Lux Korkeasaari ENG

 

 

Lux Korkeasaari, a satellite event for the renowned and beloved Lux Helsinki light art festival, lights up the zoo during the darkest days of the year: 26.12.2022 – 8.1.2023. At the same time it brings light to the future of the endangered snow leopards: one euro per purchased ticket or an annual card visit will be donated towards conserving snow leopards in the wild.

Tickets

Normal ticket prices and annual cards are valid during the event. During Lux Korkeasaari the zoo is open from 10 to 19 o’clock. Last entrance is an hour before closing time.

Route and installations

TENTACLES – Filthy Luker & Pedro Estrellas (GBR)

Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas are driven by their passion for innovative design, public art, and mischievous intervention.
The duo has time again proven to be pioneers in the inflatable medium as well as carving themselves a unique niche in the international Street Art movement with their larger-than-life site-specific urban sculptures and anarchic humor.

Their pop-up installations never fail to turn heads and raise smiles and eyebrows with their epic scenes that shift the mundane towards the surreal and often downright ridiculous.

The artists have worked with a team of highly skilled, specialist technicians collectively known as Designs in Air for over 20 years. The company aims to produce beautiful, meticulously constructed forms, efficiently delivered and installed at diverse events and locations around the world.

LIGHT BEINGS – Anna Björklund (FIN)

“I tape black bin bags over the windows and draw the curtains. To cover the doorframe, I hang a cloth over the door. I tape over the smoke detector and router lights and turn off the ceiling light. I crouch in the darkness and use my fingers as my eyes, until I notice how light slithers in from small cracks, twirls around my fingers, bounces around the ceiling boundary and slides down onto the floor. I grab a hold of it and twirl it around an Emerald palm. I take another one, which I roll up into a bundle and place on the floor.”

Light Beings, by visual artist Anna Björklund, is a two-channel video work which has been filmed with artist-made pinhole cameras. The GIF-like videos portray light as a three-dimensional living being. Through this work, the artist hopes to incite the audience to reflect on the essence and nature of light.

Anna Björklund is a visual artist and curator of the Finnish Museum of Photography who lives and works in Helsinki.

KOSKI – Jukka Huitila (FIN)

“I’ve waded in rapids, swum in rapids and done whitewater kayaking. Whitewater primes the senses.“

Jukka Huitila’s projects include site-specific works, light architecture, immersive performances as well as stage art. The relationship between light and nature and the freely flowing rapids are key themes in Huitila’s works.

Jukka Huitila is a Rovaniemi-based visual and lighting designer.
KOSKI is included in Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation’s collection in Rovaniemi Art Museum.

KUKKUU-KYLÄ – Ghost Project (FIN)

When the birds migrate to the south for the winter, their apartments are left empty – or at least that is what one might think.

Is the younger generation left behind to do all the necessary household chores and – while they’re at it – organize a party of the century? Or is there an entirely another agency that settles down inside the empty birdhouses in the autumn?

Cuckoo Village is a playful and imagination-stimulating light art piece that marvels at the sense of commonality. Have you ever thought about what takes place in your home when you are not around?

How do the animals react to lights?

The wellbeing of animals is the corner stone of Korkeasaari Zoo’s operations. It guides our processes and work every day, also in event planning. The lights and installations have been planned so that they do not disturb the animals. We keep a close eye on the wellbeing and behaviour of the animals, and if necessary, the lighting will be adjusted.

Almost all animals at Korkeasaari have been born in zoos, hence they are used to humans and the sounds of the city. In case they want to, the animals have the option to hide. Some of the animals will retire when darkness falls, as is typical behaviour for the species. However, other species are the most acitve especially during dusk and when the weather is cooler.

Energy efficiency

Korkeasaari uses green electricity, which is based on renewable energy sources. The installations are made using safe and energy effecient light sources.

Conservation of snow leopards

Cold and rugged mountains of the Central Asia is the habitat of the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia). About 5500 snow leopards live in the wild on an area of 2 million km², extending through 12 countries. As temperatures rise, vegetation, livestock and people move higher on the mountains, fragmenting the habitat of the snow leopard.

