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YUFE Connects: Professor Paweł Tański’s Study Visit at the University of Eastern Finland
From 27 April to 3 May 2026, Professor Paweł Tański from the Faculty of Humanities at Nicolaus Copernicus University undertook a study visit at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) in Joensuu.
During his stay, Professor Tański carried out the research project Local Musical Practices and Artistic, Activist, and Algorithmic Performative Strategies of Finnish Artists: A Case Study of the City of Joensuu. The project explored contemporary musical cultures and performance practices within local artistic communities in Finland, focusing on the relationships between music, artistic activism, digital technologies, and urban cultural environments.
Over the course of the intensive seven-day visit, Professor Tański conducted research on performance strategies developed by Finnish music communities. The mobility included fieldwork and participant observation, attendance at concerts and cultural events, analysis of cultural practices emerging at the intersection of music, artistic activism, and digital technologies, scientific consultations, and the development of future publication concepts in collaboration with researchers at the host institution.
The research stay also provided opportunities to work with archival materials and to consult with Professor Riitta Rainio, a leading Finnish scholar specialising in acoustic communication and soundscape studies. The research addressed listening cultures, the sonic construction of concert spaces, media music, the social uses of music, and the transformation of sensory environments, examining how these elements interact within contemporary urban soundscapes.
The project aimed to investigate urban listening cultures in the context of live performances and to explore how they are experienced, articulated, and appropriated by audiences and local communities. Particular attention was devoted to the concepts of listener, place, and music, as well as to the diverse sonic interests manifested within shared acoustic environments. The study also considered the social, legal, economic, and technological factors influencing the historical development of the music industry and the construction of contemporary sound environments.
The research was grounded in the theories and methods of ethnomusicology, cultural musicology, social history, and sound studies. One of its objectives was to contribute to the understanding of urban sonic identities. Research activities included library and archival work at the University of Eastern Finland as well as field research through active participation in local cultural events, including concerts, festivals, and recitals.