*intent*: practice, research and togetherness is a research festival initiated by recent graduates from the masters major Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art (ViCCA), Department of Art and Media, at Aalto University. 

31 August - 1 September 2024 , HIAP - Helsinki International Artist Programme.

*intent* showcases the artistic and curatorial research of twenty students. The graduates' work is curated through different formats of research and practice: a multi-disciplinary programme of talks, performances and film screenings, a showcase of printed matter, and an opening with live music and food. 

The pavilion that hosts the festival is designed into thematic areas which are defined organically by a commissioned textile piece by Eve Hamari. The open space offers the audience and participants a chance to share knowledge while immersing themselves in the nature and beautiful landscape of the island. 

We have initiated *intent* to connect the academia and the local audiences, and to foster exchange within the art scene based in Finland. The title of the festival, while being a play on words alluding to the large tent under which the event is hosted, highlights the intentionality reflected in the practices and research of the ViCCA community and behind the creation of the event itself. Intent is intrinsic to the students’ work, who share their thesis-related practice and the culmination of their research in this new outlet for the exchange of ideas and insights. We hope that the festival may inspire similar initiatives for the collaboration between programmes, disciplines, and practices.

On 1 September 2024, as part of the festival program I have launched the edited book Here, Not. Dialogues on art and the making of here, in conversation with contributors Amy Gelera and Lotta Hagelin and the book's designer Lù Chén. Alejandra Alarcón served one of her delicious  'Edible Landscapes'.

Festival production team:

Clément Beraud, Micol Curatolo, Julia Fidder, Cyane Findji, Alexandra Koskinen, Martina Šerešová, Teemu Ullgren, Genietta Varsi, Elisa Villota Sadaba 

Photos by Nikita Gavrilenko