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Category: BLOG

Groundlessness: Reflections in First and Third person, by Uzair Amjad

Groundlessness: Reflections in First and Third person, by Uzair Amjad

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 I came to Finland to pursue a Masters Degree in Visual Arts, Game and Narrative Design. But just into my second year, I ran into an unforeseeable financial situation, the kind of “unforeseeable financial situation” which is a regular fixture of adult life. I was completely unprepared for it, with my next visa renewal appointment just around the corner I had to save up Four Thousand Euros in Six months in order to not get kicked out of the…

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Kemê’ Final words speech at Opening the Nordic Art Sector seminar

Kemê’ Final words speech at Opening the Nordic Art Sector seminar

Photography credits: Marta Anna Løvberg The following text is closing words speech by Kemê Pellicer at the seminar “Opening the Nordic Art Sector” organised by Globe Art Point in collaboration with the Center for cultural policy research Cupore, Culture for All and Hanaholmen, supported by the Arts Promotion Center Finland and the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, on May 16th 2019 as part of the #STOPHATREDNOW 2019 Festival.     Here we are, at the end of the seminar….

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UNVEIL CREATIVE CHAOS! A CALL TO STORM THE BASTILLE. By Ceyda Berk-Söderblom

UNVEIL CREATIVE CHAOS! A CALL TO STORM THE BASTILLE. By Ceyda Berk-Söderblom

 “We live longer but less precisely and in shorter sentences …” These lines are picked from “Tutaj” (Here), a painfully beautiful dialogue between two great souls who are not with us anymore: the Nobel Prize-winning poet Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012) and the extraordinary trumpeter Tomasz Stańko (1942–2018). The stunning trumpet improvisations in response to the poet’s reading makes this live-recorded poetry and jazz combination a treasure and reminds us that at the end of the day what stays in our hearts…

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THE HIGH ART OF THE HORRIBLE ACCENT. Speech by Sivan Ben Yishai

THE HIGH ART OF THE HORRIBLE ACCENT. Speech by Sivan Ben Yishai

World Theatre Day  27.3.19, The finnish national Theatre, Helsinki ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––—- “It wouldn’t be difficult to describe,  what I saw as I turned my head and looked backwards. The city was far, tiny. Burning in the distance like a star in space. If you had seen her from above like i did, if you had looked at her from a house-top like me, you would have seen how people were pouring out of her. A swarm of people like candies,  rolling…

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David Kozma’ speech at Arkadia’s seminar: IS THE FINNISH ART FIELD DIVERSE, OPEN AND EQUAL?

David Kozma’ speech at Arkadia’s seminar: IS THE FINNISH ART FIELD DIVERSE, OPEN AND EQUAL?

On 15.1.2019 Arkadia Society of Artists and Parliament Members organized a seminar with Globe Art Point, Culture for All and Centre for Cultural Policy Research Cupore, with the aim of raising debate on the conditions of cultural services and the possibilities of artwork for non-Finnish born artists and artists with disability. You can find all the information and program in Finnish and English here. The seminar was held in Finnish and interpreted simultaneously to English and Sign Language to the assistants….

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Sepideh Rahaa’ speech at Arkadia’s seminar: IS THE FINNISH ART FIELD DIVERSE, OPEN AND EQUAL?

Sepideh Rahaa’ speech at Arkadia’s seminar: IS THE FINNISH ART FIELD DIVERSE, OPEN AND EQUAL?

On 15.1.2019 Arkadia Society of Artists and Parliament Members organized a seminar with Globe Art Point, Culture for All and Centre for Cultural Policy Research Cupore, with the aim of raising debate on the conditions of cultural services and the possibilities of artwork for non-Finnish born artists and artists with disability. You can find all the information and program in Finnish and English here. The seminar was held in Finnish and interpreted simultaneously to English and Sign Language to the…

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Learning from the Middle East: Uninterrupted Skype session and the letter that never arrived.

Learning from the Middle East: Uninterrupted Skype session and the letter that never arrived.

Last year after a rejected attempt in establishing an academic exchange agreement between Aalto University and an Art University in Beirut on the basis of lack of safety in my chosen destination, I started looking more closely in the nature of the established relationships between the art institutions and the Academia in Finland and those in The Middle East. In their eyes, what does the Middle East has to offer anyway? A perpetual warfare? Flood of refugees? I wondered. In…

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The Politics and Poetics of an Imaginary Line

The Politics and Poetics of an Imaginary Line

What is this line and what is it good for?   “I have actually visited the line, only once or twice in my lifetime, even though I have lived around it my whole life”. Does the size matter?   “You think we are talking about a millimetric space, but no. We are talking about a band. About a valley. Don´t you dare thinking this line, is just a line.” A few years ago, a hiker was climbing the volcano Cayambe,…

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Beyond separation: labels, division, and professional othering

Beyond separation: labels, division, and professional othering

  When we in Finland talk about local artists, we tend to use labels that refer to their background. These labels depend on whether or not their identity is considered to deviate from the white Finnish norm. Those who are the norm are simply called artists. The ones who don’t are labeled as immigrant artists, international artists, refugee artists, multicultural artists, foreign-born artists, the list goes on. These labels contribute to professional exclusion in contemporary art, and institutions are perpetuating…

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