UA MINIRESIDENSSIT: GEORGIE GOATER & ARLENE TUCKER (siirryt Urbanapa nettisivuun)
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(ENGLISH BELOW)
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Demo, keskustelu, ulostulo – Georgie Goaterin ja Arlene Tuckerin residenssijakso kulminoituu julkiseen tapahtumaan SOLU-tilassa, jossa taiteilijat jakavat prosessiaan ja työtään. Vapaa pääsy!

Residenssinsä aikana Georgie ja Arlene tutkivat intersemioottisten käännösten prosesseja erityisesti välineestä liikkeeseen. Miten esimerkiksi visuaalinen teos käännetään liikkuvaan kehoon? Miten voisimme ruumiillistaa tai fyysistää tekstin kääntämisen avulla? Miten ymmärrämme viestin ja miten voisimme koodata, purkaa ja koodata elementtejä kunnioittaen samalla lähdetekstiä? Kääntämällä tulemme tietoisemmiksi siitä, miten vastaanotamme tietoa ja miten haluamme viestiä. Kääntäminen on konkreettinen tapa olla aktivisti ja lisätä tietoisuutta valinnoistamme ja merkityksenantoprosesseistamme. Tuomalla kääntämisen kehoon ymmärrämme ja harjoittelemme sanojen ulkopuolisia viestintätapoja.

Lähtökohtamme on, että olemme jatkuvassa käännöksessä. Käytämme apuna Jeremy Mundayn kirjaa ‘Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications’, jotta voimme luoda pisteitä ja leikkimielisiä mutta kriittisiä lähestymistapoja käännöstekniikoihin ja -teorioihin käytännössä kehon kanssa. Koska tiedämme, että yhdessä olemme luonnostaan erilaisia ja suhteellisia, keskitymme tarkastelemaan osallisuutta, saavutettavuutta ja kuulumista, mikä tuo esiin subjektiviteetteja yhteistyössä. Miten voimme piirtää omilla yksilöllisillä kehoillamme, liikkuvuusvälineillämme ja liikeilmaisuillamme? Miten voimme saadaitsemme kuuluviin tanssin ja liikkeen avulla?

Arlene on käyttänyt käännöstekniikoita taiteen luomiseen, mutta myös viestinnän ymmärtämiseen vuodesta 2009 lähtien Translation is Dialogue (TID) -työnsä kautta. Suurimmaksi osaksi käännökset ovat olleet visuaalisia ja tekstuaalisia. TID:n kautta Arlene on työskennellyt erilaisten yhteisöjen kanssa ja erilaisten iteraatioiden kautta, kuten Bogotassa, Kolumbiassa, sijaitsevien vanhainkotien asukkaiden kanssa ja vankiloista kärsivien ihmisten kanssa, kuten Free Translation -teoksessa. Georgie on työskennellyt tanssitaiteen parissa vuodesta 2012 lähtien keskittyen esteettömyyteen ja osallisuuteen. Arlene ja Georgie alkoivat miettiä kääntämistekniikoiden tutkimista muilla tavoin kehon kanssa liikkeen ja tanssin avulla, jotta kääntämismatriisiin voitaisiin sisällyttää monipuolista havaintotietoa.

Milloin: 20.4.2024 klo 13:45 (tapahtuman kesto n. 90 min)
Where: SOLU-tila (Panimokatu 1)
Language: englanti & suomi

Jos olet kiinnostunut tulemaan tutustumaan kanssamme SOLUssa, ota yhteyttä Arleneen tai Georgieen [email protected] tai [email protected]. Jakotapahtumaan on rajoitetusti paikkoja! Ilmoittauduthan sähköpostitse Georgielle. Ilo, 3,5-vuotias jackrussellinterrieri, tulee mukaan tapahtumaan.

Georgie Goater on Aotearoasta kotoisin oleva tanssitaiteilija, joka asuu Helsingissä. Hän on syntynyt ja kasvanut kaksikielisenä Nagoyassa (JP) ja Ōtautahissa (NZ). Hän esiintyy ja koreografioi, fasilitoi työpajoja, kirjoittaa ja tekee yhteistyötä itsenäisesti, Kaaos Companyn (FI) ja Memory as Medium- sekä Body Island -kollektiivien (NZ/FI) kanssa. Työskentely erilaisten ruumiillisten käsitysten kanssa sekä vammaisuuden ja monikulttuurisuuden konteksteissa liikkuminen on luonut perustan jatkuvalle oppimiselle.

