Dominik Fleischmann, Algeron's Flower, 2021. AFA Festival, Malmi Airport Hangar. Credits: Kilian Kottmeier.
Oona Räyhäntausta (Freekit collective), performance of Safe Haven, 2021. AFA Festival, Malmi Airport Hangar. Credits: Lù Chen.
Rosalia Silfer, 2021. AFA Festival, Malmi Airport Hangar. Credits: Kilian Kottmeier.
Art for All ry was born to support artists and art workers at the beginning of their career and offer a network of collaboration and peer support. With this mission in mind, the AFA Festival is a platform which every year offers visibility and an opportunity of development for students across Finland, who put into practice their knowledge and creativity as artists, technicians, communicators, photographers, curatorors, project managers, etc., to bring the Festival to life.
The Art for All Festival 2021 was the first edition of AFA major event. The Festival took place on 20.-22.8.2021 in the Hangar of Malmi Airport. It welcomed seven contributors who produced artworks exploring the theme of Invisible Connections. The artists gathered for the Hangar Residency at Malmi Airport on 16.8.-19.8.2021 to produce and install their artworks.
I co-hosted the Artist Residency 2021, together with Michael Panula-Onto.
ARTISTS RESIDENCY
16 - 19 August 2021
Art for All believes that production processes are as important as the final results. The theme of Invisible Connections enquired into new ways of being together: among those, one can find the weave of relations that creates our working environment.
The Hangar Residency moved from the belief that we can learn from one another by cohabiting a space. We paid attention to the quality of this cooperation. The Residency provided technical, financial and material support, while imagining and putting into practice an uplifting way of making art together. We wanted to give the freedom to experiment with new formats and ways of working, while creating a safe environment where all voices are heard.
From our side, the Art for All Team commits to opening the traditional hierarchy of the art sector into a horizontal, inclusive and welcoming structure. From sound and light design, to exhibition arrangement and labelling, we made decision-making a communal activity. We aimed to bring the artists and other team members into the curatorial. Through peer-learning we challenge authorship, relying on friendship, and mediating between professional skills. This helps us bring out our best and be generous with our community.
We have inhabited the Hangar as a collective playground: we curated “The Wish Corner”, a space for critical feedback from both AFA team and visitors; and the “Soft Corner”, a space for resting and relaxing during work.
Credits: Lù Chen, 2021.
