School for disobedience set to open in Finland
Artist Jani Leinonen will run a series of lectures and workshops teaching young people how to be activists
A controversial Finnish artist is planning to launch a school for disobedience to teach people how to become social activists.
Jani Leinonen will be leading a series of lectures, workshops and art installations at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki urging people to challenge the status quo.
"The whole idea started from the fact that I was worried that maybe kids in schools are just too happy to take their place in society and fulfil the goals that are fed to them," he told Finland's national broadcaster YLE News.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The idea is to teach them to be outspoken in their questioning of everything they see in the media, read and even what they're taught in school," he says.
Leinonen is well-known in Finland for his controversial blend of art and activism. In 2010, he was part of team of hooded activists who abducted and decapitated a Ronald McDonald statue from a fast food store in Helsinki as part of an art project aimed at questioning the company's ethics.
The disobedience classes will be taught by a team of local activists including rapper Karri "Paleface" Miettinen, Left Alliance politician Li Andersson and Lutheran pastor Marjaana Toiviainen. The classes – many of which are already full – are aimed at school children and young people, but adults are welcome as well.
Miettinen explains why blindly following societal norms can be dangerous and why disobedience should be on the school curriculum. "War, genocide, slavery and all the worst things in the history of mankind are actually the result of obedience, rather than disobedience," he says, quoting US historian and activist Howard Zinn.
The school of disobedience comes at a time when Finland is having a difficult conversation about race, identity and immigration. Last month a politician belonging to the anti-immigration Finns Party, which is a member of the ruling coalition, said he would "defeat this nightmare called multiculturalism". His comments sparked a furious response, with thousands of Finns taking to the streets in anti-racism marches.
Leinonen argues that this is where true power lies; with the masses. "It's not heroic politicians that change the world, even if history writes it that way," Leinonen says. "It's actually citizens' movements that change big things."
The School of Disobedience opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma September 4 and runs until the end of January 2016.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - September 8, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - circuitous thoughts, overheating circuits, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Chicken with Steph's spice
The Week Recommends This Caribbean-inspired recipe is mouthwateringly delicious
By The Week UK Published
-
A peaceful seaside village in Turkey
The Week Recommends Çıralı has been spared the 'scourge' of all-inclusive resort development
By The Week UK Published
-
Coolcations: where to escape from the heat this summer
The Week Recommends As southern Europe sizzles, try these milder destinations
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
India's visa temples offer divine intervention to hopeful migrants
Under the Radar Visitors believe the 'divine presence inside' can bless worshippers with a successful US visa application
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Taylor Swift vs. The Beatles: who's bigger?
In the Spotlight With US megastar's 'Eras' tour arriving in Liverpool, comparisons to the Fab Four and Beatlemania abound
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Boysober: the rebranding of female celibacy
Under the Radar Voluntarily abstaining from sex is gaining traction as a feminist choice amid erosion of reproductive rights and dating app fatigue
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The value of silence
Under The Radar In a world 'filled with constant yapping' some are making an effort to keep schtum
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Master and Margarita: the new adaptation causing consternation at the Kremlin
Why Everyone's Talking About Pro-Putin groups have called for the film's director to be charged as a terrorist
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
The new 'boom' in Latin American fiction
Why everyone's talking about Almost a quarter of International Booker Prize longlist comes from South America, a region in turmoil
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Poonam Pandey: the Indian model who faked her own death
Why Everyone's Talking About The Bollywood star has a reputation for outlandish stunts
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published