Arlene Tucker hyödyntää työssään käännösopintoja, visuaalista taidetta, semiotiikka ja feministisiä praktiikoita. ”Taiteeni hahmottuu installaation ja dialogikäytäntöjen varaan. Toteutan työni yhteistyössä yleisön kanssa, minkä myötä voimme jakaa yhdessä perpektiivimme identiteettiin ja kuulumiseen liittyen esimerkiksi muistojen, hiusten ja kirjeiden kirjoittamisen keinoin.” Kun hän kerää ja muotoilee uudelleen identiteettejä ja haastaa samalla normeja, hän kohtaa sukupolvien väliset piilotetut traumansa ja pyrkii myönteiseen muutokseen.

Saavutettavuus
Pääsisäänkäynnille johtaa 9 porrasta, minkä lisäksi ovelle pääsee rakennuksen vieressä olevan rampin kautta. Etuovi on painava ja siinä on 2cm kynnys. Aulasta pääsee SOLU-tilaan (3. krs) hissillä.

Tilassa on suuri wc, johon mahtuu pyörätuolilla. Vessan ovella on 2 cm kynnys. Pyörätuoli mahtuu vain wc-pöntön vasemmalle puolelle (wc-pönttöä päin katsottuna). Vain pöntön vasemmalla puolella (pönttöön päin katsottuna) on kaide, jonka voi nostaa ylös.

Tilassa ei ole induktiosilmukkaa.

UA Miniresidenssit on UrbanApan uusi konsepti, jonka tarkoituksena on mahdollistaa jatukea taiteilijoiden ja taiteen tekijöiden työskentelyä pehmeällä, kevyellä ja yhteisöllisellätavalla. Ensimmäisessä vaiheessa miniresidenssejä pilotoidaan, mutta pidempiaikainen haave on tarjota tiloja laajemminkin taiteen käyttöön, rikastuttaa ruohonjuuritason työskentelyä ja laajentaa taidealan tukirakenteita.

A sharing, a demo, a discussion, an outcome – Georgie Goater’s and Arlene Tucker’s residency period for UA Miniresidencies culminates in a public event in SOLU Space where the artists share some of their process and work. Free admission!

During their residency, Georgie and Arlene will be exploring processes of intersemiotic translations specifically from a medium into movement. For example, how would one translate a visual piece to the moving body? How would we embody or physicalise a text using translation? What is our understanding of the message and how could we code, decode, and encode the elements while honouring the source text? By translating, we become more aware of how we receive information and how we want to communicate. Translation is a concrete way to be an activist and grow more awareness of our choices and meaning-making processes. By bringing translation into the body, we understand and practice modes of communication beyond words.

We come from the perspective that we are in a constant state of translating. We will resource Jeremy Munday’s book, ‘Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications’ for creating scores and playful yet critical approaches to translation techniques and theories inpractice with the body. Knowing that together we are inherently diverse and relational, we will have a focused lens on inclusion, accessibility, and belonging, bringing into focus subjectivities within collaboration. How can we draw with our unique embodiments, mobility tools and movement expressions? How can we make ourselves heard through dance and movement?

Arlene has been using translation techniques as a mode to create art, but also to betterunderstand what is being communicated since 2009 through Translation is Dialogue (TID). For the most part, the translations have been visual and textual. Through TID, Arlene has been working with various communities and through different iterations such as residents of elderly homes in Bogota, Colombia and through people affected by incarceration as in FreeTranslation. Georgie has been working with dance art with focus on access and inclusion since 2012. Arlene and Georgie started to think about exploring translation techniques in other ways with the body through movement and dance, to include diverse perceptual knowledge into the translative matrix.

When: 20 April 2024 at 13:45 (duration approx. 90 minutes)
Where: SOLU Space (Panimokatu 1)
Language: English & Finnish

If you are interested in coming to explore with us at SOLU, please reach out to Arlene or Georgie [email protected] or [email protected]. Places are limited! Email Georgie to register. Please note that Ilo, a 3.5 year old Jack Russell terrier, will be joining the event.

Georgie Goater is a dance artist from Aotearoa, based in Helsinki. She was born and grewup bi-lingual in Nagoya (JP) and Ōtautahi (NZ). She performs, choreographs, facilitates workshops, writes, and collaborates as a freelancer, with Kaaos Company (FI) and with collectives Memory as Medium and Body Island (NZ/FI). Working with diverse embodied perceptions across disability and multi-cultural contexts has been a ground for making and constant learning.

Arlene Tucker’s socially engaged work utilizes translation studies, visual art, semiotics, and feminist practices. “I realise my art through installation and dialogical practices. Always a co-creation with the public, my work allows us to share perspectives about identity and belonging through different mediums and approaches such as memories, hair, and letter writing.” As she accumulates and reformulates identities whilst challenging norms, she confronts her hidden intergenerational traumas for positive change.

