Weather Station exhibition features 10 Finnish sound and performance artists
The Weather Station exhibition is an exhibition of events for new performative forms of Finnish sound art.
The exhibition forms a part of the Prague Quadrennial Performance Design and Space 2015 event taking place on 18–28 June 2015. The curators of the Finnish pavilion are Maija Loukola, Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Motion Picture, Television and Production Design of the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, and dramaturge Timo Heinonen.
- In new forms of scenography, space is the dramaturgic, contents-creating factor, whereas traditionally text has been thought to have the exclusive rights for this role. The expanded forms of scenography and environments forming the context for it have escaped from theatre to public urban spaces, different media environments and to active ways of doing things such as appropriating performative installations, Maiju Loukola explains.
- Arts present arguments about the world and society and can function in the spirit of activism. This has been noticed and put into practice also within the sphere of scenography in performative arts. Finnish scenographers – people closely involved with the design of scenography, lighting and sound – are seasoned types of artists, even internationally, open-mindedly shuffling the pack of traditional cards. We want to draw attention to the changing winds in performative arts by giving a voice to performative potential in our Prague pavilion. In June, a really excellent coverage of the new artistic practices in the field can be experienced in Prague, Loukola continues.
PQ also includes a joint exhibition arranged by the scenography and costume design students together with the lighting and sound design students of the Theatre Academy at the University of the Arts.
Two sound-space installations and video documentations of two investigational sound art performance processes are exhibited. Their authors at the front row of scenography, sound, lighting and video design and art are: Heidi Soidinsalo-Kasperi Laine-Jani-Matti Salo-Ville Seppänen, Antti Mäkelä (Puumalainen), Elina Lifländer-Nanni Kourkia-Kristian Ekholm-Nanni Vapaavuori and Antti Nykyri.
Other artists participating in PQ2015 who have graduated from the Department of Motion Picture, Television and Production Design or are still completing their studies include: scenographer–performance artist–environmental activist Kaisa Illukka running the workshop on experimental ecology; Kirsi Manninen, who has recently been selected as a post-graduate student for scenography and costume design, running the digital iPad workshop on costume design; costume design students Mimosa Norja and Lauren Sever who have been selected to the TRIBES repertoire with their "The Official Finnish Tourism Association" performance; as well as Sattva-Hanna Toiviainen, Anna Sinkkonen ja Maria Rosenqvist with their "Katos!/A Shelter" –nomad performance. In addition, we will see in Prague a performative urban walk, Series of Spaces III – Ubiquitous Prague, by the KOKIMO group (Kilpeläinen-Murtola-Pöllänen-Heino).
In June 2015, Prague's Quadrennial will spread out to the buildings of great value at the old centre of Prague and to public space more prominently than before. The programme includes presentations, urban space interventions, installations, performances, spatial art and audio-visually magnificent examples from the field of theatre arts.
Public is welcome to participate in the JUHANNUS/MIDSOMMAR event (Colloredo-Mansfeldský palác, Karlova, Staré Město, Praha) arranged for Midsummer Eve, Friday, 19 June, at 2–4 pm. The artists and their works will be presented to the public in an easy-going "Midsummer Day" spirit.
The event will continue with a "container concert" by the SOUND OF MUSIC (IN A BOX) artist group at the Ovocny Square, starting at 6 pm in Ovocny trh 1096, 110 00 Praha 1-Staré Město.
WEATHER STATION is a part of the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space event organised in Prague every four years with the world largest presentation of new artistic practices of space, scenography and architecture for performing arts as well as presentation space forms for them. Finland's sound–space-oriented WEATHER STATION exhibition is located in two venues – at the baroque Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace next to Charles' Bridge A4, 2nd floor) and at the nearby Ovocný Square.
Further information about the PQ2015 event at http://www.pq.cz/en/