During the past summer and autumn in Raahe, Siikajoki, Ylivieska, Reisjärvi, Pyhänä and Pyhäjärvi, the local residents have worked hard in workshops, barning mosaic pieces for the work of art. Now these spectacular nature-themed wall mosaics are ready and hung in place in each municipality for everyone to admire. Together, the works form a magnificent whole of six works, the sum of their parts. The wall mosaic artworks were designed and executed by visual artist Jenny Grönholm and sculptor Jass Kaselaan. They brainstormed the contents of the art workshops and the themes of the works, from which the residents were allowed to vote the most pleasing of themselves. In the workshops, the works were laid under the guidance of the artists. One of the goals of the workshops and the whole art pilot was to get people to join the art scene. “The barn shops had nice encounters and people were enthusiastically involved in the work. People are clearly interested in art and doing it” says Jenny Grönholm. “We are very pleased that the pilot brought such magnificent works of art to the municipalities. Selected by local residents themselves and made together in cooperation in cooperation with artists’, says Tuula Kuoppamäki, Director of Library and Culture at Siikajoki. The whitefish work was hung a week ago in the lobby of the new multipurpose building in Paavola. The work has been admired a little longer in Ylivieska, where the colorful lady butterfly greets in the swimming hall. “The feedback on the work and the art pilot as a whole has been very positive. There is a clear demand for high-quality community art", says Janne Raudaskoski, Director of Culture at Ylivieska. The themes and locations of all six works are as follows: Neitoperhonen Ylivieska swimming hall lobby (Närhitie 2 Ylivieska) Siika Paavola multi-family house Siikajoki (Koulutie 2 B Siikajoki) Ulpukka Pyhäjärvi swimming hall (Tunturitie 2 Pyhäsalmi) Hilla Pyhänä library (Manuntien 4 Pyhätä) Suopursu Reisjärvi social and health centre (Savikontie 3 Reisjärvi) The works and their production process are described in a video published on the Youtube channel of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region. The art pilot was part of the Cultural Cells project coordinated by the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region and funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The project implements a regional cultural development task in Northern Ostrobothnia. Additional information: Regional Assembly of Oulu Region: Auli Suorsa, Senior Specialist, Project Manager, +358 50 386 8443 Artists Jenny Grönholm and Jass Kaselaan: jenny@gmail.com and jass.kaselaan@gmail.com Cultural Cell project Cultural Cell project - (pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi) All art pilots from the website of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region. Facebook and Instagram #Cultural cell  

Iijoki stories have been collected in art workshops organised in the municipalities along the Iijoki River this autumn. Now the stories have been compiled into municipality-specific video works and published on the Youtube channel of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region. There is also one piece that combines all the stories. In the videos, residents of the municipalities along the Iijoki River of different ages from Kuusamo, Taivalkoski, Pudasjärvi, Iin Jakkukylä and Yli-Ii in Oulu tell about their own relationship in cooperation in cooperation with the environment and nature and the significance of Iijoki in their lives. “My family has been living on these shores for a long time. I am part of a chain of generations and feel great gratitude, and it is a valuable thing to be able to live here on the banks of the river Iijoki, in Jakkukylä. This is what the resident of Jakkukylä says in the video. A total of 236 people participated in the art workshops. The age range of participants was between 3 and 93 years. The participants in Kuusamo included Finnish language students in cooperation in cooperation with an immigrant background, seniors and staff at Jokiranta Service Centre in Yli-Ii, Ii, residents of Jakkukylä, a working and day activities group in Pudasjärvi, and young high school students and other residents of Taivalkoski in Taivalkoski. There were also workshops open to everyone. ‘The purpose of artistic work was to awaken the perception and appreciation of the environment in a new way, to become active and to find specific meanings in their own environment. The result was intermittent community art works in local nature and these now published video works", says Niina Aho, one of the team's artists. The municipalities and their cultural managers have organised their own video release events in cooperation in cooperation with the participants in the art workshops. In addition to the videos, environmental artworks were created in the municipalities, such as wind clocks and an exhibition at the Jokiranta service centre. Art workshops and videos about Iijoki stories were produced Generations along the Iijoki River – the treatment of the relationship between the environment and nature in an art pilot. It is part of the Cultural Cell - Collaboration and impact in cultural services project of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region. The project is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Video creators: Description Satu Suvanto and Niina Aho, editing by Niina Aho, soundscape by Satu Suvanto, guitar by Jani Pietilä. Videos can be found via this link. (284) Cultural Cell Generations along the River Iijoki Art Pilot 2023 - YouTube Artist Niina Aho, +358 44 318 6968, theatresaga@gmail.com Artist Satu Suvanto, sasuvant@gmail.com Regional Assembly of Oulu Region Specialist, Project Manager Auli Suorsa, +358 50 386 8443, auli.suorsa@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi Facebook and Instagram #Cultural cell #More information about the project is available on the website of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region. Artwork from Taivalkoski workshop. (Satu Suvanto, Niina Aho).