Accessibility
9 stairs lead to the building’s front lobby. There is also a ramp next to the building through which you can access the front door. The front door is heavy and has two 2 cm thresholds. From the front lobby, you can take an elevator directly to the SOLU Space (3rd floor).

There is a large toilet that can accommodate a wheelchair. The toilet has a 2 cm threshold on the door. A wheelchair can only fit on the left-side (when facing the toilet) of the toilet. There is a handrail only on the left of the toilet (when facing the toilet) which can be lifted up.

The space does not have an induction loop.

UA Miniresidencies is a series of short residencies that aims to enable and support artists’ and makers’ research or work in progress in a soft, light, and communal way. The long term dream is to alleviate the urgent need for working spaces, enrich the local grassroots scene and create expanded structures of support.

"The 2023 Aleksanteri Conference will be held on October 25–27 at the University of Helsinki, Finland. This year’s conference will address changes in the relationships within and between the former communist countries of the Global East, by which we mean the region that has been labelled as post/former -Soviet, -socialist, -communist, -imperial. More info about the conference and program here."

Workshop on Thursday, October 26 from 18.00–19.00 at HALL 4 (B214), Metsätalo

Free Translation is a multi-disciplinary project showcasing international works by persons affected by imprisonment.

In this project we view works of art and letters received from prisons all over the world. Together we interpret the meaning of the works and create responses based on the translations. These are then sent to the original authors and added to the online exhibition. In this edition the special focus is on political prisoners in Russia. 

Workshop facilitators Arlene Tucker and Anastasia Artemeva.

I have the pleasure to work as an Ambassador of Living Heritage for the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto).

On December 14th, I will be giving two workshops in Helsinki. Both have the same content.
The first workshop, from 9:30-11:30, will be at The National Museum of Finland.
The second one, from 15:00-17:00, will be at Myymälä2 gallery.

In these 2-hour workshops you will hear more about the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. In the workshop we will together discuss and collect information on your living heritage and choose elements that could be added to the Wiki-inventory for Living Heritage.

Participation is free. People of all ages and walks of life are welcome! This is a great opportunity for your voice to be heard and to see how your existence makes a mark on our social fabric. 

Please send an email to Arlene if you know which session you would like to participate in. Email her at arlene.dearyou(at)gmail.com.

Hope to see you there!

xx arlene

Care is a response to destruction

Spheres of Care is a performative event, a nurturing oasis and reservoir of rest, where we focus on care amidst emotional, social, and ecological crises. The three-day event gathers together researchers, artists, activists, and other interested parties. The event offers a multitude of perspectives to care and nurture; we look at care in relation to self, society, and soil. We gather around a wide range of information through lectures, practices, and performances.

Location: Vuotalo, Mosaiikkitori 2 (Vuosaarentie 7), Vuosaari, 00980 Helsinki
Time: October 28th-30th
Language: The primary language is Finnish, with some of the keynotes and discussions in English.
The participant capacity is limited. An open call is now open for applications
Apply here: https://forms.gle/AXKQ9LDRAFZPRUw19
Production: WAUHAUS x Aliisa Talja in collaboration with Vuotalo

The event is free of charge.
The event is supported by The City of Helsinki, Arts Promotion Center Finland, Kone foundation​​

​Huolenpidon piirit on esityksellinen tapahtuma, ravitseva keidas ja levon leiri, jossa keskitytään huolenpitoon emotionaalisten, sosiaalisten ja ekologisten kriisien keskellä. Kolmipäiväinen tilaisuus kokoaa yhteen tutkijoita, taiteilijoita, kansalaisjärjestötoimijoita sekä muita aiheesta kiinnostuneita. Tapahtuma tarjoaa moninaisia näkökulmia huolenpitoon ja hoivaan; tarkastelemme huolenpitoa suhteessa itseen, yhteiskuntaan sekä maaperään. Kokoonnumme moninaisen tiedon ääreen puheenvuorojen, harjoitteiden ja esitysten avulla.
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Tapahtumapaikka: Vuotalo, Mosaiikkitori 2 (Vuosaarentie 7), Vuosaari, 00980 Helsinki
Aika: 28.-30. lokakuuta
Kieli: Ensisijainen kieli on suomi, mutta osa ohjelmasta ja keskustelusta on englanninkielistä.
Osallistujamäärä on rajallinen. Tapahtumaan haetaan avoimella haulla.
Hae tapahtumaan: https://forms.gle/AXKQ9LDRAFZPRUw19
Tuotanto: WAUHAUS x Aliisa Talja yhteistyössä Vuotalon kanssa.
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Tapahtuma on ilmainen.
Tapahtumaa tukevat Helsingin kaupunki, Taiteen edistämiskeskus, Koneen Säätiö

