Category Archives: Live Art

Spaces, places and journeys

Insanely busy days filled with thinking and writing about place, space and urban planning (finally sent off the essay!), trying to finalize the ANTI 2013 programme, the CEO course, my upcoming new work, applying travel grants to be able to be on a seriously exciting panel at PSI#19 in Stanford, US in the summer and getting ready for my Iisalmi-Helsinki-Brussels-Chigaco-New York-Kuopio journey that starts tomorrow!

So it’s all about work, day and night, 7 days a week.
It’s about art, research, places and spaces.
Packing and unpacking.

I feel tired but inspired.

I don’t think I can ever travel anywhere without thinking of Doreen Massey and Panu Lehtovuori.

Is it too much to travel with four pairs of shoes and three handbags?

Johanna

IETM Dublin


So I’m in Dublin in my first ever IETM meeting. Actually, I’m not sure if that’s entirely true as I might have attended a session or two years ago in Helsinki, but this feels like my first IETM and is definitely one outside Finland. I’ve never been to Ireland before and it’s quite puzzling to come to a new city and country and to feel that one does not have any time to engage with the place. So to just walk from the hotel to a venue, and then to another venue and then to find a reasonable place to eat and then to go back to a venue you visited earlier. So my first superficial impressions of Dublin are that the stereotypes of Ireland are not just stereotypes… The pubs, the music, the dialect actually are very visible and strong part of the urban culture. Of course, I’m aware that I’ve been mostly walking around the area of Temple Bar with tons of bars, pubs and cafes but still. I wasn’t really expecting to be so surrounded by Irish music and Guinness!







So visiting a town for the first time and being busy with IETM session and the artistic programme, I really appreciate that the organizers have programmed quite a lot of site-specific activities. So far I haven’t attended any of them, but tomorrow morning at 8am I’m heading for a swim in the Irish sea Jen Coppinger. She’s taking a group of people for a swim by James Joyce’s Martello tower at Seapoint. It’s going to be early and probably terribly cold, but I want to sense the sea so this is a perfect opportunity.

Then tomorrow I’m also seeing two site-specific works. One is a walking piece and in the other one audiences are driven around in cabs. I’m really looking forward to those and to experience the city a bit more, a bit differently, as the local artists have wanted people to experience it.

Can hardly wait.

Johanna

Markedet for scenekunst

Greetings from Sandefjord in Norway! Jag har tittat på barn och ungdom teater för två dagar på norska och också lite på engelska på det här Markedet for scenekonst. Eftersom jag inte pratar norska, kan det vara lite svårt ibland att förstå skådespel. Men det har varit roligt ännu! Och jag har sett många mycket intressanta verk. Och jag har pratat lite svenska. Imorgon ska vi resa till Oslo för en dag och till hem för veckoslutet!




Har det bra!

Johanna

gigs in Oulu were great

This is a long overdue post but I had such a great time in Oulu with the MAP OF SCARS team earlier in Feb that I just have to post a few lines about it.

Of course it was such a pleasure to hang out with my gorgeous performers and light designer Ainu but also the technical team at Valve was fantastic to work with. Everything went so smoothly, they did a great job, the space looked good and both shows were full. Here are a couple of photos of the space by Ainu:




Besides all this, I also really enjoyed spending a week in Oulu. My top things were the beautifully renovated swimming hall Raati, the numerous Indian, Sushi and Thai restaurants, Stockmann department store (with i.e. Armani make up), Nanso shop with Lumi Accessories handbags, Non Boutique selling Finnish designer clothes and for example Finsk shoes and of course Pikisaari, where I stayed. So in short, Oulu gave a really good impression! Well done.

Right now I’m on my way to Helsinki to give an interview but other than that, the last weeks have been filled by usual beginning of the year admin work for ANTI Festival, myself and Live Umbrella. But the spring and summer seem to be shaping up rather nicely – more later!

Johanna

MAP OF SCARS in Oulu this week!

I’m so much looking forward to the shows of MAP OF SCARS in Oulu this Friday and Saturday. I’m travelling there tomorrow and we are rehearsing on Wednesday with the dancers, then our light designer Ainu joins us on stage on Thursday and then we perform the piece on Friday and Saturday at 7pm at the cultural centre Valve.
Oh I’m so much looking forward to these three gorgeous ladies go crazy and silly with great self irony!

I’m also really looking forward to experience again some intimate, strong, sensual and physical duets.



And seeing some visually stunning images.



All photos @ Pekka Mäkinen.

Maybe some new scars? Who knows.

It will be just great to get together with Ainu, Pirjo, Sannamaria and Tuovi! And will be good to be in Oulu for a few days.

As I was browsing I found this blog post (in Finnish) about the performance which I hadn’t seen before: http://ledanseurterrible.blogspot.fi/2012/11/johanna-tuukkanen-map-of-scars.html.
Also there’s a post about the ICE HOT quality panel from which was held in Helsinki last December. It’s also in Finnish and you can find it here: http://www.liikekieli.com/archives/5510.

