MARTHAS is a dance piece for two performers, a dancer and a musician. The work aims to physicalize the mental landscapes of those who left their homes or homelands due to wars or persecutions. At the same time, the work is a comment against the racist and anti-immigration attitudes in our society.

The work, which draws on the theme of movement, is inspired by Riikka Puumalainen’s grandmother Martta Puumalainen’s studies at the Suistamo seminar in 1921 and Puumainen’s grandmother Martta Haakana’s experiences as a migrant Karelian.