Fair Sculpture
Fair Sculpture encourages and helps empower children and young people, with a focus on young people who have fewer opportunities to engage with different kinds of art and culture.
About Fair Sculpture
Fair Sculpture is an inter-generational and multidisciplinary artistic community project consisting of two branches, in which participation is free for participants. One branch is a weekly afternoon school for children and young people in the facilities of the Academy of Fine Arts and the Theatre Academy in Helsinki (Sörnäinen Campus). The other is a residency branch, where artists are invited to hold an art residency in a school outside of Helsinki.
Artist residency
In the Fair Sculpture artist residency, the resident artist works at a school, not as a teacher or other usual member of school staff, but as a professional artist. The project aims to empower kids and young people from different backgrounds. The focus is to give exposure to school children who do not normally have the opportunity to meet professional artists and encounter different kinds of cultural events as well as give the participating artists opportunities to work and create in a vivid learning environment.
Essi Pitkänen and Daniela Pascual Esparza worked at the residency of Joutsa during spring 2023. The artists Iiri Poteri and Thomas Westphal have been selected as artists-in-residence at two schools in Espoo. They will work in the schools for 2,5 months from 1 September.
Iiri Poteri, Matinkylä upper secondary school
I am a visual artist from Helsinki, originally from Espoo. In my artistic work in recent years, I have been exploring the relationship between the audience, the artwork, and its creator. In my practice, I often make use of performance, video and photography art that I use to place myself – my image, body or part of it – as part of the artwork. In art, I find it important to embrace new situations, to utilise time- and site-specificity, to challenge the conventional practices and attitudes about experiencing visual arts, to regard vulnerability as an opportunity to feel empathy and to understand another person and to be genuinely curious. Schools – especially art schools – have been an important environment for me for growth as a human being and as an artist. That’s why I’m excited about getting to visit Matinkylän lukio and meeting young people who experience and create art. As an artist, I want to offer them surprising experiences and also be surprised myself and learn from their reactions and interpretations. I’m curious to find out what kind of visual art young people want to experience and what direction the field is possibly headed towards.
I graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki, Time and Space Department, in 2021 and I have also studied photography at the Pekka Halonen Academy. My work has been exhibited both in Finland and internationally, with a recent solo exhibition “Näkemisiin! / See You and Let’s See!” (Rovaniemi, FI, 2024) and group exhibition “Out of Nowhere – Mänttä Art Festival” (Mänttä-Vilppula, FI, 2023). My artworks can be found in the art collection of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.
- Iiri Poteri´s artist site: https://iiripoteri.com
Thomas Whestphal, Viherlaakso upper secondary school
I am a German born visual artist living and working in Helsinki. I studied at Academy for Art & Design in Enschede NL and hold an MFA degree from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. My works have been shown in European and international exhibitions and are part of the collections of Museum of contemporary art, Kiasma, Museum of modern art, EMMA and the Finnish National Gallery.
Art often starts by appreciating a good idea, being intrigued by an interesting thought, being alert of having an insightful observation, being aware, validating and acting on it. This happens in a constant inner dialogue that can be shared and discussed and that grows towards a strong artistic statement. During the realisation, one goes through ups and downs, and there are valuable insights to gain by learning how to overcome doubts and carry on.
During my residence I will use the study as my primary working space and will be regularly present at school. I will tread my given space as a studio and will work on current projects. Most of all I like the idea that students can just drop by and find their own projects. We don’t always have to talk about art, there should always be time to discuss life and stuff. I want it to be a safe space, a fun space to visit and a birthplace for ideas to come.
- Thomas Whestphal’s artist site: https://www.thomaswestphal.net
Weekly afternoon school
In the spring of 2024, the Fair Sculpture project is involved in a pilot of cultural education model for secondary schools in the city of Espoo. The aim is to strengthen creativity and learning. A group of young people from secondary and vocational schools in Espoo will participate in a weekly art afternoon at Mylly. Aura Kotkavirta is the responsible teacher of the group.
From January 2022 until May, kids from Eastern Helsinki from Kontula Art School (KAS!) joined the Fair Sculpture project. They worked on a weekly base at Uniarts Sörnäinen Campus facilities.
Funding
Both branches of Fair Sculpture are funded by the Talent Boost funds to run pilot-projects.
With the help of Talent Boost funding, Fair Sculpture was able to pay all teachers and other experts staff involved, metro tickets, materials and food and drinks. The project also got huge support by sculpture students, who for the weekly afternoon school gave space in the workshops so the kids and youngsters could work there.
Project name
Fair Sculpture
Time
01/2022
Funder
Talent Boost
Team
Team:
- Andy Best, Professor in Sculpture, Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts
- Frank Brümmel, Lecturer in Sculpture, doctoral student, Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts
- Aura Kotkavirta, artist
Supporting the project:
- Students of Uniarts Academy of Fine Arts´ Sculpture subject area
- Vesa Rahikainen, sculpture technician
- Oliver Backmann, sculpture technician
People who worked in and for the project:
- Heidi Hänninen, artist, doctoral student, Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts
- Tero Nauha, Professor Live Art and Performance Studies, Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy
- Arlene Tucker, artist, diversity agent
- Kim Jotuni, sculpture technician
- Fjolla Hoxha, performance artist
- Pablo Alvarez, artist, diversity agent
- Maija Fox, artist
Collaborators
- Kontula Art School (KAS!)
