Delta Life

We are participating in the Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture program with the Delta Life project. Delta Life is a multi-art, international project that explores the birth of towns and culture along waterways, from fells to the sea, and makes it visible. Our methods are cultural events and art with the utilization of scientific research results.

Delta Life can be divided into three parts:

  1. Journey 2021–2025: Art, cultural events, live broadcasts, digital media content on water routes and estuaries, with water routes as a connecting factor, exploring their impact on people’s lives in the past, present, and future.
  2. Oulu August Festivals 2026: Artistic materials collected during the journey from water routes in the Oulu2026 area and Europe converge and present themselves in the Oulu River Delta in August 2026 during the Oulu Celebrations.
  3. World Peace Spectacle: At the birthplace of the city, on the last weekend of August, a spectacular event invites all of Europe to one of the biggest events in the Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture year.

The contents of the Delta Life is made visible on Northern Cultural Stream channel. For us, media is not just about conveying information but also a part of artistic content. Being seen and appreciated supports local identities and diverse life. In Delta Life, the creation of art means becoming visible. This is reinforced by digital media through the Northern Cultural Stream. Our culture becomes seen and remembered in Finland, Europe, and around the world.

Musician, singer-songwriter, author, and video artist Jukka Takalo serves as the scriptwriter and artistic director for the Delta Life project. Delta Life is implemented by Oulu August Festivals, along with its member organisations.

Jukka Takalo kajakissa laulaa mikrofoniin

Deltas are age-old meeting points of influences, trade, language and genes. As the influences of these waterways encounter, something new comes into existence: movement, life, a city. A culture.

#deltalife #oulu2026

Follow the flow of Delta Life
Delta Life online media: Northern Cultural Stream

Coming up:

  • Artists Arise in the Delta February 2024-
  • The Grail of Word and Poem: new tails of the water routes
  • Stories of River Iijoki, July 2024

Past Delta Life Events:

Our partners:

Interested? Contact us:

  • Partnerships, Project Management:
    Executive Director Pia Alatorvinen pia@nulloulunjuhlaviikot.fi
    tel. + 358 44 723 2676
  • Artistic Content and Concepts:
    Artistic Director Jukka Takalo, jukka.takalo@nullkolumbus.fi
    tel. +358 40 513 3262
  • Event Production:
    Producer Anu Lähteenmäki, anu@nulloulunjuhlaviikot.fi, tel. +358 44 333 5581

The roots of the riverside project go back to the autumn 2016, to the rock paintings at the headwaters of Oulu River:

Lauluntekijä Hossassa from Takalonj on Vimeo.