Artists Association Silence organizes an annual multi-art festival called Silence Festival in Kittilä, in Northern Finland. In addition the association runs an artist residency program in Kittilä and organizes multi-art concerts and coordinates multiple projects.
Contemporary classical music and contemporary circus combined with the unusual surroundings form the essence of Silence Festival. The river Ounasjoki running through the village creates a special atmosphere and most years it also has a role in the festival program. The festival was born from an idea by circus artist Sakari Männistö and producer Joonas Martikainen to fill the Kaukonen village with high-level performing arts. The Silence Festival has been multidisciplinary since the beginning. It brings the most interesting performances and artists from Finland and abroad to Lapland. The festival is a platform for surprising encounters to people, Laplandish nature and different artforms
Silence Festival consists of about 10 events, including concerts, performances and seminars. The average audience capacity for one event is app. 70 spectators. In 2017 there were more that 900 spectators in the festival.
