Category Archives: Travelling

Kuopio, a lively city?

What an intensive week I had. Spent a day in Jyväskylä and another one in Helsinki. Had a lot of thoughts about cultural policy, arts funding and arts management. In Helsinki I saw a performance by a graduating MA student – a very highly educated dancer entering into this insecure, unstable, problematic and debated field and business. Maybe it’s because I’m evaluating her final work that I’m somehow very conscious of all these rather negative issues in our field. And I’m not sure what I think about it. Part of me of course wants to encourage her and everyone and a part of me is really sad because it will be hard. On the other hand, it might not be hard for her at all and what is hard for each person varies so much anyway…

I gave a talk about ANTI in a seminar on Wednesday and it was kind of inspiring to hear and learn about other festivals and events in the city of Kuopio. The city is finally making or renewing its marketing strategy and festivals and events are of course a big part of the brand and image of the city. And if Kuopio wants to be a lively city, I think ANTI is doing the best job in the cultural sector.

So I was in Helsinki on Friday and realized that I wasn’t at all interested in going to the Habitare fair. This is a bit strange as I’m usually very interested in design. I’m not even sure when it was that I last visited Habitare (maybe last year?) but it was a bit of a disappointment so this year I didn’t really even consider it. But my desires were fulfilled last night in the 20th anniversary birthday party of Visio which was an inspiring event combining style, fashion, design and gourmet. I was so happy to participate and very, very proud of Kari and Sari. The venue was great, the old VR-makasiini factory building, which could be this amazing venue for all kinds of events, parties and performances in Kuopio but is hardly ever used. I know they had a lot of problems to get all the necessary permissions to organize this event there but I’m so proud they did and I really hope more people would start doing the same. Kuopio needs something like that! And Kuopio wouldn’t be the same without Visio = Kari & Sari. Think about this: these two very inspirational people who didn’t have to do anything wanted to organize this event which included a fantastic hair/fashion show, very well designed and organized venue with music, lights, BMX performer, lots of sparkling wine and gourmet deserts. And they invited about 500 people to enjoy all this for free! All I can say is thank you. And I love you!
With Kari & Sari

And I got to wear my golden Finsk shoes! Lovely.

We took a lot of pictures from the show…hopefully I’ll get to post a few later.

Johanna

Can’t believe it’s already the end of August!

I haven’t had a proper summer holiday for a few years so this summer it was such a luxury not having to work very much. Of course as an artist I’m always somehow working on upcoming projects and preparing new works, but I didn’t work in terms of waking up early in the morning, sitting in the office, rehearsing or warming up shows nor performing. It was pretty nice. I didn’t do anything special really – slept, cooked, exercised, wrote, thought…but what was pretty special for me, was that I had time & peace to read. Meaning anything; novels, newspapers, short stories. I really really love reading and drowning myself in the thoughts of a writer, but unfortunately this is something I find hard to find time & space to do in my normal everyday. I think I should change that – so much I enjoy reading. This summer I read some books I should have read years ago (like Mereta Mazzarella and Kari Hotakainen) and some new discoveries like Siri Hustvedt (how amazing? And how amazing that I haven’t read her books before?). Unfortunately, I didn’t have money to travel anywhere or to do anything special, but maybe that was good. Not to do too much. Less is more.

So when last weekend when we went to our friends’ house warming party 150km away, I felt like I was abroad! The sun was shining, there were good friends around, we ate amazing foods, drank a lot of wine and got to spend a night in a house designed by Alvar Aalto! I really need to make sure I have time to see my friends and spend proper time with them. I love them. The house warming party was pretty special as the couple whose house warming party it was, announced that they had gotten married last December. So there were a lot of tears of joy and happiness! We ended up talking a lot about marriage as another friend couple has also decided to get married. And I was trying to explain why I don’t understand this institute. I just don’t. I’m not against it but I don’t get it. So everyone kept saying that it’s only us who’s left to organize a love parade…but somehow I don’t see it happening.

