Collage with blue background, a yellow polenta and mountains; in the foreground, there are Hanko's church and tower and five women with protest banners in their hands.

Tea Andreoletti: Yellowcake

Price: 10–20 € Length: 4 h (includes lunch) Language: English

Yellowcake is a participatory performance that invites you to explore the possibilities of collaboration and togetherness. It fosters space for sharing knowledge, stories, care, food, and different ways of being together.

The performance arose from the need to recollect the oral memories of the 1970’s movement in the valley of Alta Val Seriana, Tea Andreoletti’s hometown. The locals opposed uranium extraction in Italy’s biggest uranium reserve and united to protect their environment, ultimately succeeding in stopping mining. This movement was the last time the villages in the valley cooperated significantly. Today, the same villages are struggling to work together and can’t find a common way to address their issues, such as services shortage and depopulation. 

Tea Andreoletti researched archival materials and listened to the stories of the activists who participated in those demonstrations against mining. She also gathered information about the history of uranium mining in Finland. At Hangö Teaterträff, Yellowcake weaves together past and present stories of unity and resilience. The narratives of 1970s activism are the materials that accompany the audience to act as a collective and create a common space to share awareness, fears, and hopes for the future.

“Yellowcake” is the term used to describe the final product of the uranium extraction process, a yellow radioactive powder used as fuel for nuclear power plants. Like a twist of fate, the typical dish of Alta Val Seriana is polenta, a cornmeal porridge that looks just like a yellow cake.

The four-hour performance includes a shared vegan and gluten-free lunch. Yellowcake premiered in 2022 at Baltic Circle, and it evolves throughout its journey in response to the different festivals’ contexts, environments, and communities. It raises awareness about environmental concerns, from extraction to forestry and unsustainable tourism.

Tea Andreoletti is a performance artist based in Helsinki and Gromo, her hometown. She is interested in exploring the role of art in governance and social practice, a connection she researches by working with participatory performances and storytelling.

Tea’s artistic practice aims to become a tool that can foster collective and feminist leadership in local politics and facilitate collaboration between communities. In line with this belief, she is currently working on a long-term project with a group of people that involves aiming to run for mayor in the 2026 Gromo elections. Furthermore, she co-founded CAP24020, an association that supports contemporary artistic practices in her hometown territory, Alta Val Seriana.

With her practice, Tea also enjoys challenging conventional archival methods. She documents her projects using only oral narratives and symbols that she embroiders on her hand-made Sunday Dress.

In addition to her MFA in Live Art and Performance Studies (Uniarts, Helsinki), she holds a diploma as a hydro-sommelier (A.D.A.M. Association of Mineral Water Tasters, Italy).

Yellowcake is supported by Kone Foundation and is part of Kulkue, a joint project between three Finnish art festivals. ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival (Kuopio), Hangö Teaterträff (Hanko), and Baltic Circle (Helsinki) create an exceptionally large-scale series of Finnish co-productions along with related tours. The project’s central goal is to promote the accessibility of the festivals and to prolong the life cycle of the performances. The project is financed by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Assistants: Monika Czyżyk, Minerva Juolahti, Maya Oliva, Olga Spyropoulou, Fjolla Hoxha