Habi Kids 2023 – Forest

Habitare 2023 will feature a Habi Kids children’s area conceived by the illustrator and artist Matti Pikkujämsä and themed around the forest. The Habi Kids area is a colourful mini world that invites visitors to try drawing and crafting in the forest. Pikkujämsä’s goal is to create a picture book-like colour experience and a mini-world in the area, and to provide a place for people to do things by hand and forget about their tablets and devices for a while.

Habi Kids area, designed by Pikkujämsä, will offer opportunities to do things by hand: drawing and crafting. The theme of the area is the forest, which the illustrator from Northern Finland loves and from which he draws inspiration. In the middle of Pikkujämsä’s forest, there is a big table, around which people do things and get to know the unfamiliar people sitting next to them.

“The style of my design will make Habi Kids a colour experience, which will embrace visitors and which will feature bright and strong colours. It will be like stepping into a picture book. My idea is to place hand-painted, cut-out animal figures in the area. This is to introduce a feel of the materials, a handmade feeling, and an element of organicity”, says Pikkujämsä, describing the starting points of his design.

Another starting point is a theatrical stage set, which has elements in layers and where you can have adventures and, for example, hide behind a tree. The idea is also to offer something that parents and children can do together.

More experiences by doing and experiencing yourself

“In today’s world, there are many virtual experiences that are viewed on a screen. Habi Kids has a wealth of genuine colours and genuine materials, such as paper and similar. My hope and goal is that the world and activities offered by Habi Kids will make people forget about their devices, and that this will give them a small, memorable alternative experience. I hope there is a lasting memory trace left with the children, and the adults too, of the forest, the world and the values it represents, and of the way of doing things by hand and being together”, says Pikkujämsä.

A forest is not a forest without sound. The aim of the designer is to introduce a special sound world to the space, with rustling, birdsong, and the feeling of being on a forest path. The designer is also working on using lights that would operate, for example, according to the circadian rhythm. At Habi Kids, you may hear an owl hooting in the evening and small birds singing in the morning.

Matti Pikkujämsä – the designer behind Habi Kids

The award-winning illustrator and artist Matti Pikkujämsä is known for his colourful illustrations in various forms, from newspapers and picture books to wall reliefs. Pikkujämsä has always been fascinated by doing things by hand, and particularly with paints, pens and pencils, wood, textiles, and various other materials, and not so much in the digital world or animations.