Anyway, book you tickets and come to see us this weekend!

http://www.kaleva.fi/menot/tapahtuma/map-of-scars/967412/?sdate=2013.02.01

Johanna

2012

In 2012 I enjoyed immensely my return to the position of a choreographer in MAP OF SCARS. Directing a piece in which I don’t perform myself was a fantastic experience and I had a great team to work with. So thank you Sannamaria, Tuovi, Pirjo, Ainu, Tatu, Pekka and everyone who was part of that process.
Photo by Pekka Mäkinen.

I also really enjoyed creating Follow me with Rebecca French but was sad how little visibility the audio walk received. In Finland it still seems very difficult to create works outside the mainstream artistic forms and to get media’s or people’s interest to participate in works that are not in the ‘safe’ environment or form. As a contemporary artist, I think this is very sad and depressing.

Although it is sometimes difficult, I still feel that there’s a need and interest for my work and to improve the production processes and overall working conditions, I set up an organization called Live Umbrella with Pekka and Maija. I’ve postponed that for several years but now it’s the time to really give it a try!

I made several work trips in 2012. To Vienna, Gloucestershire, Montreal, Uppsala, Stockholm, Helsinki, Kajaani, London, Brussels…all the trips were really inspirational. The most exciting adventure was however to Montreal and I was so happy to visit the Les Escales Improbables Festival and meet many new collegues there. And my morning run to the Parc Mount Royal was unforgettable! The best teaching experience I’ve ever had was in Brussels at Cifas Summer University.

I had an unforgettable summer holiday with my children in London in the summer. We had such a great time and it was a much needed break for me. Thanks for our wonderful hosts Rebecca, Andrew & VP!!!!!

Although studying can and has been at times really hard and tiring, it has mostly been a true inspiration. I’m so happy I’ve gotten to know new amazing academics, thinkers, theorists and fellow students as well to deepen my own understanding and knowledge in the fields of cultural policy and art theory.

I saw some touching performances. 100% London by Rimini Protokoll, For Those Who Have Time by Maija Hirvanen and In Human Disguise by Eeva Muilu and Milja Sarkola made me cry.

Photo Pekka Mäkinen.

ANTI 2012 was a fantastic festival. It was a kind of a dream come true to have Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens, Heather Cassils, Kris Grey, Alejandra Herrera and Jukka Huitila in one festival – not to dismiss any artist at the great festival! Up To Nature project was also a great experience and I was very happy to collaborate with Thomas, Helen, Jon and Gregg on it. It was fantastic that Vilja joined the ANTI production team!

Photo Pekka Mäkinen.

During 2012 I still got a lot of happiness in my daily life from the shoes of Minna Parikka, exercising at Functional Team (now Element Studios), hanging out with friends, good Riesling wines and of course my family. I’ve had some health problems which have annoyingly effected my metabolism so somehow the year has not been a great improvement physically but more mentally and theoretically. And that has been great and more than welcome.

Looking forward to the challenges of 2013!


Happy New Year!

Johanna

 

Olitko ANTI-festivaalilla Kuopiossa vuonna 2011? Osallistuitko Avustettuja kadunylityksiä Kuopiossa –teokseen, jossa festivaaliyleisöä ja kaupunkilaisia kannettiin suojatien yli kolmessa eri paikassa?

Mikäli näit teoksen tai osallistuit siihen, olisitko kiinnostunut tulemaan mukaan ryhmähaastatteluun, jossa pyritään keräämään tietoa teokseen osallistuneiden ihmisten kokemuksista? Osallistuaksesi ryhmähaastatteluun sinun ei ole välttämättä tarvinnut itse olla taiteilijoiden kannettavana, mutta on tärkeää, että sinulla on henkilökohtainen kokemus teoksesta – katsojana tai osallistujana. Voit myös osallistua ryhmähaastatteluun, jos olit yleisön kantajana mukana teoksessa.

TRYST-kollektiivin Avustettuja kadunylityksiä Kuopiossa -teos oli esillä osana ANTI – Contemporary Art Festivalia 28.9. – 1.10.2011 Asemakadun ja Puijonkadun risteyksessä, Tasavallankadun ja Saaristokadun risteyksessä sekä Haapaniemenkadun ja Tulliportinkadun risteyksessä.

Haastattelu toteutetaan Kuopiossa yhteisesti sovittavana ajankohtana marraskuun lopussa tai joulukuun alussa. Mikäli olet kiinnostunut osallistumaan ryhmähaastatteluun, ota yhteyttä sähköpostitse johanna@tuukkanen.net tai puhelimitse 040 7429091 23.11.2012 mennessä.

Ryhmähaastattelun tekee Jyväskylän yliopiston kulttuuripolitiikan maisteriohjelmassa opiskeleva Johanna Tuukkanen pro gradu –tutkielmaansa varten.