At the AARK Residency, we are continuing our 10-year celebrations with the main event taking place at the ASKI Gallery from 10 to 26 October 2025. AARK 10 DIALOG, subtitled 'Spaces of Dialogue Between Art and Nature', is an exhibition and series of discussion events that brings together the work of several national and international artists who have been residents over the years:
- Maria Ahmed, UK
- Brian Cody, UK
- Gill Akasaka, UK
- Jaakko Autio FIN
- Katya Yehorova, UKR
- Olga Zaremba, UKR
- Nickita Tsoy, UKR
- Oksana Mykhanko, UKR
- Marjolein Witte NL
- Mark Nixon, UK
- Viliina Koivisto FIN
- Seah Heikes, US
- Mykel Boyd, US
- Chris Sheridan, US
- Susan Mabin, NZ
- Patty Leino, SCO
- Dana Neilson, CAN
- Lilli Haapala, FIN
- Ville Laitinen, FIN
- Veera Rossi, FIN
- Codie Yan, CH
At the heart of the residency is dialogue - between nature, fellow artists, and the local community. It also manifests in silence, shared presence and the rhythms of everyday life. AARK invites artists to be present, not only in their own practice, but also in relation to others – to share and to respond. This space fosters interdisciplinary encounters that nourish both personal and collective creativity.
At AARK, the artistic process is seen as a living relationship with the world. Dialogue becomes a bridge – creating opportunities to engage with ecological and creative networks. Deep cultural exchange can happen when artists with different nationalities meet.
- What? AARK 10 years exhibition in gallery ASKI
- When? 10.10-26.10.2025
- Opening: 9.10.2025 @ 17-19
- Discussion about artist residencies 11.10 @ 16 onwards
- Where? Gallery ASKI. Nunnankatu 4, 20700 Turku
This event marks a really special moment for our residency, so please join us on the panel discussion and visit the exhibition. See you there!
This year, AARK participates in Kostrundan (an open studio event) that will take place Saturday and Sunday (7-8 September) from 11-17.
During Konstrundan we have an EU project Ecological Sustainbility in fine arts and shall show some work in progress in the yard. There is a possibility to meet both students and teachers from involved art schools. The project is led by artist Eero Merimaa from the Turku Arts Academy. Also present is the founder of the residency, artist Renja Leino.
The event takes place in the courtyard area of the residency, which also houses Atelier Ferry.
AARK page in Konstrundan website (link)
About Konstrundan: Open studios all over finland
Konstrundan, also known as The Art Circuit, is an open studio event that takes place every year during the first weekend of September. The event is free of charge for visitors.
As a visitor, you have the chance to meet artists, artisans and designers all over Finland. Most of the participants are situated in the bilingual regions along the coast, and on the Åland Islands, but there are also participants also in eg. Tampere, Hämeenlinna, Mikkeli and in Lapland.
Visit us!
Katya Yehorova, Oksana Mykhanko and Renja Leino are part of the fourth exhibition, Overflow IV, the Art House Turku summer show, featuring 35 artists from August 8th to 31st.
This year, 35 artists will be exhibiting, including some new to the exhibition. Ukrainian visual artists Oksana Mykhanko and Katya Yehorova are taking part through Archipelago Art Residency in Korpo (AARK). This international artist residency maintains a satellite studio at Art House Turku.
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The Overflow IV exhibition gives visitors a good idea of what kind of contemporary art is being created in the ateliers and studios of Art House Turku, and what discussions the artists are initiating this year. As the name suggests, the works on display are rich and
multifaceted, and the techniques vary from recycled graffiti art to paintings, graphics and photographs.
Source: Exhibition press release (website)
The AARK Grant has been awarded annually since the residency began in 2015. It includes a one-month residency space for one or two Fine Arts graduates from Turku University of Applied Sciences, Arts Academy. The grant is given based on merit, recognizing excellent final works showcased in the graduating exhibition in Turku.
The 2025 grant, which includes a one-month residency in autumn 2025, was awarded to:
A bit of history
In its inaugural year, 2015, the AARK grant was awarded to Lilli Haapala and Anni Saijonkivi
In 2024, the AARK grant was awarded to Ville Laitinen, who painted at the residency in August and will return to continue his work in July 2025.
About AARK Residency Director Renja Leino
Renja Leino has been part of the Arts Academy since 1998, first serving as head of photography for five years and later as a senior lecturer for fine art students. Over the years, she oversaw countless student exhibitions and participated in the teaching team as a mentor for graduating students. Although Leino is now retired from teaching, she wishes to continue the tradition of offering AARK grants to recent graduates.
AARK grant is supported by Sparbanksstiftelsen for Korpo, thank you!
On Wednesday, June 25th, 2025, the artists at AARK will celebrate another Open Studios event from 18.00 to 20.00. Open Studios offer a great opportunity to meet the resident artists in a social and welcoming environment. So please, don’t be shy—everyone is welcome to come see what the artists are working on, ask questions, hear their thoughts on Korpo and the residency, or simply listen to some of their adventures.
