
A unique 1,000 meter tablecloth– Design for an all time summer night dinner in August 2026
The 1,000 metre tablecloth is the outcome of the design project between Proto designers and students at China Academy of Art, created for the grand dinner in August 2026 to celebrate Oulu2026 year and to honour the Sister Cities Hangzhou and Oulu.
1,000 metres of tablecloth designed for the Arctic Food Dinner in Oulu in August 2026 is a unique expression of power of design, collaboration and our will to respect and cherish cultural diversity.
The cities of Oulu and Hangzhou have been Sister Cities since 2010. Proto – Designers of Northern Finland invited China Academy of Art, one of the best art and design universities in China, to collaborate in a bold design project to celebrate Oulu, European Capital of Culture in 2026, to honour the two Sister Cities, and to celebrate the radical creativity of designers across cultures.
The design project itself creates cultural climate change, with creative minds with different cultural backgrounds finding inspiring and radical solutions together. We hope that the tablecloth and its design will inspire at best thousands of participants at the dinner itself to learn to know new friends.
In August 2026 the dinner is served and you are warmly welcome to join.
In collaboration with Proto
China Academy of Art (CAA), Hangzhou
Arctic Food Lab, Oulu2026 Programme
Team
Proto: Tuomas Mujunen; Päivi Tahkokallio, Proto2026 Programme; N.N. Proto Designer to be selected in March 2025
CAA: Han Xu, Vice President, CAA; Ling Yali, Vice Dean, School of Fashion Design; An Yuxi, Lecturer, Zhou Yuanyang, Lecturer, Helena Hyvönen, Professor
Interested in collaboration — Contact
Päivi Tahkokallio, Proto2026 Programme, Programme Director, paivi@tahkokallio.fi
An Yuxi, School of Fashion Design, CAA, zoeancherry@163.com