HAIHATUS25 Exhibition Catalogue 2024

HAIHATUS25 Exhibition Catalogue 2024

HAIHATUS25 -exhibition | Co-curator Ali Akbar Mehta

Ali Akbar Mehta portait

Photographer: Aman Askarizad

HAIHATUS25 -exhibition

Co-curator Ali Akbar Mehta

Navigating many worlds (with a compass designed to break) or How to come together in an unstable state

 

A celebration of Haihatus completing 25 years – operating as a residency, an exhibition space, and an organisation that has worked through multiple changing iterations in flux to consistently remain at the heart of a culture-producing praxis – is a relevant marker of ideas brought forward from spaces traditionally left on the margins in Finnish contemporary art’s national and international contexts. To celebrate such an occasion is significant not only in the simultaneous crises of climate, capital, and culture but also locally prompted by the state of affairs within the Finnish art and cultural scene.

Finland is known as the ‘Land of Associations’, yet most art and culture-related associations are often on the brink of extinction or are walking the precarious edge of eking out their labour and funding to squeeze out ‘just one more’ exhibition, seminar, or festival before an imminent shutdown. This just-about-surviving condition of the art and cultural workers is caused due to an undue emphasis on newness and the trending next-big-thing, rather than continuity and slow meaningful work. It is reflected and even compounded by the Finnish socio-political environment where the past decade has seen an accelerated tilt towards far-right governance, the opposition to climate policies, the popularisation of Finnish ethnonationalism, and the ever-increasing restrictions on immigration, the rights of women and LGBTQI+ minorities. The new cuts in government budgets in social welfare funding and the growing job precarity of the working class are aimed neither at paying debts nor managing other public expenses, but towards ‘contemporary borderisation’ – a process that causes reinforcement, reproduction and intensification of the vulnerability of the financially weaker and structurally marginalized members of its society, and as such are aimed at adversely affecting them. We are living in a time where we are witnessing struggles over openness and enclosure, sovereignty and nationalism, citizenship and identity, or for that matter security and freedom.

What can a shift in focus from surviving to celebrating look like? How do you navigate a space, a community, a city, or a country that can seem unwelcoming, hostile, or indifferent? What does it mean to occupy spaces that are not designed for you? What are the new ways of seeing and experiencing the world being shaped in our name, or that we are shaping for ourselves and others?

The 18 artists and collectives of the Haihatus 25 exhibition respond to these questions by showcasing a variety of works in multiple media, including painting, sculpture, VR, photography, printmaking, and film – each representing perhaps a differing set of values, yet are representative of the fact that today, artistic practice and research are increasingly enmeshed in systems and ecologies. Collaboration and transdisciplinarity are key themes. What’s more, we now recognize that the major issues the world faces – the issues that really matter – are all systems issues.

Systems that are reshaping the world order, which today is based on disenfranchisement, necropolitical governments prioritising security and ‘management of risk’ over welfare, socio-political-legal architectures of control, technology-driven speed regimes, and borderization as processes of containment and regulation. One such system issue is the ways in which these techno-political regimes affect our knowing and interfacing with the world around us, and how we experience, understand, and learn from it.

We are allegedly living in a ‘knowledge-based’ society, where immaterial labour has a dominant form, where the ability to communicate, to act autonomously and to produce knowledge are the requirements for being creative, for creating and consuming knowledge. Knowledge has to be produced somewhere, once produced, it has to be transmitted… this transmission, by necessity, implies a pedagogical element. It is a process of teaching and (un)learning, of re-evaluating whose knowledges, histories and stories are heard, deemed acceptable, and considered valuable. This is not limited to the art or cultural field but is symptomatic across multiple genres, disciplines and fields, ranging from the entanglements of globalisation, transnationalism, cosmopolitanism, and technisation.

Even within mainstream contexts, one may assume that if knowledge is of increasing importance today and across multiple fields, both institutions of creating and transmitting knowledge must be important – but reality disproves this assumption as we witness a deterioration due to lack of funding, ruining academies and universities; and defunding and cuts in culture sector reducing the effectiveness of artistic endeavours. If we stay in this course, we will reach a knowledge society without knowledge. Worse, society will transform into a society interested only in very specific kinds of knowledge – those that have immediate relevance in the job markets. The role of pedagogy in imparting knowledge based on economic gain is a crucial statement of fact indicating the state of government policy, the dominating corporate sectors and the diminishing role of knowledge itself.

