27.06.2023
Art workshops dealing with the relationship with nature reach the municipalities along the river Iijoki
The story of Iijoki, told by different generations, will be brought together when the first Community Art Workshop of the Cultural Cell project will be held in Kuusamo from 7 to 11 August.
Generations along the River Iijoki – treating the relationship between the environment and nature through art The pilot brings together the story of Iijoki in five different workshops, to which participants of different ages and backgrounds have been invited. The first workshop will be held from 7 to 11 August in Kuusamo, at the source of the river Iijoki, together with a group of immigrants. From there, the journey continues to work with high school students and young people in Taivalkoski and Pudasjärvi. In Ii, the residents of Jakkukylä and the seniors of the Yli-Iista Jokiranta service house, their relatives and the staff of the house will join in.
Art workshops are carried out by artists Niina Aho and Satu Suvanto. Together with the participants, they explore their relationship between nature and the environment using the concept of place-feeling. The work combines environmental art, creative writing, sound art, and video and photography.
‘For example, in the Jakkukylä village of the municipality of Ii, the aim is to meet people who hunt, fish and move in nature. The theme is approached through ancient hunting culture and Finnish rock painting symbols. We inspire participants to share their own experiences, and together, inspired by rock paintings, we create our own signs for the environment with natural materials", opens the workshops with artist Satu Suvanto.
"The purpose of artistic work is to awaken the perception and appreciation of the environment in a new way, and to activate the inhabitants of the area to find special meanings in their own living environment," continues Niina Aho, one of the team's artists.
The schedule of the workshops is as follows: Week 32 Kuusamo, week 33 Taivalkoski, weeks 35-37 Yli-Ii and week 37 Pudasjärvi. The date of the workshop will be confirmed later.
As a result of the workshops, video and audio works will be made available to municipalities and the communities participating in the workshops. The contribution and work of each participating group builds the work. The final work is unique, born in a chain of generations and site-specific.
Generations along the River Iijoki – treating the relationship between the environment and nature through art is one of the six art pilots carried out in the Cultural Cell project of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia during the rest of the year. Common to all pilots is communality, inclusiveness, experientialism and experimentation. The themes discussed include nature and sustainability, everyday environments and the home region. Various art methods and different art exercises are used. Each pilot results in a concrete work or experience.
Presentation of artists
Niina Aho is a director of theatre expression and creative activities. He specializes in directing theatre and verbal art, as well as bodily and functional methods. She works at Teatteri Saaga as a director-scriptwriter and at Vuolle Opisto as a teacher of stage art. She is currently studying expressive art therapy.
Satu Suvanto (Master of Science, Doctoral Researcher) works as an artist and doctoral researcher at the Department of Educational Science and Psychology at the University of Oulu. In the study, Suvanto deals with applied art in work with children. In personal artistic work, Suvanto often deals with deep ecological topics through environmental art. Her works have been seen, for example, at the Lumo light art festival in Oulu (2019).
Additional information:
Auli Suorsa, Senior Specialist, Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, Project Manager, tel. +358 50 386 8443, auli.suorsa(at)pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi
Anni-Stiina Hujala, Cultural Producer of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, +358 40 685 4043, anni-stiina.hujala(at)pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi
Artist Niina Aho, +358 44 318 6968, theatresaga@gmail.com
Artist Satu Suvanto, sasuvant@gmail.com
Facebook and Instagram #Cultural cell
Presentation of art pilots and artists the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region.
Presentation of the Cultural Cell project Cultural Cell project - (pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi)
Generations Along the River Iijoki, the art pilot and its workshops are part of the Culture Cell project managed by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, which is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. One of its objectives is to strengthen cooperation between municipalities in the production of cultural services. The cultural managers of the pilot municipalities have jointly brainstormed and designed Generations along the Iijoki River a pilot blank and their own strongly involved in the implementation.
