KAISAUOTILA

London, August 2026.

I’m so excited to share that I have graduated from the University of Turku with a Master of Arts in Musicology, complemented by minor studies in Business and Political Science.

What a privilege it has been to study something I really love, while building skills and experiences that I hope to carry into a career in the cultural and creative sectors.

Over the past years, I have had the opportunity to develop a multidisciplinary perspective through cultural research, humanities, business and politics. Highlights include my Master’s thesis on private capital funding for the performing arts, which received excellent feedback and brought together many of my academic interests. Alongside my studies, I completed an internship at Tampere Hall, where I worked with a wide range of music, arts and entertainment productions. I also spent an unforgettable exchange year at City St George’s, University of London, which broadened my horizons and strengthened my desire to build an international career in the cultural sector.

I am deeply grateful to the inspiring educators at the University of Turku and City St George’s, and especially to my thesis supervisor Professor John Richardson for his exceptional mentorship. A heartfelt thank you also to Paulina Ahokas at Tampere Hall, whose mentorship throughout my thesis and internship was invaluable. And the biggest thank you, of course, goes to my family and friends.

Earlier this year, I returned to London and am now looking for opportunities in the cultural, creative and music sectors. I’m excited to take everything I’ve learned through my studies and professional experiences into whatever comes next.

Can’t wait to see what the next adventure brings!

Last week, I got the chance to present my Master’s research on private investment in the performing arts at the Business & Culture seminar in Tampere. Together with Tampere Hall CEO Paulina Ahokas, we talked about Tampere Hall’s growth story and my research into private funding for its B2C business.

The seminar brought people from the cultural and business sectors into the same room to talk about some big questions. How do investors see the value of culture? What can businesses and cultural organisations offer each other? And, at a time when public funding is becoming less certain, what could the future of arts and cultural funding look like?

I’m very grateful that I got to share my research and be part of these conversations. It was especially interesting to hear people from very different backgrounds talk about the same challenges and think about how the cultural and business sectors could work better together. A special thank you to Paulina for all the guidance, support and trust throughout the research process, and to everyone who made the event happen.

The day also got me thinking about something I would love to see more of: humanities students doing their theses in collaboration with businesses and organisations. There is so much knowledge in the humanities that can be useful outside academia, but I think we could be better at recognising that ourselves and explaining what we can actually bring to the table. It also means being brave enough to reach out, join conversations and look for opportunities that might not seem obvious at first. I’m definitely still learning that myself.

It’s been a week since Radio Nova Festival! 

Jason Derulo, Rita Ora, INNA, Vengaboys, some of the biggest names in Finnish music and so many other amazing acts all in one weekend. Co-produced by Tampere Live and Radio Nova (Bauer Media Finland), the festival took over Santalahti Event Park in Tampere for the first major event ever held at the site.

After months of planning, it was pretty surreal to see the festival go from countless Excel sheets, Teams meetings and all-nighters to finally coming to life and welcoming more than 14,000 people.

I worked as a Production Assistant for the festival, with a big part of my role focused on sourcing and coordinating vendors. I also monitored budgets, prepared contracts, coordinated artist travel and accommodation, helped with VIP hospitality, and supported event logistics, safety and site planning, along with all the little details that go into making a festival of this size happen.

And then came the festival weekend itself, with pretty much the best weather a Finnish summer could give us. Seeing the site full of people in their festival outfits, hearing the music blasting and watching months of work turn into an actual festival was such a rewarding feeling. There’s something quite special about working behind the scenes on an event and then seeing thousands of people simply arrive, have a great time and hopefully never have to think about everything that went into making it happen.

I learned so much from this project and from all the people around me. I’m incredibly proud of everyone involved and very grateful that I got to be a small part of such a massive team effort. One of my favourite things was hearing from our vendors that they’d had a great time working with us and wanted to come back next year. As the person who spent months finding and coordinating them, that made me super happy.

What a weekend. Now, feet up.

See the festival photographs