English below 

Tervetuloa antirasismi työpajaan kahden kulttuurin lasten vanhemmille ja huoltajille. Työpajan aikana käymme läpi, miten puhua tunteista ja tarpeista lapsesi kanssa käyttäen väkivallattonta viestintää (nonviolent communication). pohjalta. Käymme avointa keskustelua siitä, miten käsitellä rasismia koulussa ja yhteisössä. Ohjaaja lähtee siitä näkökulmasta, että mitä paremmin ymmärrämme sisäistä maailmaamme, sitä paremmin voimme olla lastemme, perheemme, ystäviemme ja naapureidemme tukena. Luodaan yhdessä tilaa aktiiviselle kuuntelemiselle ja rakennetaan kannustavaa yhteisöä.

Milloin: Sunnuntai 6.11.22 klo 12-14:00
Missä: Lintulahdenkatu 10, 00500 Helsinki.
Työpajan kieli: Englanti mutta voi kysyä suomeksi
Osallistujien enimmäismäärä: 10 henkilöä
Ilmoittautuminen: https://forms.office.com/r/eanM72yyki

Koska paikkoja tähän työpajaan on erittäin rajoitetusti, yksi vanhempi/huoltaja voi osallistua.
Kaikille ilmoittautuneille osallistujille soitetaan, jotta voimme vahvistaa tiedän osallistumiskelpoisuutenne ja jotta ymmärämme teidän perheenne erityistarpeet.

Jos ilmoittaudut, mutta et pysty osallistumaan, sinun on peruutettava osallistumisesi 48 tuntia ennen työpajan alkua, jotta voimme tarjota paikan toiselle osallistujalle. Jos et peru osallistumistasi sinulta veloitetaan 25 € paikasta.

Työpajan fasilitaattori:
Arlene Tuckerin sosiaalisesti sitoutuneessa työssä hyödynnetään käännöstutkimusta, semiotiikkaa ja feministisiä käytäntöjä. Hän työskentelee monimuotoisuuskonsulttina Culture for All Service-palvelussa ja toimi Diversity Agent 2.0 -kurssin koordinaattorina. Culture for All Servicen yhteistyössä Globe Art Pointin kanssa järjestämän Diversity Agent 2.0 -kurssin tavoitteena on kouluttaa monimuotoisuusagentteja taide- ja kulttuurialalla, edistää antirasistista työtä ja tarjota välineitä monimuotoisuuden ja tasa-arvon edistämiseen taide- ja kulttuurialalla.
Arlene on kotoisin monikulttuurisesta, monikielisestä ja monirotuisesta perheestä, mikä on antanut hänelle näkemystä ja motivaatiota etsiä keinoja, joilla voisimme paremmin kuunnella toisiamme ja elää rauhanomaisemmin yhdessä.

Lisää Anti-Racist Forumista: https://www.antiracistforum.org/suomi
Lisätietoja Familia's Anti-Racist oppaasta.

Numerous studies have shown that art and cultural activities strengthen the cultural capital of children, while supporting their identities and capacities to actively participate in society (Arts Equal, 2019). How can we expand diversity, high-quality and equal accessibility to these activities for all children? How can we affirm diversity and identity through children’s culture and education?

Panelist will share best practices, lessons learned, new ideas that can be applied as well as new questions and challenges to meet. These actors have a key role in pushing the limits in children's culture and education and many of them are actively working to overcome these challenges. Most of them are working in public institutions and/or in the third sector in Helsinki and the Metropolitan area. This Panel celebrates the 5th Anniversary of Kolibrí Festival.

PANELISTS:
- Cátia Suomalainen Pedrosa Suomalainen Pedroza, Helsinki City, Kulttuurikeskus Caisa 's Director
- Pirjetta Mulari, Helsinki City, Annantalo's Acting Director
- Ines Montalvao, Heureka the Finnish Science Centre; Concept & Experience Designer/Finnish Bio Art Society
- Analía Capponi-Savolainen, ArtsEqual research initiative Researcher

MODERATOR:
Arlene Tucker artist, educator and diversity agent

Language: English
Duration: 1.45 min
Production: Kulttuurikeskus Ninho ry thanks to the support of Svenska kulturfonden & Globe Art Point. & Caisa

COORDINATION:
Laura Gazzotti info(at)ninho.fi

Kolibrí is a unique multicultural, free and open art festival for the most diverse, plurilingual and intergenerational audiences. On this 5th anniversary of Kolibrí we will travel to the AMAZONIA, the heart of the World. We’ll get to know and be amazed by its biodiversity, the variety of its indigenous communities and their ancestral knowledge and cultures.