Of course I’ve gone back to work and the autumn looks pretty…busy. I’m not sure how I will manage everything when the daylight is getting less and less, it’s getting darker and colder and one has to get up insanely early every f*king morning. But of course, there are amazingly exciting things coming up as well! It’s time for the 10th ANTI Festival, I’m performing in Tanssin Aika Festival in Jyväskylä and in the city theatre of Kuopio, I have talks and lectures in Joensuu, Helsinki, Kuopio, we are preparing UP TO NATURE EU funded project for 2012, I have a work period in London etc etc. It’s all very very exciting but at the same time feels like it’s a lot. And besides that I have my basic training to do. I’ve also registered our lovely Yorkshire terrier Pimu to a puppy training…  By the way, Pimu was voted for the pet of the week in July, see link here!

Autumn is the time to pull out warmer clothes from the wardrobe, get inspired by new colours, trends, prints, textures… I’ve sold two pairs of Minna Parikka shoes and had a stall in a second hand shop in Kuopio for a week where I sold clothes, shoes and all kinds of little items like plates, puzzles, games and bags. Maybe it’s time for something…new? I think this pair of Minna Parikka’s A/W 2011 shoes with the snake from ‘Women are dangerous animals collection’ is pretty awesome. Don’t you?

Highlight of the summer was a long weekend we spent on our friends boat Gerda boating. The weather was great, the kids were great, Pimu was behaving well and we had enough food & drinks! On board were the hosts Vilja & Jari (THANX SO MUCH!!!), Zulani, Justiina & Pimu and Pekka & me. A selection of photos here:


The gorgeous Gerda:

















Looking forward to more active blogging period!

Johanna

meeting in Vienna

Before the midsummer I was in a meeting in Vienna for a couple of days. We sat two intensive long days in this room discussing artists and works for the upcoming UP TO NATURE project. I was very inspired by the meeting but I think this has been the first time ever that I literally didn’t have a chance to do anything apart from going straight into the meeting from airport, going to the hotel at night, taking the tube into the meeting the next day, taxi back to the hotel and bus to the airport early  next morning! So no time to have a walk anywhere, to see anything or to shop. I guess that might be a good thing…

A view from my hotel window:


Our meeting room with a balcony:




A view from the balcony, apparently a big tourist attraction in Vienna (related to classical music) – hundreads of tourists visiting it all day long…

Anyway, thanks Thomas, Olivia, Gregg, Helen, Hannah, Jon (and who did I forget…?) for a great meeting! See you soon,

Johanna

a few more pictures from Brussels

Will & Kate:


La Pré Sale:

Los Torreznos performing at the Trouble Festival:


Pictures by Laura & Johanna.

Oh, it was such a great trip!

Johanna

 

 

 

London & Brussels

I had the luxury of visiting London and Brussels last week. First we worked two days in London with the ANTI Festival’s core team; me, Laura and Gregg. We are so used to Skype and email that it felt so luxurious to actually be in the same physical space. And we accomplished so much! There are a million big & small details to discuss and decide with the festival programme which we are hoping to launch in the end of the month or in the beginning on June. So I was so pleased with our meeting. Very useful. And it was great to see Gregg, sniff the air of London a little bit and see my friends’ house for the first time. Inspiring!


Gregg pointing out that he’s having tea while me & Laura are enjoying something else…



We were there just a day before the royal wedding so I had to buy a Will & Kate T-shirt. When I was buying it on Oxford Street, I got interviewed for French TV. They asked me why I bought it and I said because it’s so kitsch. Probably not the right answer! We also had a lovely dinner in a wonderful tapas place with Laura in Soho. By the way, if you are in London, check out FrenchMottershead’s photographic exhibition in the Photographers’ Gallery. Saw some images before they went to print and they looked very intriguing.

