The Naked Truth London: Sauna Dialogues
The Naked Truth comes to London on Monday 19 October, when the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland and Lowlu Sauna co-host a series of moderated sauna dialogues. The one-evening event is part of London Sauna Week, a citywide celebration of sauna and wellbeing taking place 15-25 October.
Developed by the Finnish Institute in Estonia and seen as part of the Tartu 2024 and Oulu 2026 European Capital of Culture programmes, among others, The Naked Truth draws on the Finnish idea of saunarauha, ‘sauna peace’: in the sauna we meet as equals, without titles, devices or preconceptions. Now presented for the first time in London, the event takes place during the hour-long sauna sessions starting at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm in Lowlu Kentish Town.
Each dialogue is a moderated group conversation of 20-30 minutes, where everyone in the sauna is invited to take part, deepening our understanding of a chosen theme together. The conversations follow the Timeout dialogue method, which is about listening to one another rather than debating or reaching agreement.
Lowlu Kentish Town
Monday 19 October, with session running from 6pm, 7pm and 8pm
Please find the full programme with timings and themes for each hour below. No previous experience of sauna or dialogue is necessary.
6–7pm | Sauna: How and for Whom?
Sauna culture is booming in London: part wellbeing, part lifestyle trend, part tradition. How is the London sauna scene developing, who decides what the right way to bathe is, who feels welcome and who is left out?
Moderated by Mikko Fritze, Director of the Finnland-Institut, Berlin
7–8pm | Forests: Wild, Managed, Lost?
Forests are timber, carbon sinks, nature reserves and mythical places. Forests are also battlegrounds between the managed and the wild, resource and refuge. What is our relationship with forests?
Moderated by Aleksi Malmber, Director of the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland
8–9pm | Hope: A Tool, a Duty or a Luxury?
In uncertain times, how do we sustain hope, in practice? Is it something we choose, something we owe others, or something false not everyone can afford?
Moderated by Mikko Fritze, Director of the Finnland-Institut, Berlin
The sessions are free to attend with a Lowlu sauna ticket for that hour. Tickets can be booked through the Lowlu website below, and London Sauna Week pass holders will get 50% off tickets!