Art and sustainability on the island of Vallisaari
Vallisaari, a former military island , will be the stage where June 12 to September 26 the Helsinki Biennale will take place, with free access.
East iconic contemporary event will offer an extensive program of art, events and digital initiatives for the face-to-face and remote audience without losing sight of sustainability.
Sketch for the work Lost Islands, by Samir Bhowmik
Open to the public since 2016, the island has agreed to host the biennial as long as the environment is respected , a necessary requirement not only for Vallisaari, but for the entire city, which wants to be carbon neutral by 2035.
"The messages of the Helsinki Biennale on the environmental awareness , sustainable practice and global interconnection reflect their own values and ambitions of the city of Helsinki" , point Jan Vapaavuori, Mayor of Helsinki.
The island is 20 minutes by boat from Helsinki
In this way, the Helsinki Biennale aims to be a carbon neutral event , so the organization will calculate your footprint as accurately as possible from boot.
Secondly, Metsähallitus and the Finnish Heritage Agency have evaluated what will be the right location for each work , focusing on the conservation of both nature and historic buildings.
At the same time, it is also creating a sustainable program based on the system EcoCompass environmental management.
The objectives of the program are to keep the Vallisaari tidy and litter free during the biennial, produce the event in a energy efficient , make responsible purchases, achieve material efficiency and perform the comunications necessary of electronic way.
In addition, this inaugural edition, entitled The Same Sea, will also extend to mainland, with exhibitions and events that will fill the Finnish capital with life.
The event will also be held virtually
"The Helsinki Biennale is launched with a future-oriented vision, advocating ecological ethics and celebrating the synthesis of art and nature. The bridge we are building between Finnish and international art world reflects our concern for interdependence, connection, and mutual understanding between geographies and cultures very different," says Maija Tanninen-Mattila, director of the Helsinki Biennale.
THE PROGRAM
While those who can attend the event in person will be able to enjoy an extensive program of exhibitions by contemporary art, workshops, events and educational activities , virtual visitors will also be able to immerse themselves in the Helsinki Biennale with digital initiatives, including digital artwork , recordings of the development of the facilities, podcasts and interactive virtual reality experiences.
For this, the organization has had the collaboration of Facebook Open Arts.
The great protagonist, the exhibition The same sea, will reflect on the notion of interdependence.
Curated by Pirkko Siitari and Taru Tappola , Chief Curator of the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM) , will cover topics such as nature, borders, identities, human footprints, time and empathy.
The artist Sari Palosaari has created a new work that evokes the essence of the earth
As for the participants, this wonderful event is the result of the collaboration of over 40 creative souls from Finland and all over the world , including 75% of new orders and site-specific works.
The artists have been inspired by the daily life of the former residents of Vallisaari, in its impressive nature or in the military history of the island , as well as the local and global consequences of human activity and alternative visions of the future.
'1.78' is the title of the sculptural installation by Janet Echelman
About one third of the pieces of Vallisaari will be located outdoors along marked trails or in the middle of the vegetation, while others will be exhibited inside old gunpowder warehouses and old residential buildings.
Other works of art from the biennial will be located in Helsinki mainland , like aerial sculpture 1.78 by Janet Echelman , which will be suspended over the central senate square of the city during the month of August.
For his part, the Helsinki Art Museum, responsible for the organization, will host an installation and a series of events by Rirkrit Tiravanija and Antto Melasniemi in collaboration with the Finnish furniture company Artek.
This artistic temple will also show two new installations by Katharina Grosse -artist who will also leave her mark on the island- that will transform the exhibition spaces into impressive as well as hypnotic works of art.
The Kanneltalo theater and cultural center of Helsinki will present Climate Confessional, an interactive and sculptural installation , created by the Finnish design studio Paja&Bureau , which will allow users to reflect on the climate crisis.
Samnang Khvay's 'Preah Kunlong' examines the relationship between humans and nature
Talks and workshops will complete the program: the BIOS Research Unit will install the Vallisaari Research Station in the old fire station on the island, hosting scientific seminars and conferences.
For their part, the artists Dafna Maimon and Andrew Kerton will offer a sensory workshop who will explore the digestive system.
To end, other islands of the archipelago will host collateral samples: the neighbor Suomenlinna , a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be the location where two collective exhibitions will be held So long, thanks again for the fish and Island of Empathy.