Jere Vainio and Kaija Hinkula to be awarded grants for alumni residencies
Jere Vainio and Kaija Hinkula, alumni of Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts, have been selected to participate in alumni residencies in Scotland and New York. Vainio was selected for a four-month residency taking place in Scotland next year, while Hinkula’s six-month residency in New York will begin in January 2025. The Academy of Fine Arts residency programmes for alumni are part of a collaborative project between the Academy of Fine Arts and the Saastamoinen Foundation.
The goal of the Ecologies in the Making: Sculpting Futures residency in Scotland is to support visual artists in studying and developing ecological methods and contexts for their artistic practice. The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), on the other hand, is New York’s most comprehensive international visual arts residency programme.
The application period for the alumni residencies was 1-30 September 2023. An international jury of experts pre-selected the grant applicants, based on which the residency centres made the final decision. Below you can read excerpts from the jury’s reasoning for selecting the two grant recipients.
The academy’s other residency partners include Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, LIFT Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto and SPACE in London. The application period for these residencies will begin in February 2024. The application period for the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten residency will begin in September.
The Academy of Fine Arts and Saastamoinen Foundation extend their congratulations to the grant recipients!
An excerpt from the jury’s reasoning: Jere Vainio
The jury was interested in the proposal of Jere to engineer prototypes for tools to expand the possibilities of the material cork, employing their skills in craft and theatre design. Jere’s existing portfolio of work is visually strong and gave the jury confidence that the residency time will foster a fruitful process.
Jury panel:
- Danielle van Zuijlen, Co-founder and Artistic Coordinator of Kunsthal Gent
- Joanne Matthews, Producer at Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Freelance Artist and Researcher
- Frank Brümmel, University Lecturer, Uniarts Helsinki´s Academy of Fine Arts
An excerpt from the jury’s reasoning: Kaija Hinkula
The artist was seen to employ humour and playfulness in her deconstruction of painting, and to create a very strong presentation of her work in the application. There was respect for the time-based aspect of the work, and its ephemerality.
Jury panel:
- Stig Baumgartner, University Lecturer, Uniarts Helsinki´s Academy of Fine Arts
- Curator Aveline de Bruin, Curator
- Susan Hapgood, Director ISCP