A micronarrative within the exhibition, a trajectory formed through works by Joss Allen, Sheung Yiu, Adnan Mirza, Bruno Moreschi and Bernado Fontes, seeks to subvert these effects by creating relevant and meaningful knowledge production that goes against the grain of neocolonial and neoliberal capitalism and the prescriptive definitions of progress.

Joss Allen’s A rye becoming is a sound piece and publication delving into the evolution of cultural relationships between human beings and rye, first as a weed and later as an irreplaceable food grain of historic significance. Styled as an auto-ethnographic and poetic narrative from the perspective of Rye, the sound/text may be experienced while atop a watchtower, gazing across a field of wheat, a field that rye was historically borne out of, or even while walking among the golden stalks during the heart of summer.

Sheung Yiu’s Everything is a projection contemplates the authenticity of (virtual) reality. The work invites its audiences into an installation comprising two videos and wax sculptures, deploying the viewers’ sense of smell to subvert notions of digital space and memory; while Adnan Mirza’s Memoryscape utilises digital space to elaborate on ‘memory’ through an interactive Virtual Reality (VR) experience that complicates notions of home and belonging. By claiming that multiple modalities of belonging-ness are possible, Mirza presents a fragmented layering of two places Mirza calls home – Lahore and Helsinki – as viewers experience the tapestries of contaminated realities, these overlaps are further multiplied and made hybrid by the witnessing gaze of the viewer. In another room, these hybridities are consolidated and concretised as drawings in ink.

The works of Bruno Moreschi and Bernado Fontera, titled Decanonization, present reverse-engineered photo images from Google’s Open Images dataset. By recreating those parts not used and discarded in training Computer Vision systems, their work not only foregrounds questions of commodified value, extractivist capitalism, and ‘strategy of domination’, but also shatters popular conceptions of AI as being ‘an independent automated entity that functions without human support’. This is highlighted by the accompanying video that provides a first-person account of the exploitation of out-sourced and underpaid ‘Turkers’ (crowd workers) by the ‘AI Industry’, who perform millions of Human Intensive Tasks (HITs) to enable simple algorithms to process big data.

Together these four works present systems-critical techno-political narratives that seek to expand ways of collaborative and transdisciplinarity knowing. Here, the artist is simultaneously an archivist/ artist/ curator/ author/ researcher/ participant/ audience. Their works exemplify that in times where institutional pedagogies are linked to commodification and are failing, it is possible to resist and generate relevant and meaningful knowledge(s) that carry with them the potential to affect change.

LUMIKITA 2024

LUMIKITA

LUMIKITA, the community snow art event, will be organized on Sunday, February 25, 2024. A prep party will be held on the previous days, Friday & Saturday, February 23 & 24.

Everyone who wants to can take part in building the snow sculptures, castles, and a common large sledding hill. Lumikita includes a downhill race, snowmobile sleigh rides, ice sculptures, carousel sledding, sausage roasting and other fun things! Lumikita values community and making a free event for everyone!

Participating are: Haihatus Art Centre, Cafe Meijerinliiteri, Lumikissat, Joutsa parish, Restaurant Huttula, Joutsa municipality, and private individuals.

If you have a fun idea suitable for a snow event, please contact us so that we can try to incorporate it into the plan together!

Planning meeting: Wednesday, 24.1.2024 from 18-19 at Restaurant Huttula. Welcome!

For more information contact Mimosa Pale at mimosa@haihatus.fi, 04578373742 or Nina Kuikka at the Joutsa library 040 725 8056 / nina.kuikka@joutsa.fi.

LUMIKITA event on facebook

Schedule:
Wednesday, 24.1.2024 – planning meeting in Huttula restaurant from 18-19
Friday, 23.2.2024 – prep party from 10.00-15.00 (come when you can)
Saturday, 24.2.2024 – prep party from 10.00-15.00 (come when you can)
Sunday, 25.2. 2024 – Lumikita snow event from 10:00-13:00

Summer 2023: Kaiken takana / Beyond Everything

“Beyond Everything” 17.6 – 27.8.2023 

The 24th Fine Arts Summer Exhibition in Art Center Haihatus, Joutsa, Finland 

Art Center Haihatus’s “Beyond Everything” is bringing over 40 artists to Joutsa, Finland. The fine arts group exhibition is held 17.6-27.8.