The artists involved in this edition of the Open Sudios are:
- Akasaka Gill (@akasakagillart)
- Aaron Aryadharma Matheson (@aryadharmamatheson)
- Mia Makela (@makela_mia)
- Monique Lütolf (moniqueluetolf.ch)
- Oksana Mykhanko (@mykhanko_oksana)
The second time artist in residence at AARK, Astrid Menzel, together with Skärgårdscenturm Korpoström, are organising the Art and Artists event, where local and international artists can meet and get to know each other and each others' work. The event is open to everyone, not just those who consider themselves artists, and is a great opportunity to meet the artists who are staying at AARK this month and also to get to know some of the local artists.
At 19.00, there will be a projection of Astrid's award-winning documentary "Blue Sky White Clouds" (90 min with English subtitles). After the screening, there will be an opportunity to discuss and ask Menzel about the documentary.
- Where: Skärgårdscenturm Korpoström (link)
- When: March 14th starting 18.00 (film screening 19.00)
- Who: Everyone is welcome!
- Link to the event
Trailer of the documentary: link
On Saturday 22nd February the artists at AARK will celebrate another Open Studios from 14:00 to 16:00. Open Studios are a great opportunity to meet the artists in residence in a social and open environment. So please don't be shy, everyone is welcome to come and see what the artists are working on, ask questions, hear their thoughts on Korpo and the residency, or just listen to some of their adventures.
Chris Sheridan, USA
Third-time resident at AARK. You can follow his adventures during this two-month residency in his artist diary on Facebook or Instagram.
Kate Protage, USA
A second-time resident at AARK, she is experimenting with new formats during this two-month residency. You can find her on Instagram and her website.
Janet Tavener, AUS
Come and join us!
Rettigin kuvataiteilijat: Juldrömmar 11.12.-22.12.2024
Vuosi sitten joulun alla meillä oli unelma. Vain reilu puoli vuotta on siitä, kun galleria Askin avajaisia juhlittiin. Vauhti on ollut huima ja näyttelyavajaisia on tuon jälkeen vietetty kahden viikon välein ja nyt avataan gallerian historian näyttely numero 16. Juldrömmar on joulukattaus, se on uutta ja perinteistä ja esittelee kävijöille Rettigin kuvataiteilijoiden monipuolisuuden.
Mielitkö itsellesi tai läheisillesi jotain paikallista ja pysyvää muistoa, puuttuuko seiniltäsi vielä se ainutlaatuinen teos, jollaista et naapurissa näe. Nyt teoksen löytyminen on lähempänä kuin koskaan, sillä joulu on hemmottelun aikaa. Anna lahja vaikka itsellesi, samalla tuet paikallista kulttuuria, jota ilman me emme olisi me.
Mukana kuvataiteilijat: Vesa Aaltonen, Annika Dahlsten, Lilli Haapala, Sini-Meri Hedberg, Kristina Isaksson, Lena Kuivisto, Minna Maija Lappalainen, Renja Leino, Lotta Leka, Erkki Nampajärvi, Sara Manninen, Jone Mutka, Tuuli Oikkonen, Mikko Paakkola, Reija Palo-oja, André Peterdi, Minna Poikonen, Jarkko Rantanen, Elina Ruohonen, Paula Suominen, Tiina Vainio ja Jaana Valtari
Link to the Facebook event
Renja Leino, director of the AARK residency, will be part of this exhibition with her painting Oliomaailma (2020). Welcome to visit the show!
The Aski Gallery will host AARK's 10th anniversary celebration and exhibition in autumn 2025, so keep an eye out.
Anneli Holmström, who is currently an artist in residence at AARK for three months, is exhibiting at Makers Gallery in Vaasa from 12.11 - 1.12.2024
"The works on show are a selection of a larger evolving series with the same name begun in 2021. As the title of the show indicates, the painting series charts four story threads that within the exhibition are reordered and re-woven to form fresh story chains. Across the series, close attention is paid to the 'visual network' both within singular paintings and across an image sequence. Unlike in typical illustrations, the stories in these paintings are self-generative with pictorial motifs, characters and landscapes continually re-mined to form new poetic relationships.
Like a random passage from a book - or a broken dream sequence - each painting is a visual fragment that aspires to a larger narrative beyond its own frame. This sense of mutability is likewise extended to the fluid state of the characters in the paintings which can readily shift between non-human and human forms. Unlike in more linear stories, the narratives in these paintings are not anchored by central protagonists or bodily forms - instead they are granted freedom to move effortlessly between animal, mineral, domestic or organic shapes.
What this exhibition therefore aims to offer is a multilayered storytelling site - one that invites the viewer as an active reader in the collecting and bridging of imagery.
