ABOAGORA is a symposium that brings together various aspects of academia, the arts, and society. This exciting annual event consists of interdisciplinary discussions, performative sessions, and diverse artistic interventions. The event offers a forum for researchers, artists, and the public to establish new dialogues and new forms of collaboration.

Aboagora is a joint effort by the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, the Arts Academy of Turku University of Applied Sciences, and the Donner Institute for Research in Religion and Culture, which is attached to the Åbo Akademi University Foundation. In 2023, the project is supported by the Kone Foundation, The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland (Svenska kulturfonden), the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Konstsamfundet, William Thurings stiftelse and the City of Turku.

In 2024, Aboagora launches a new thematic entity titled “The Planets,” which draws its inspiration from Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite of the same name. The annual themes will be based on the seven movements, which will provide inspiration and a thematic starting point for each year’s events. The series will open with ”Mars, the Bringer of War,” which will be organized 28–30 August 2024, mainly at the Sibelius Museum in Turku.

In addition to the main event, Aboagora’s activities include an open “Avant Aboagora” event in the spring. We also organize a retreat for doctoral researchers in all fields and MA Arts Students, for which an open call is held each spring.

Aboagora was launched in 2011 during Turku’s year as the European Capital of Culture. After its inaugural year, the project has been continued under new thematic strands as a permanent forum for reassessing and challenging the relations between arts and sciences.