The multidisciplinary Fine Arts Summer Exhibition Beyond Everything focuses on powers that influence the world behind our sensory perceptions. Different kinds of energies, the bending dimension of time and the ever-changing borders of reality come together as one!

The summer exhibition is presenting fine arts from Finnish spatial arts pioneer Marja Kanervo, video arts from Mika Taanila and Anssi 8000, sculptures from young Finnish masters such as Laura Könönen and Aaron Heino, paintings and mural works from Siiri Haarla, installations from Academy Awards Oscar Nominee 2023 for Best Music, Cleaning Women, sound arts from Antti Tolvi and J. Koho and much more! 

House of Kinetic Arts KITA is also presenting their summer exhibition Interventilation as an independent part of Haihatus Summer Exhibition, which is a brand new collection of kinetic artworks by international artists. 

The full list of artists: Erik Alalooga, Artemisia Vulgaris, Anders Bergman, Lotta Blomberg, Baran Caginli, Cleaning Women, Michal Czinege & Maija Laurinen, Santiago Delgado, Jenni Eskola, Noora Federley, Siiri Haarla, Hannah Harkes, Aaron Heino, Elisa Hillgén, Juhana Hurula, Aino Johansson, Lasse Juuti, Kallo Collective, Marja Kanervo, Anssi Kasitonni, Asko Keränen, J. Koho, Laura Könönen, Mikko Laaksonen, Johanna Latvala, Maria Mattila, Anna Miller, Panu Ollikainen, Ilmo Paukkunen, Essi Pitkänen, Risto Puurunen & Marita Isobel Solberg, Matti Salmela, Jenni Sormunen, Restlessminds, Shubhangi Singh, Mika Taanila, Antti Tolvi, Keijo Virtanen, Julius Valve, Steve Vanoni and Tuomo Vuoteenoma.

Art Center Haihatus will also hold music events in July. The two events, Music Sundays, will be held on Sunday 16th of July with the industrial-krautrock band Cleaning Women and electronic hurdy-gurdy music by Hur Hur, and Sunday 30th of July with Finnish folk artists Lätsä and A. Takalo. Both of the events will have after parties at the local Kellari bar in Joutsa center. Theater Metamorfoosi’s and Kallo Collective’s collective effort, a physical and satirical theater piece Into the Wild will be holding shows at every weekend all through July at Art Center Haihatus. More information and tickets for Into the Wild are available at the Haihatus website: haihatus.fi

“Beyond Everything” The 24th Fine Arts Summer Exhibition of Art Center Haihatus 17.6-27.8.

Tickets 5-20€ / Museokortti (Finnish Museum Card)i

Open from Wed-Sun from 11 AM to 6 PM

Closed during Midsummer festivities 23.-25.6.


Art Center Haihatus, Jousitie 68-70, Joutsa, Finland

House of Kinetic Arts KITA, Tokerontie 11, Joutsa, Finland

More information and requests for interviews:
Official webpage of Art Centre Haihatus: http://haihatus.fi
FB: facebook.com/taidelaitoshaihatus

Art Center Haihatus, Risto Puurunen, phone. +358400 858 639, risto@haihatus.fi 
KITA -gallery, Tuomo Vuoteenoma, puh. +35850 369 3839, tuomo@haihatus.fi

Press pictures for free use (please use the photographer’s name): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DddWo88BTem-X90ByISqBZ6eZQCjNYGo? usp=sharing

Pupurutsa at MusicSunday after party 26.7.2020

26.7.2020 Pupurutsa plays at Haihatus’ MusicSunday after parties at Ravintola Kellari. After party starts at 22:00 and the show starts at 22:30.

Pupurutsa takes influences from electro, punk and experimental music creating songs which lyrics circle around themes of politics and ecology to personal stories. The purpose of the music is to make people move on the dance floor as well as in the society. Pupurutsa is a couple years old and has played mostly in Tampere, for example in Vastavirta club and different kinds of DIY events.

According to their own words “Pupurutsa. Unlikely electronic duo. Taped spectacles. Abrupt lyrics. Wrinkly music. Stiff hips. Frigid moves. With these you can ruin even the best party. Party on!”

Check Pupurutsa’s Valtakunta demo here!

