Cultural Space Merirasti

19/10/2023 Merirasti-chapel

Lively conversations fill the air in a room full of people exchanging stories about themselves and their connections to Meri-Rastila. It is the inaugural Story Sharing Café within the newly opened cultural venue Merirasti. Brazilian musician Nei Zigma engages the audience in rhythmic collective clapping, bringing the former chapel space to life.

After standing empty for almost a year, the Merirasti chapel is now being leased by a local cultural institution, Vuotalo, with plans to utilize it for cultural events until the end of the year.

Active use in the building has sparked hope for the building's preservation. For the time being, the demolition permit has been put on hold.

Numerous instances demonstrate how art and culture can revitalize abandoned buildings, such as Vuosaari high school, which has served as a space for artists and a theater group since the school's relocation. The community in Meri-Rastila hopes that the new cultural space can continue beyond the current year.

The current economic downturn has cast uncertainty over the entire urban renewal plans for the Meri-Rastila neighborhood. Progress on the demolition of the local mall appears stalled, as no developer has taken on the project. The locals are particularly anxious about the potential demolition of the chapel. They fear it could leave the site as an empty wasteland in a prominent location for years as the city waits for a more favorable economic climate to kickstart its own construction projects on the site.

This situation underscores how Meri-Rastila's fate is closely entwined with global financial markets, given that its development largely coincided with the economic downturn of the early 1990s.

The stalling construction may provide a chance to reconsider the demolition plans in the neighborhood, prompting the question among residents: have we thoroughly explored what already exists in the area? The chapel, with its lofty ceilings and exquisite interiors, coupled with the countless narratives interwoven within it, holds particular allure for locals.

Their aspiration is to transform the space, not through demolition, but by rewriting its story.