I am so proud to be the moderator for the panel discussion Children’s Culture & Diversity: Pushing Limits on Wednesday, September 23 from 17:00-19:00.  We will open up, challenge, and be critical of the following questions; How can we create diverse, high-quality and accessible activities to children? How can we promote diversity and identity through children’s culture and education?

We've got a great line up of talented, experienced, and extremely knowledgeable panelists. They will share best practices, lessons learned and new ideas as well as new questions and challenges to be faced.

Panelists:

• Cátia Suomalainen Pedroza, Helsinki City, Director of Kulttuurikeskus Caisa
• Eva Wilenius, Espoo City HelMet, Services Manager at Sello Library
• Pirjetta Mulari, Helsinki City, Acting Director of Annantalo
• Inês Montalvão, Heureka – the Finnish Science Centre Concept & Experience Designer. Finnish BioArt Society
• Analía Capponi-Savolainen, researcher at Sibelius Academy, UniArts Helsinki
• Johanna Nonna Mattila, theater practitioner, Chairwoman at Kulttuuriyhdistys Suomen Eucrea ry and culture secretary at Kynnys ry.
  
  

Welcome to Caisa in Helsinki or join online via Zoom. Register and join via Zoom by sending an email to info-kolibri(at)ninho.fi with "Diversity Panel" in the subject line.

See you there!

X arlene

When Vishnu Vardhani invited me to carry out the interviews for Pixelache's 2019 Breaking The Fifth Wall, I was very intrigued by what the concept of the 5th wall is and how we could challenge it through a flat screen.  I wanted to try to get to know the participating artists through conversation.  Letting thoughts flow and investigate what rises.  These conversations lasted one to three months through open discourse on an open google document.

Read the interviews here:
When will patriarchy end? When will there be a day when we don’t need to use a passport to travel?
On smells and the senses
Preconceived notions
Sawing, dimensioning, shaping
Incomplete manual for our living
Pingponging
Circle in a park
Phone out
50 likes

Vishnu and I took some time to reflect on my process of conversing with the artists and through that, we learned a lot about each other and where we are in the moment.  Below are snippets of our dialogue:
 
VV: Arlene, thank you for bringing alive the conversations with the artists. It was a pleasure to read the interviews. Talking about end, For me personally, end is when we take our final breath. Until then the great collective consciousness connects us in numerous ways… Like Knots. Knots :D Amazing.I love Knots myself. I feel so empowered since I started to tie. Breaking norms I have internalised. Having courage to express, and to formulate the boundaries, as well as asking for support and to attend to my needs. It was a huge preparation process.Now I discern conflict without losing my agency. The workings of rope metaphorically and factually, inspire me to work with what need to be changed or developed in order to accommodate norm criticism. You understand ? 

AT: Yes! I completely understand.  It’s also a way to hold on and have grounding, but at the same time let one arm go, let one arm free and let the head dangle.

Do you think it makes a huge difference whether you initially meet somebody online or face to face?

VV: Does it make a difference ? For me, YES. I have a tendency to walk straight into the narrative that is carefully spun. Some people have exceptional online personas. I still don’t have tools to decipher these personas. In person I remark If the two individuals have the capacity and orientation to hear and see each other. Stay open to understand one another. 

I am split on the question of difference. 

I am inspired by an artist, who does comic books and  who does a lot of political work. I followed him for years on Instagram, he always responded to my messages on insta, when I met him in person, my fantasy burst, I wish I didn’t meet him. As his ‘art’ wasn’t reflecting his ‘art-work’. That said, I am working at this year’s festival with the millennials. I am impressed, with simple online interactions. Yesterday, this person, was looking for our office, when I proposed to go find him, he counter-proposed to ‘just the share location- easy for all’. As I had walked a few times to fetch people that morning, I took note of this person’s exceptional screen interaction. That exceptionality also reflected in the hands on tasks. Also I thank the world wide web to have caught me this incredible being ‘Alaa Satir’. I follow her ‘art-work’. Recently I had the opportunity to talk to Alaa on Skype. This was a turning point for me in my life. 

I have taken a lot of space with this response. Do you still follow me ? I can elaborate on the talk with Alaa, before, I want to ask you a question. You mentioned earlier about ‘bubble’ , do you feel the bubble can exists across realms ? Mediums ? Do you think it’s possible to build communities where people meet maybe only annually ? 

AT: In my mind, bubbles are boundaries and borders that we create as individuals and as a society.  So, yes, they exist in any possible dimension, but it’s dependant on perspective and context. I look at borders also as comfort and uncomfortable zones.  Getting to know ourselves and stretching that boundary or breaking it, or just knowing we really cannot cross it. Awareness of our relationship to it.

