Burning The Bull

The Viaporin Kekri ceremony, an ancient harvest ritual revived on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Suomenlinna, offers new ecological and cultural significance in an era of industrialization and climate change. Through a 2018 residency at the Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP), Tamara Searle observed how this ritual performance, rooted in nature, adapts to contemporary global challenges. The study highlights the ceremony's evolving role as both a preservation of tradition and a means for modern audiences to reconnect with environmental narratives. Searle's interdisciplinary approach—combining performance practice, anthropology, and ecology—reveals the ritual's potential to foster resilience and awareness in a changing world.

Searle, T. (2025). Burning The Bull. The Performance Studies Reader, 156–164. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003282969-24