that we have always kept moving. KAAPELI started as an experiment, and we have adjusted the model whenever necessary. So the experiment is permanently unfinished, says Kai Huotari.

– Providing artists and creative sector professionals with good, affordable workspaces is more important than ever. Alongside gentrification, the cultural sector is under attack in different parts of the world through interference with its independence, cuts to funding and restrictions on its ability to operate. The challenges are similar around the world, and perhaps some of the solutions can be shared too. That is why it is important to bring city representatives and funders to the same table. We can learn from each other and share our experiences. Helsinki is a good place for this, as both the city and private foundations here work to create good conditions for culture, he continues.

Four days of conversations, connections and culture

Creative Land Trust Summit 2026 will be opened by the Mayor of Helsinki, Daniel Sazonov. During the event, participants will visit KAAPELI’s locations, and the programme will also include music and dance performances.

The event also launches KAAPELI’s 35th anniversary year. KAAPELI will open up more of its history and activities to the public and highlight tenants based in its spaces. The anniversary year will culminate in an international conference and birthday celebrations in June 2027.

Creative Land Trust Summit 2026 is an international collaboration. Behind the event are North American arts and culture funders: Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Good Chaos, Metcalf Foundation, Inspirit Foundation, San Francisco Foundation and Barr Foundation. Also involved is World Cities Culture Forum, a network through which major cities around the world share cultural practices and models.

Read more about Creative Land Trust Summit 2026:
https://clts.cventevents.com/event/Helsinki2026/summary

More information:
Kai Huotari, managing director, KAAPELI (Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo), kai.huotari@kaapeli.com, tel. +358 50 384 1557.