Lapinlahden Lähde
Full Member / Finland
Lapinlahden Lähde is a Center for Mental Wellbeing, Arts, Culture, Science and Societal Entrepreneurship, located in the oldest psychiatric hospital of Finland.
The center is developed on the guiding principle of “Kaikkien Lapinlahti” (Everyone’s Lapinlahti) – we want to offer everyone a warm, inclusive, safe, inspiring, soothing and beautiful environment to be, do, create and participate.
A cornerstone of our work is the trial culture, offering work opportunities for people recovering from mental health issues and other struggles. These opportunities allow participants to build skills, gain confidence, and engage in meaningful work within a supportive environment.
Lapinlahti is an integral part of the identity and people of Helsinki, a “secret garden” right next to the city center, consisting of historical buildings and beautiful park & sea environments. We are open 365 days a year. In Lapinlahti there is 2 cafes, an artisanal bakery, 6 active galleries with new exhibitions every 2 months, several painting schools, among hundreds of other interesting operators. We are a lively mix!
Collaboration and co-creation is one of strenghts. Lapinlahden Lähde hosts various events, lectures, seminars and discussions. We have more 400+ events a year with 70000 visitors.
In Lapinlahti, it is possible to rent both a longer-term work-space and a shorter-term event space with additional services. Also, external stakeholders can easily and flexibly utilize Lapinlahti as their event or research platforms.
- TEH Membership
Open for collaboration!
As an active member of Trans Europe Halles, Lapinlahden Lähde and its partner organizations are interested in strengthening international collaboration through practical exchange and joint project development. The focus is on peer-to-peer learning, study visits and collaborative applications, not artist residencies, but organizational exchange.
We are particularly interested in:
- Visiting other cultural centers within the TEH network to exchange practices and governance models
- Hosting reciprocal visits to share our experience in community-led management and multi-actor collaboration
- Developing joint local and international project applications, including EU-funded programs
- Sharing knowledge on sustainable use of heritage buildings, social inclusion practices and community programming
- Building long-term partnerships grounded in transparency, trust and mutual learning
Our aim is to deepen international cooperation while strengthening our local impact. Through direct exchange with other independent cultural centers, we want to learn, contribute and co-develop models that support resilient, community-rooted cultural spaces across Europe.
We warmly welcome conversations with fellow TEH members and other organizations who are interested in collaborative learning and joint project initiatives