From London we took the Eurostar to Brussels. It was my first time on Eurostar and I was amazed how quick and easy it is! Less than two hours and you are in Brussels. It feels like a miracle comparing to Finland where it takes four hours for me to get even to Helsinki….

In Brussels we had A Space for Live Art project meeting with all the partners. The meeting was during the Trouble Festival so evenings we spent watching works. Rosie Dennis was doing her Downtown project there and it was great to see her working in a different context, different city and language. She performed in Les Halles but I must say that I really preferred her shows in Kuopio as they were not hidden in some art space. Also the work of Mitch & Parry was great.

We had a wonderful time with Laura. The weather was great, +23 degrees and we enjoyed the city a lot. On Saturday afternoon we had a little time to pop into the city centre for shopping. I brought Laura to the Pierre Marcolini chocolate shop… I didn’t remember how amazing the chocolate really is! It blows your mind. Laura will probably hate me forever for bringing her to the Cora Kemperman shop…where we both did some shopping. Again we had wonderful tapas and on Sunday just amazing mussels in La Pré Salé. Oooh. Unforgettable.




La Pré Salé:





1st of May:

Laura’s Belgian waffle:


This week has been hard trying to adjust to the normal rhythm. Every time I’m away and then come back home, I feel that so much work has piled up I don’t know where to start. But I’ve been happy cycling, going to Zumba and getting my energy flowing. Tomorrow I’m looking forward to Functional Training with Pipsa and on Saturday a Zumba marathon with Outi! Yeah.

Johanna

 

ARS11 opening & Helsinki

As you know, I went to the opening of ARS11 exhibition last week in Kiasma, Helsinki. Here’s some pictures of the night.





Tarja Halonen opening the exhibition:

Our friend’s Hannu’s & Irene’s cat Neppu:

A slow morning:

Meeting with Mladen & Bruno:

Great, inspiring trip.

Johanna

lovely Sunday morning

What a nice morning! +10 celcius degrees, sunny although a bit windy. I decided to take a risk and test how my operated knee feels about running. I wore my Nike Free trainers and run about 40mins. I wanted to take it very easy so I walked a few minutes in the beginning and was able to run without stopping after that. What a great feeling! My knee did hurt a little bit a few times but not so much that I would have had to stop. Also the kind of stinging pain went away so I’m not really able to analyze what causes it. I think I just have to let the knee to get used to running very, very slowly. I’m also thinking that maybe the very light trainers without any extra support actually work best for my knee. Don’t know. Anyway, I felt happy and strong and I can really feel all that functional training and Kinesis workouts in the strength of my legs. Running itself feels easy and light, it’s just the knee that is troubling me.

After my run I had a quiet breakfast reading Helsingin Sanomat and enjoying gorgeous pecan bread that I bought in Maatilatori in Helsinki. So delicious! It was really inspiring to spend a few days in Helsinki. I went to the opening of ARS11 in Kiasma with Pekka, saw Lea & Pekka Kantonen’s exhibition in Taidehalli and hang out with my daughter. Lovely. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay to see Maija Hirvanen’s new choreography in Zodiak but hopefully I will have a chance to see it somewhere else soon.

Today I have some writing, budgeting and thinking to do. Also my home office is waiting to get organized a bit better…

Johanna

 

ANTI business and other stuff

These last weeks have been very busy with the upcoming ANTI Festival. This is the time when we need to make final decisions about the programme, confirm sites, think about all kinds of details in terms of artists, sites, how audiences move between the works and sites etc. etc. And this year is of course special as it is the 10th anniversary of ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival. Later during the spring we will let you know about the plans we’ll have for this special edition of ANTI. So stay tuned! In the meantime, make sure you’ll visit our Facebook page to hear the latest news and keep with the upcoming campaigns!

I’ve been preparing a new collaboration with Rebecca French from FrenchMottershead. We’ll begin to work in June when Rebecca comes to Kuopio and although there’s a million things to sort out and do before that, I’m still looking forward to it all soooo much.

