KampusART will introduce a media art programme in EduCity
The Kupittaa Campus will provide a new forum for media art when a versatile array of media artworks by the alumni of Turku UAS’ Arts Academy will be displayed on the media wall of EduCity in the next 1.5 years.
Almost 20 alumni involved in the media art programme
The KampusART media art programme was curated by the producers of the Video Art Festival Turku (VAFT) event, Rose Pietola and Jenna Suomalainen. The curators selected the artworks through a call for portfolios aimed at the alumni and by inviting alumni artists to participate.
“Several interesting media and video artists can be found among the alumni. One of the ideas which describes our selections was: which artists’ artworks would we like to see in the media art entity dedicated to the alumni of Turku UAS’ Arts Academy? Artworks from those with a notable career as well as recently graduated artists will be featured in the entity”, Rose Pietola says.
During the media art programme, which will continue until June 2023, artworks by 17 artists or artistic teams will be displayed on the media wall and at a screening at EduCity. The artists are Saara Ekström, Annika Dahlsten & Markku Laakso, Lilli Haapala, Kati Immonen, Heta Jäälinoja, Jade Kallio, Satu Karhumaa, Leena Kela, Hertta Kiiski, Jessica Koivistoinen, Benjamin Orlow, Anni Porrasmäki, Niina Suominen, SUOMINEN/TOIVANEN, Iiu Susiraja, Tapani Tolonen and Remi Vesala. Check out the programme here.
“Interesting, sometimes very dissimilar works of art will be displayed on the media wall. We believe that the array provides a good impression of how versatile, talented artists have graduated from Turku UAS’ Arts Academy. For example, a performance video, animations, or random moments captured with a mobile phone camera are displayed on the media wall as equal artworks featuring moving images, discarding the genre categorizations”, Jenna Suomalainen describes.
The MO(VE)MENTS screening, which will be organized in May in cooperation with the Video Art Festival Turku event, is also a part of the media art programme. In the screening, moving images will be accompanied by rich soundscapes.
Public art can also be media art
The media art programme is a part of the KampusART arts programme, worth almost a million euros. The arts programme brings high-quality and interesting contemporary art to the indoor and outdoor premises of Kupittaa Campus. So far altogether nine permanent or temporary works of art have been implemented in EduCity. The artworks are implemented by both professional artists and art students. In the spring, artworks from eight artists will be placed in two staircases in EduCity, and two work community artists have started working at Turku UAS in the beginning of January. In addition, four art students will implement their temporary works of art in EduCity.
“One of the starting points of the arts programme is courage, and we have wanted to open-mindedly expand and challenge the concept of public art. So far, a quite scarce amount of media art has been seen as public art. We wanted to highlight artists who have graduated from Turku UAS and give media art the visibility it deserves in the context of public art”, Taina Erävaara says.
The media arts programme is opened by performance artist Leena Kela’s video performance There Is No Planet B. The artwork is a performative ritual for the aim of changing our own behaviour amid a global environmental crisis.
Artworks of the media art programme will be displayed on the media wall at Turku UAS’ EduCity (Joukahaisenkatu 7, Turku) on Tuesdays and Thursdays around 11–12. The artworks can be viewed from Taidon portaat, which can be accessed from the EduCity restaurant and the working café on the second floor.