Us talking about boundary, life and death triggered writings from one of my most inspirational figures, the Estonian Russian leader of semiotics and literature studies, Juri Lotman (1922–1993).  Wilma Clark, the translator of Lotman’s book Culture and Explosion comments on his chapter ‘The end! How sonorous is this word!‘ by saying, “the notion of the ‘end’ and the principles of continuity and discontinuity are reflected in the stark boundary between life and death. Death is marked out as both the beginning and the end. Lotman speaks of the ‘special semantic role of death in the life of man’. It is the boundary which frames all meaningful activity and which, simultaneously, marks the contradiction between life in the general sense and the ‘finite life of human existence’. And yet, what is finite, is continued in the memory of the ‘son’ so that even the boundary of ‘death’, as it were, is permeable and filtered” (Lotman 1992, xiv).

One thing I noticed when I was having these conversations with the artists and something I was trying to develop these past few months was feeling their borders, being sensitive to their boundaries and timing through the computer.  With all of them except the conversations with Laura, Vidha, and Samir, I did exclusively online through a Google Doc, like the one we are having now.  With some people it clicked immediately and we were off talking about very deep and personal topics whilst with others, I could sense that they needed more time understanding my proposed process of opening dialogue, the point of meandering, and the importance of setting a pace in which we can safely and naturally delve into different topics.  I could not have done this without everybody’s full participation.  Most of the conversations lasted a good two months.  Sometimes it stretched longer than that from the first initial contact as “life happens”.  

With every artist, we would write to each other every few days or with some every day.  It largely depended on their personality and what was happening in their life at that moment, but I tried to be sensitive to their response and how they responded.  I really got to know every artist in an intimate way, which was very unexpected.  I could see which times of day they were most active and how the changing of the seasons had or didn’t have an affect on them.  From this, I also got to get to know myself in a different way too.  Very grateful for that!

The second graders at Ressu comprehensive school have been investigating How does food change?  Where does our food come from? and What kind of communities and what kind of relationships are found within and between food?  Every student chose a food to research these aspects.  Along with traditional methods of researching, we also used art as a medium to explore our findings and fuel our curiosity.  Naturally, one question led to another.  

It was serendipity that one of the works on display at Kiasma, as part of the Coexistence exhibition, fit perfectly with our topic. Kalle Hamm & Dzamil Kamanger's Immigrant Garden / Emigranttitarha / Emigrantgården "consists of four parts: a collection of plant illustrations, a map, a book, and audio works. The watercolour studies portray various ornamental and edible plants that are commonly found in Finland, but which are all originally non-native" (Kiasma).

I was lucky enough to meet Kalle and Dzamil last spring so felt the comfort to reach out to them. Here, again, as lucky art goers, we bumped into each other at Kiasma the other day when we were taking a tour of the exhibition.  Kalle and Dzamil agreed to make an interview with us as their artwork is so relevant to us, in every way possible.  They said yes!  

Arlene: I asked one of my students what part of the trip he liked and he said ”meeting Kalle”. : )

Kalle: :-D Say my greetings to him!

2B: Why did you start making this project?

K&D: Dzamil noticed that here in Finland grow the same plants than in his home country Iran, but they are smaller and grow in pots and greenhouses, not in wild nature like in Iran. We wondered how these plants had found their way to Finland, and this is how we started to track the travelling routes of the plants, and this was the beginning of making the whole piece.

2B: What made you choose the plants to research?

K&D: We chose that kind of plants, which should be known by most of the Finns, and had been cultivated here already hundreds of years (for example potato and onion), but none of them are originally from Finland, either Europe, but imported here form other continents.

2B: How did it feel when you were making the artwork?

K&D: When everything went well it felt hilarious and fun, but when we had obstacles it felt extremely stressful and we just wanted to start to do something else.

2B: How did you make this art?

K&D: We read lots of books to study how the plants travelled from their home area here. We bought lots of seeds and planted them and grew the plants by ourselves (not in Kiasma, but when we made the artwork first time). We practiced drawing flowers and made many plant drawings. We also recorded many plants and made sound pieces based on that material.

2B: How did you know how to draw plants?  Was it fun drawing the plants?

K&D: I studied drawing in the art school, but you can also learn drawing plants without going to art school. You just have to see the plants very carefully and draw exactly what you see. Drawing plants is fun. They don't change their position, move or run away. They stay nicely still. But you have to water them or otherwise they will wilt.

2B: When did you start this project?

K&D: We started to make this art work 14 years ago and it took two years to make it ready.

2B: How long did it take for you to finish this project?  Is it finished?

K&D: It is finished in such way, that we don’t add more new plants to the artwork, but every time when we install the whole artwork, we have to think about how everything should be set up: what kind of pots, what kind of chairs and etc...