Korkeasaari Zoo has supported the work of the Snow Leopard Trust since 2012. With the donations Snow Leopard Trust has bought GPS tracking collars to gain insight about snow leopard habitat, wild prey species, and the cats themselves and done research to discover information about the diseases and illnesses of the snow leopards in the wild.

Since the 1960s over a hundred cubs have been born in Korkeasaari, more than in any other zoo in the world. Snow leopards in Korkeasaari are part of the EAZA Ex-situ programme or EEP. The purpose of the EEP and the studbook containing information about the individuals, is to maintain a healthy and genetically diverse population in zoos, in case the population in the wild is threatened with extinction. For snow leopards the studbook was established in 1976 and was first kept at Korkeasaari Zoo. Research done in the zoos supports the research and conservation of the animals in the wild.

Make a donation for snow leopard conservation!

Conservation products

You can also support snow leopard conservation by buying conservation products at Korkeasaari! Reflectors are sold at Mustikkamaa ticket sales and at the zoo’s restaurants during Lux Korkeasaari. We’ll also donate 1 € per salmon soup portion sold in restaurant Karhu.

Programme

Feeding times

During the feeding times a guide will tell the news about the animals at the Zoo and their conspecifics in the wild. The animals can be seen best during the daytime as some of them will retire for the night during dusk.

Animal houses

Tropical houses Amazonia and Africasia will be lit to honour Lux Korkeasaari. Animals will retire early for the night, so you should move around calmly.

Borealia house is open until 16:00.
Monkey castle’s indoor viewing space is open until 16:00.

Restaurants & picnic areas

Last orders from the kitchen are taken an hour before the zoo closes.
Restaurant Karhu: open 10 – 19
Restaurant Pukki: open 14 – 19
Bistro Bron: open 10 – 19

An indoor snack area with microwave ovens can be found at the Bear Castle.

Arriving to the Zoo

Bus
Local Helsinki region bus no. 16 from and to the Central Railway Station (Rautatientori) runs all year round three times an hour. Travel time is 20–25 minutes. AB-region public transport tickets are valid for the bus. Notice that there is no ticket machine nor a cash machine at the zoo; please have a valid return ticket before visiting, or download the HSL mobile app for ticket purcase.

Metro
Kalasatama metro station is about 15 minutes (1 km) away by foot from the zoo gate at Mustikkamaa. The metro runs every 2,5 to 5 minutes. Exit the metro station or REDI shopping mall to Leonkatu. AB-region public transport tickets are valid for the metro.

Car
We recommend using public transport.
When arriving to the Zoo by car, you should leave your car in the parking garage of the Redi shopping centre where Korkeasaari visitors may park their car for the duration of their entire zoo visit for only 3 €. This discount is accessible with a refund slip that you ask for at the Zoo’s ticket booth during your visit. Those using the Taskuparkki parking app must deactivate camera identification before driving into the parking garage, otherwise the app will charge the regular price for parking. From the Redi shopping centre there is a 10-minute walk to Korkeasaari Zoo’s ticket booth. Parking outside of the parking lot in Mustikkamaa is forbidden, as it will block the bus and emergency vehicle routes.

Enjoy your visit and respect the zoo etiquette

Please stay on the route 
During daytime the whole zoo is open, but when it gets dark, please stay on the route as the rocky terrain can be dangerous in the dark.

Respect the animals
Animals have sensitive eyes, so do not use flashlights and do not take photos with flash. Drones are also not allowed.
Some animals seek shelter at night and may be out of sight after sunset. If you wish the see the animals and then stay to enjoy the lights, come latest at 14:00.

Do not feed or disturb the animals, cross the fences, knock on the windows or put your fingers in the enclosures. Pets are not allowed at the zoo.

Do you need help?
For lost property inquiries please contact the zoo ticket office at number +358 50 3525989. The same number is also the zoos emergency and customer service number. First aid is at the ticket office.

Partners

   

Korkeasaari Zoo reserves the right to schedule, price and program changes.