So, after Ville Pirinen and Litku Klemetti shows, make your way to Ravintola Kellari after party to check out Pupurutsa! Entrance is free of charge. Welcome!

MusicSunday hotel packets now on sale!

Art Centre Haihatus and Hotel Aatto & Elli offer a hotel packet deal for 99€. The packet is for two and it includes tickets to Haihatus’ summer exhibition and to a gig of your choice, and a hotel night with breakfast.

Litku Klemetti added to MusicSundays

Taidelaitos Haihatus is proud to announce that Litku Klemetti will be starring one of the upcoming MusicSundays shows. She will perform 26.7. as well as the previously announced Ville Pirinen.

The shows begin around 6pm and the event continues until 10pm. There’s a limited amount of tickets so make sure to get one from Haihatus’ webstore. Welcome!

19.7. Martti Servo & Napander + Veijo Peso
26.7. Ville Pirinen + Litku Klemetti
2.8. Seksihullut + Cleaning Women
9.8. Risto + Cosmo Jones Beat Machine
16.8. Aavikko + O Samuli A
DJ Salmelan Muovisorvaamo
Shows starting from 18:00 – Tickets 12€ / 10€ / 3€.

AVANTGARDEVEKKULA opens on 27.6.2020!

Art Center Haihatus Summer Exhibition is open 27.6.–16.8.2020

Exhibition’s curator Tuomo Vuoteenoma states that during the abnormal times we live in, the significance of art and imagination in people’s well-being is even more crucial than normally. “All kind of artistic activity gives an opportunity to expand, diminish, and break down the walls that are sometimes drawing in on us.”

AVANTGARDEVEKKULA is the 21st summer exhibition of Art Center Haihatus. It is open every week from Wednesday to Sunday 11–18 and it is one of the Museum Card museums.

Due to the corona virus pandemic, the timetable of the exhibition had to be changed, but otherwise the changes in the exhibition are minor, states curator Vuoteenoma. Art Center Haihatus’ area is wide, and the premises and the art-experience park enable easy-going and safe exhibition experience for the visitors. We follow government set regulations and guidelines to provide a safe exhibition environment, so let’s take good care of hygiene and safety gaps!

AVANGARDEVEKKULA is an art exhibition in which all the artworks ooze joyful grip on art making. Another connective feature between the exhibition’s artists is that many of them work within different art disciplines such as theatre and art. AVANTGARDEVEKKULA waves uniquely between naivistic installations, kinetic sculptures, and dreamy soundscapes. For example, there is an attic disco upstairs in the exhibition house where kinetic sculptures are dancing in an otherworldly manner.

Curator Vuoteenoma with his gigantic mechanical spider.

The following artists and artist groups take part in this year’s summer exhibition: Sakari Kannosto, Pauliina Turakka Purhonen, Petri Eskelinen, Maippi Ketola, Ville Vuorenmaa, Pauli Ahopelto, Katri Sipiläinen, Jaakko Mattila, Antti-Ville Reinikainen, Sorbus -kollektiivi, Heidi Kesti, Mari Metsämäki, Tero Jartti, Panu Ollikainen, Jari Johannes, Esa Mattila, Kaisa Vigman, Kalle Turakka Purhonen, Absurdistit -kollektiivi, Kokeellisen elektroniikan seura, Benjamin Phillips Nozdrachev, Steve Vanoni, Ninni Luhtasaari, Antti Immonen, Jyrki Nissinen, Elliina Peltoniemi, Mikko Haiko, Risto Puurunen, Kinobox Obscura and curator Vuoteenoma himself.

Tuomo Vuoteenoma says that “Art has potential to make things that are seemingly unrelated and disproportioned to fit in the same picture. Art, making by hands, and safe scrabbling help to understand different points of views to reality and sometimes to break down statues, because after all, that is what art is: constructing and deconstructing.”

The exhibition’s curator Tuomo Vuoteenoma is Helsinki-based art field’s multitasking professional. He works actively in visual arts producing open source art events, experimental exhibitions, and performative sculptures. Oulu-born Vuoteenoma is a designer but besides his main profession, he had also worked as an event producer, a musician, and a janitor. The continuous play with artistic ideas and technical implementations has led to the merging of surprising elements into a unique operating culture, which gave birth to AVANTGARDEVEKKULA in 2018. The 4th version of the exhibition lands in Art Centre Joutsa this summer!

Tilaa uutiskirje


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