2B: Which plant sound do you think is the most relaxing?

K&D: Of course potato!!!

2B: Out of all the plants you researched, which one is the oldest?  

K&D: Onion

2B: What was your favourite plant? 

K&D: Persian yellow rose

2B: What surprised you about that plant? 

K&D: Plants sound totally different comparing to what they look like!

2B: Which one was the hardest to find information on? 

K&D: Garden mignonette

2B: ​Which one was the weirdest?

K&D: Artichoke had the weirdest sound, even thou I love the taste and look of artichoke

2B: What was the first plant you researched?

K&D: Persian hogweed, but it is not part of this artwork :-(

2B: Did you first sketch your drawing or draw them straight away onto the paper?

Kalle: I first sketched them very lightly on very same paper I used for the final drawing. I made quite many mistakes, and I had to redraw atleast 5-6 drawings.

2B: How old are you now?  When were you born?  Where were you born?

Kalle: 50 years, born in Rauma (Finland) in 1969 
Dzamil: 72 years, born in Mariwan (Iran) in 1948

2B: How old were you when you made your first piece of art?  What was it?

Kalle: I think I was age of 16. I had then my first exhibition. It was a drawing a man holding a woman in a desert. 

Dzamil said he cannot remember exactly, but he made his first embroideries in age of 30-32. It was a birthday present to his friend.

2B: Was your dream to become an artist?  How did you get the idea of becoming an artist?

Kalle: Yes it was, but I didn’t know what kind of artists. I wrote poems, played flute and acted in children’s theatre group. And of course drew a lot.

2B: Where do you live? 

​Kalle: We both live in Oulunkylä, Helsinki.

2B: How many artworks have you made?  What kind of art?

K&D: You can count them on our website www.beelsebub.org. and see what kind of artworks we have made.

2B: Do you have kids?

Kalle: I don’t have kids, but Dzamil has a son. He is living in Stockholm.

2B: Have you ever had a different profession, other than being an artist?

Kalle: Yes, I was working as a principle of the art school for children and young people. I was also working in Kiasma as an educational curator. Dzamil worked as a forester in Iran.

2B: Do you have a pet?  If so, what is it?

Kalle: Not any more. Dzamil had a dog, but he passed away many years ago. Dzamil had also canary birds, and lots of them, about 70-80 all together. They had they own room. They sang very loudly.

2B: Do you like your art?

Kalle: Yes, we both like art!!! …and we hope you like art, too!

The list would go on, but here are some comments from the students about Kalle and Hamm's work:
"I think it's really good artwork"
"I love your art. It was interesting"
"I felt amazing when I saw your art"
"I liked the potato sound because it sounded like it was playing rock n roll"
"I felt excited about learning about the plants"
"I felt great!"
"The drawings were beautiful"
"The drawings look very real"

Thank you very much for taking the time to share with us!

XOXO Arlene & 2B

Arlene Tucker & Sanni Weckman
Me
August 2019

Since January 2019, Tucker and Weckman have been sharing a work studio in Bokvillan.  They have gotten to know each other’s artistic process, techniques and choice of materials. This exhibition brings together their own individual pieces, as well as, collaborating on how they could open dialogue through their artworks. While planning the exhibition, ideas of translation, weaving, kept on coming up as these are close themes for Tucker and Weckman. 

As a means to initiate the concept for the exhibition, Weckman translated Tucker’s family portrait into a tufted relief. Tucker, as she often uses mail art exchange in her projects, used letter writing as a way to explore relationships and imagined personalities. In turn, Weckman wrote a letter to little Arlene. This exchange was born from wanting to get to know each other in a deeper way and to share something personal. From a picture, we can imagine a million things, and to verbalise what we see in our minds grows a galaxy of ideas.  

“Me” as the exhibition title reflects the translation process between languages. This ultimately has a large effect on how we imagine roles and understand different perspectives.  In Finnish “me” means “us” in English. In English “me” means “I” in Finnish.