Joutsan yhtenäiskoulu - Espoo culture team, City of Espoo
- Matinkylän lukio
- Viherlaakson lukio
Lead organisation
Sculpture, Academy of Fine Arts
Contact
Frank Brümmel, frank.brummel@uniarts.fi
About Fair Sculpture
Fair Sculpture is an inter-generational and multidisciplinary artistic community project consisting of two branches, in which participation is free for participants. One branch is a weekly afternoon school for children and young people in the facilities of the Academy of Fine Arts and the Theatre Academy in Helsinki (Sörnäinen Campus). The other is a residency branch, where artists are invited to hold an art residency in a school outside of Helsinki.
Artist residency
In the Fair Sculpture artist residency, the resident artist works at a school, not as a teacher or other usual member of school staff, but as a professional artist. The project aims to empower kids and young people from different backgrounds. The focus is to give exposure to school children who do not normally have the opportunity to meet professional artists and encounter different kinds of cultural events as well as give the participating artists opportunities to work and create in a vivid learning environment.
Essi Pitkänen and Daniela Pascual Esparza worked at the residency of Joutsa during spring 2023. The artists Iiri Poteri and Thomas Westphal have been selected as artists-in-residence at two schools in Espoo. They will work in the schools for 2,5 months from 1 September.
Iiri Poteri, Matinkylä upper secondary school
I am a visual artist from Helsinki, originally from Espoo. In my artistic work in recent years, I have been exploring the relationship between the audience, the artwork, and its creator. In my practice, I often make use of performance, video and photography art that I use to place myself – my image, body or part of it – as part of the artwork. In art, I find it important to embrace new situations, to utilise time- and site-specificity, to challenge the conventional practices and attitudes about experiencing visual arts, to regard vulnerability as an opportunity to feel empathy and to understand another person and to be genuinely curious. Schools – especially art schools – have been an important environment for me for growth as a human being and as an artist. That’s why I’m excited about getting to visit Matinkylän lukio and meeting young people who experience and create art. As an artist, I want to offer them surprising experiences and also be surprised myself and learn from their reactions and interpretations. I’m curious to find out what kind of visual art young people want to experience and what direction the field is possibly headed towards.
I graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki, Time and Space Department, in 2021 and I have also studied photography at the Pekka Halonen Academy. My work has been exhibited both in Finland and internationally, with a recent solo exhibition “Näkemisiin! / See You and Let’s See!” (Rovaniemi, FI, 2024) and group exhibition “Out of Nowhere – Mänttä Art Festival” (Mänttä-Vilppula, FI, 2023). My artworks can be found in the art collection of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.
- Iiri Poteri´s artist site: https://iiripoteri.com
Thomas Whestphal, Viherlaakso upper secondary school
I am a German born visual artist living and working in Helsinki. I studied at Academy for Art & Design in Enschede NL and hold an MFA degree from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. My works have been shown in European and international exhibitions and are part of the collections of Museum of contemporary art, Kiasma, Museum of modern art, EMMA and the Finnish National Gallery.
Art often starts by appreciating a good idea, being intrigued by an interesting thought, being alert of having an insightful observation, being aware, validating and acting on it. This happens in a constant inner dialogue that can be shared and discussed and that grows towards a strong artistic statement. During the realisation, one goes through ups and downs, and there are valuable insights to gain by learning how to overcome doubts and carry on.
During my residence I will use the study as my primary working space and will be regularly present at school. I will tread my given space as a studio and will work on current projects. Most of all I like the idea that students can just drop by and find their own projects. We don’t always have to talk about art, there should always be time to discuss life and stuff. I want it to be a safe space, a fun space to visit and a birthplace for ideas to come.
- Thomas Whestphal’s artist site: https://www.thomaswestphal.net
Weekly afternoon school
In the spring of 2024, the Fair Sculpture project is involved in a pilot of cultural education model for secondary schools in the city of Espoo. The aim is to strengthen creativity and learning. A group of young people from secondary and vocational schools in Espoo will participate in a weekly art afternoon at Mylly. Aura Kotkavirta is the responsible teacher of the group.
From January 2022 until May, kids from Eastern Helsinki from Kontula Art School (KAS!) joined the Fair Sculpture project. They worked on a weekly base at Uniarts Sörnäinen Campus facilities.
Funding
Both branches of Fair Sculpture are funded by the Talent Boost funds to run pilot-projects.
With the help of Talent Boost funding, Fair Sculpture was able to pay all teachers and other experts staff involved, metro tickets, materials and food and drinks. The project also got huge support by sculpture students, who for the weekly afternoon school gave space in the workshops so the kids and youngsters could work there.