This exhibition has been supported thanks to Svenska Österbottens Kulturfonden, Svenska Kulturfonden Arbitsstipendium i Bröderna Gröndahls stiftelse."
Read more 👉🏽 https://www.makersgallery.fi/en/home/
Polina Choni, who was an artist in residence at AARK in 2023 as a part of the Ukraine Solidarity Residencies Programme (link), is exhibiting at HIAP Gallery Augusta from 20 September to 6 October.
Polina Choni’s exhibition is inspired by the rituals and observations of everyday life. Her practice involves experimenting with natural materials, heating, mixing, and creating as a form of meditation and healing. Through these actions she fosters self-awareness and connection with nature, creating a new reality based on simple joys and repetitive acts of daily life. This process reflects a journey where ordinary actions become powerful acts of creation, reflection, and restoration.
You can find all the information about the exhibition in HIAP website and in this Facebook event.
You can also read an article Polina wrote during her residency for our Work in Progress blog and for the local magazine Korpo Bladet in this link.
This year, AARK participates in Kostrundan (an open studio event) that will take place next Saturday and Sunday (7-8 September) from 11-17.
Here you can connect with the artists in residence in September, along with their work and ideas.
AARK page in Konstrundan website (link)
About Konstrundan: Open studios all over finland
Konstrundan, also known as The Art Circuit, is an open studio event that takes place every year during the first weekend of September. The event is free of charge for visitors.
As a visitor, you have the chance to meet artists, artisans and designers all over Finland. Most of the participants are situated in the bilingual regions along the coast, and on the Åland Islands, but there are also participants also in eg. Tampere, Hämeenlinna, Mikkeli and in Lapland.
AARK celebrates the next Open Studios on 28.07 between 14-16.00h (2:00 - 4:00 pm)
Open Studios are a great way to get to know the artists currently in residence and the work they have been working on during their time at Korpo. For those who haven't attended an Open Studio before, it's a great opportunity to get to know AARK as a project and a residency, and to gain an insight into what it means for artists from around the world to spend time in Korpo, deepening their artistic insights and practices.
Here is a link to the Facebook event where you can add it to your calendar and get more information about the event as it is updated.
The list of artists who are staying at AARK in July and who you can meet at these open studios is as follows:
Here, you can find an article that Aarón Blanco Tejedor wrote in our Work In Progress blog about the latest Open Studios celebrated in June 2024.
Please, don't be shy and join us!!
The local and rural monthly magazine Korpo Bladet, has been publishing profiles of local people with interviews done by Ida-Kajsa Johansson and photography by Peter Mustelin for over two years.
Renja Leino and Benkku Andersson, directors of the AARK residency in Korpo, were interviewed in issue number 82, published in March 2024. Here you can read the entire interview in Swedish and Finnish and learn more about the lives and dreams of this unique couple who are doing such an important role with the residency for the local community and for international and national artists alike.
You can find the interview in this link
Enjoy!
In Renja Leino's solo exhibition Contrasting Times, some of her works meet for the first time. Perhaps even surprising associations are formed, as the themes of the works arise from the times in which we live.
The works inevitably crystallise the world that is troubling the mind of the artist at any given time. The dialogue between the works is born out of current, albeit eternal, questions of existence, where situations change and the flow of news is endless.
The techniques used in her art are painting, photography and video.
Link to exhibition
Exhibition: Contrasting Times
Author: Renja Leino
Place: Galleria Aski
Date: 15.-26.05.2024
The exhibition Traversing the body as a dividing line spans many mediums, the human body can appear to be the central narrative, however, often humanness is used as a tool to highlight the nature of the landscape; social-political, emotional or environmental.
Exhibiting artists Alexandra Krolikowska, Anastasiia Sviridenko, Maria Kulikovska, Polina Choni, Sergii Shaulis and Stanislava Ovchinnikova have been part of the Ukraine Solidarity Residency Programme during 2023 organised by HIAP-Helsinki International Artist Programme. Curators: Dana Neilson and Oleksandra Kokhan.
Source: Titanik website - http://www.titanik.fi/hiap-usrp/
Exhibition: Traversing the body as a dividing lineI
Place: Gallery Titanik, Turku
Date: 20.9.–8.10.2023
Polina Choni has been at AARK as a part of the Ukrainian Solidarity Residency Programme by HIAP
Polina Choni is a visual artist with a background in the fashion and film industry. She was born in Kyiv, Ukraine. She received her master’s degree from Kyiv National University of Technology and Design in 2017. She works with the topics of environment, sustainability, and biodiversity. Nature is a source of inspiration and research for Polina, driving her exploration of the harmonious coexistence of humans with the environment. The main focus of her recent artworks is the ecological impact of the war in Ukraine. Her current practice reflects her commitment to raising awareness about ecocide consequences and advocating for a more sustainable future.
Source: Titanik website - http://www.titanik.fi/hiap-usrp/
