Design by Cyane Findji
EN| Open Call
We invite artists from diverse backgrounds working with different media to propose new or existing work to contribute to the exhibition Elon Kierre - becoming with the land, which will be exhibited at the Lapua Art Museum (24/09/2022-21/01/2023). The selected works will be exhibited together with work by students of the Master program Visual Culture, Curating and Contemporary Art. Elon Kierre - becoming with the land is organised in collaboration between Lapua Art Museum and Aalto University. We encourage artists with a connection to the region of Southern Ostrobothnia and whose practice engages with agriculture at multiple levels to apply.
Taking the local harvest celebration of Kekri as its starting point, Elon Kierre - becoming with the land explores harvest rituals and traditions within the agricultural context. It investigates the links between the ancient and the contemporary, and the roles that these rituals play in shaping our collective imagination and the ways in which we relate to nature today.
Traditions allow us to reframe nature, and our place within it, in ways that cut across different layers: those of time, space and scale. By listening closely to our surroundings, we can reflect on our connection to natural cycles, and facilitate a discussion on more sustainable ways of living, growing and caring. Harvest rituals and traditions are sites of performative, and collective acts that foster dialogue on themes of coexistence, interspecies dependence and reciprocity, sustainability and multi-generational knowledges.
Agricultural rituals (re-)construct and cultivate knowledge across generations, and offer a critical perspective on local cultural structures. They carry the subversive potential to challenge cultural norms and conventions by inviting the community members to temporarily break gender roles and celebrate all stages of life.
Elon Kierre explores how agricultural rituals and traditions can shape the contemporary world, by bringing together a variety of artworks and performative research practices that connect the themes of rural rituals, traditions and shared identities.
Selected artists will receive a fee of €250. Work from the Helsinki area will be picked up from Aalto (Otaniemi, Espoo) between the 5-9th of September. The installation of the exhibition begins on the 17th of September by which date we need to receive your work.
How to apply?
Send a proposal via email to juliafidder@gmail.com by the 22th of March 2022. Please include in the email the following:
- Short statement (max. 300 words) describing how your work relates to the theme of the exhibition
- Short description of the work or project preferably in English (Finnish applications are also accepted), including any technical details (max. 300 words)
- 2-5 images of the work or sketches of the project proposal
- Artist biography (max. 200 words)
All artists will be notified before the end of May 2022.