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Arlene Tucker is an artist and educator, and her work focuses on adding play elements to daily life through her art. Inspired by translation studies, animals and nature, she finds ways to connect and make meaning in our shared environments. Her process-based artistic work creates spaces and situations for exchange, dialogue, and transformations to occur and surprise all players. She is interested in creating projects that open up ideas and that engage the viewer; that invite the viewer to be a part of the narrative or art creation process. In translation, your participation continues to propel the story. Her chapter, Translation is Dialogue: Language in Transit was published in Translating across Sensory and Linguistic Borders: Intersemiotic Journeys between Media (Editors: Campbell, Madeleine, Vidal, Ricarda, 2019). Tucker has been collaborating with Prison Outside since 2017 and is author of Translation is Dialogue (2010). www.arlenetucker.net

Sanni Weckman is a visual artist, illustrator and graphic designer living in Helsinki, Finland. As a visual artist Weckman mixes traditional portrait imagery with unconventional techniques and materials. Weckman founds inspiration for the techniques from DIY-culture and traditional folk crafts. Materials can vary from textile to flowers or anything imaginable, everything can be used to paint an image. The material, the technique and the portrayed image all tell their own stories inside one art piece. Weckman has graduated as a Master of Arts from Aalto University and as a visual artist from Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Weckman’s works have been presented in various museums and galleries such as Amos Anderson Art Museum, Jyväskylä Art Museum and Kajaani Art Museum.

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Arlene Tucker & Sanni Weckman
Me
Elokuu 2019

Näyttelyn taiteilijat Tucker ja Weckman ovat jakaneet työhuoneen Bokvillanissa tammikuusta 2019 asti. Tämän myötä he ovat päässeet tutustumaan toistensa taiteelliseen työskentelyyn, tekniikoihin sekä materiaalivalintoihin. Näyttely tuo yhteen niin molempien omia teoksia, kuin myös yhteistä pohdintaa siitä, miten saada aikaan vuoropuhelua taideteosten avulla. Näyttelyä suunniteltaessa nousi esiin ajatuksia käännöksistä ja yhteen kutoutumisesta, näiden ollessa läheisiä teemoja molemmille taiteilijoille. 

Saadakseen näyttelyn konseptin alkuun, Weckman muunsi Tuckerin perhekuvan tuftatuksi reliefiksi. Tucker, joka puolestaan käyttää usein kirjeenvaihtotaidetta projekteissaan, käytti kirjeiden kirjoittamista tapana tutkia ihmissuhteita sekä kuviteltuja persoonia. Weckman puolestaan kirjoitti kirjeen Arlenelle pienenä. Tämä vuoropuhelu syntyi halusta tutustua toiseen syvemmällä tasolla sekä tarpeesta jakaa henkilökohtaisia asioita. Kuvasta voimme kuvitella miljoonia eri asioita, ja niiden sanallistamisesta kasvaa jälleen lukematon määrä uusia ideoita. 

Näyttelyn nimi ”Me” heijastaa käännösprosessia kielten välillä. Prosessilla on on suuri vaikutus siihen miten käsitämme erilaisia rooleja sekä näkökulmia. Suomen kielen sana ”me” muuttaa merkitystään luettuna englanniksi, ja tarkoittaakin: ”minä”. 

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Arlene Tucker on taiteilija ja kasvattaja. Hänen kiinnostuksenaan on lisätä taiteensa kautta leikkisiä elementtejä jokapäiväiseen elämään. Semiotiikan opinnot, eläimet ja luonto inspiroivat häntä luomaan merkityksellisiä hetkiä jaetussa ympäristössämme. Hänen taideteoksensa luovat usein tiloja avoimelle keskustelulle ja yhdessäololle jättäen erilaisille tulkinnoille ja yllätyksille tilaa.  Taiteellisen työskentelyn lisäksi Tucker on myös ensimmäisen luokan opettaja Ressun peruskoulussa. Hänen tekstinsä “Translation is Dialogue: Language in Transit” on ollut osana julkaisua “Translating across Sensory and Linguistic Borders: Intersemiotic Journeys between Media (toimittanut: Campbell, Madeleine, Vidal, Ricarda, 2019)”. Tucker on perustanut projektin Translation is Dialogue (2010) ja on vuodesta 2017 asti tehnyt yhteistyötä Prison Outside -projektin kanssa. www.arlenetucker.net

Sanni Weckman on kuvataiteilija. Weckman on valmistunut taiteen maisteriksi Aalto-yliopistosta vuonna 2018 sekä kuvataiteilijaksi Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulusta vuonna 2016. Weckman käsittelee teoksissaan ihmisen kuvaa, yhdistäen muotokuvan perinteeseen epätavallisia materiaaleja ja tekniikoita. Weckmanin periaatteena on, että maalata voi millä tahansa: kukista kierrätystekstiiliin, kudonnasta kollaasiin. Weckman löytää inspiraatiota tee-se-itse-kulttuurista, arkisista kädentaidoista ja kierrätyksestä. Teostensa kautta Weckman käsittelee ihmisen kohtaamista uudella tavalla, niin kuvan kautta kuin myös arjessa. Weckmanin teoksia on ollut esillä muun muassa Amos Andersonin taidemuseossa sekä Jyväskylän, Kajaanin ja Keravan taidemuseoissa. www.sanniweckman.com