Later in April I’ll visit Brussels as we have A Space for Live Art project meeting during the Trouble Festival. I’ll be travelling with ANTI Festival’s producer Laura and we’ll also work a couple of days in London with Gregg.

Last weeks have been great for cycling in Kuopio! The snow has melted away from the streets so no need to worry about the icy roads anymore. I’m so in love with my new bike and the Ortlieb back panniers. So useful and beautiful! The only downfall is that the roads haven’t been cleaned up yet and it can be pretty dusty riding down the streets. But it still feels great!

Johanna

Weekend trip to Copenhagen

About four months ago I decided with my friend Maija that we will take an extended weekend holiday away from home, work and family. I had a small amount of award points to use for my flight so Copenhagen became our destination. And we both love Copenhagen! I think I was there in 2008 for the last time and Maija has also visited the city many times.

So what is so great about Copenhagen? The atmosphere is relaxed, people seem happy, mellow and content. They seem to have time to enjoy slow brunches, they cycle everywhere, everyone speaks English, you see a lot of families and fathers pushing prams and after their Sunday morning runs, the Danes go and buy fresh bread, buns and croissants in their local bakeries. The climate is a bit warmer than in Finland and it was great to get a taste of the spring! The life has spread more out into the streets with cafes, shops, bars and picnics. Copenhagen is compact, clean and easy to navigate, Danish design is present almost everywhere and the Kastrup airport is possibly the best in the world.

So if you love to hang out in cafes, enjoy gorgeous brunches, are a lover of design and like the feeling of cities like Amsterdam and Berlin, Copenhagen is the best destination. The only downfall is that Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in the world and everything is more expensive than in Finland.

And of course I was so delighted to be travelling with Maija and we had a great time! Maija had brought the latest Mondo with its tips for best brunches in Copenhagen and we had two wonderful brunches. On the first morning we went to Kalaset and on the second to Café Sokkelund, which was selected the “Byens Bedste Brunch” in 2010. I really enjoyed both of them but maybe Kalaset a bit more. On our last morning we wanted to have a breakfast in Granola but it wasn’t open yet and instead we had a great coffee and sandwich in a local neighborhood bakery. On Saturday evening we had cosy dinner in Atlas Bar where I really enjoyed the lively and bubbly energy.

Maija in Kalaset:



Brunch in Cafe Sokkelund:



We walked a lot in Norrebro, Vesterbro and Frederiksberg, Nyhavn and Latinerkvarteret and did some shopping as well. Maija bought a luxurious Aspekts handmade leather bag and I finally got a pair of Swedish Hasbeens sandals… I know we were in Denmark but Swedish Hasbeens are not easy to find in Finland! But I also got a Danish coctail dress by Bitte Kai Rand…

A walk arour Norrebro:







On Istedgade:

Illums Bolighus:



Maybe the most comfortable armchair in the world? With the Paul Smith cover the price was over 6 000 €.


Maija with her gorgeous Aspekts leather bag:

Magasin du Nord:



Frederiksberg Have:


Sunday morning mist in Vesterbrostorv:

And finally, my Hasbeens!

In all the trip was a very needed little brake. Now back in business with new energy!

Johanna

the performance period is over for now

Performed Twirling World four times with Sonja. It’s a hard piece to perform but it was great to experience that the performance had developed and also our relationship as performers had deepened. There were some really nice people in the audience and I’m happy some friends finally saw it. The last performance was very emotional and many people were howling in the audience – I guess it had a certain sad energy of a last show as both Sonja and I also felt quite emotional. Anyway, it wasn’t the very last show but it was an end of this period.




Photos Pekka Mäkinen.

Some thoughts:
I’ve noticed that it’s been a while since I’ve seen the anorexic woman whom I saw last year walking along Saaristokatu almost every day. Is she dead?

I’m really looking forward to the weekend brake with Maija in Copenhagen!
But before that, there’s a lot of work to do.

Johanna