Kiek in de Kök opens exhibition on Finnish punk culture

A photography exhibition documenting Finnish punk culture has opened in the artillery tower of the Kiek in de Kök Fortress Museum, ERR reported. The exhibition, titled The World Was Dead, but We Were Alive, features landmark photographs and was organised by Helsinki Punkmuseo.

The organisers say the exhibition focuses on 1980s hardcore punk, the most visible and loudest part of the early punk movement. At a time when the Cold War was at its most intense and the threat of nuclear war felt tangible, punks opposed the system, conformity and political tensions through music, activism and their way of life.

Punkmuseo says the exhibition aims to show that punks sincerely opposed nuclear war and defended freedom and peace, drawing on punk culture’s values and resisting politics imposed by the system.

The Kiek in de Kök Fortress Museum’s bastion passages also have a history with punk culture. In the 1980s, they served as a gathering place and refuge for local punks from representatives of the authorities.

The exhibition is open until August 22, 2027.