The neat polarities of tradition and modernity, colonial and post colonial, no longer suffice for interpreting the globalized present. The Helsinki Cultural Center is concerned with the potential for aesthetics to stimulate people across all ages, and stages in life - to open possibilities for them to participate in the making of their own culture through various modes:reflection, discussion, and production. Therefore, it will support complementary and interdependent activities:education, production, exhibition, and the exchange of ideas and materials.