European Capital of Culture

Pegasus is a large-scale cross-art spectacle with a 18-ton (11 m × 7 m × 3 m) mechanical horse and a cross-art performers: an opera singer, musicians, acrobats, fire artists, stilt walkers, and street performers in a poetic procession inspired by mythology and the stars.

Cultural Kaleidoscopes (The Irish Festival of Oulu) collaborating with Pegasus, is part of European Capital of Culture | Oulu26.

Oulu2026 in numbers

• €50M initiative (2021–27)

• 2M expected visits

• +20% growth in tourism

• Led by Oulu + 39 municipalities

• Hundreds of partners across Europe

• The Irish Festival of Oulu 100,000 visitors since 2006

Cultural Kaleidoscopes Project Aims

• To engage audiences globally, especially across Europe

• To celebrate cultural heritage.

• To create shared, real experiences and connections.

My Roles

• Concept Design — contribute to the framing the core idea

• Branding — human tone, real art

• Audience Engagement — invites, not ads; fast loops with locals.

• Digital Ecosystem — one story across street, site, social.

• Film — I contributed as a concept designer and scriptwriter, building upon the outstanding work of the original director, crew and artists.

Timeline
Project 2022–2026.
Festival live in Sep 2026, in Oulu, Finland.

Impact
Live event is in September, but already it's drawing international attention.

Why this project is important to me
I'm thrilled to be part of this as a designer, a storyteller and a PhD researcher. I'm interested how culture and art affect our brain and what is value of our culture regarding to our brain health.

For more information, check Cultural Kaleidoscopes.