The Village school of Vuokkiniemi, Russian Karelia.
I worked in this project together with artist Kaisu Paavilainen. We walked into the people’s everyday life and asked: “How are you”?
The idea was to find out, using artistic methods, what is important and meaningful in life. What are the prerequisites for a good life?
The community art project was carried out in Finland and Russian Karelia in 2004–2008. Both children and adults took part in the workshops. The material produced was compiled into works, where the everyday life, dreams and stories are presented in photographs, paintings, texts as well as object and video installations.
We arranged several workshops in Vuokkiniemi, Russian Karelia and in the cities of Hyvinkää, Lappeenranta, Kajaani and Kerava in Finland. A lot of the exhibitions took place in different art museums in Finland and at the village school of Vuokkiniemi.
There is an art publication about the project. If this is of interest to you, feel free to contact me!
Anne Siirtola 