Who?

I am often asked what I am by profession and what I do for a living. Both questions are difficult to answer shortly. I am one of the founders of Helsinki Urban Art NGO and part of my time I’m busy with its projects. But I do a lot of other things too: events, art projects, innovating, consulting, lectures, workshops, research, social media campaigns and international projects. Partly I work through my company Second Though Placemaking Agency, partly with different groups.

I’m also one of the founders of Yhteismaa (Common Ground) and I made many projects under its name between 2012 and 2017. So depending on the context, I can be producer, placemaker, artist, activist, city maker, planner or researcher, but if I have to pick a title, I usually call myself just urban activist and producer, which pretty much sums up all this stuff .

Some of my activities are associated with urban space, some with art, some with culture, some with environmental issues, some with food. But everything is linked in some way to urban culture, people and community. And when doing all that, I always like to stick to the values that are important for me: openness, fairness and sustainability.

On this website I have gathered all the projects I have been doing. A picture is worth a thousand words, so these pages include a lot of pictures. I hope they’ll give you some idea of what all this is all about. There are also some articles that I have written about participatory urban culture. If you want to keep on track of my doings, the easiest way is to follow me on Facebook (and on other social media) – just scroll down a bit for the links. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me!

Jaakko Blomberg
jaakko.blomberg@gmail.com
+358 44 5478354