I seek to explore the intersection of national culture, environment, and resilience by referring to the beauty of Ukrainian bread traditions. Bread is not just a food product for Ukrainians; it holds a sacred status and symbolises protection, prosperity and life. In the Ukrainian tradition, there are more than 70 types of ceremonial bread, that decorates with unique symbolic patterns. Ukraine is a country with an ancient and rich culture of agriculture. Ukrainian land is among the most fertile in the world. However, the war launched by Russia against Ukraine inflicts irreparable damage to the Ukrainian environment. The soil requires significant time for regeneration. The natural rate of fertile soil regeneration is one centimetre per hundred years. It takes nature 10,000 years to form chernozem (black soil). Soil is an ecosystem that relies on living organisms for its functioning. Environmentalists say that it's not just physical damage to the soil. Another problem is its chemical damage. The explosion of every munition is a chemical reaction. The areas where military actions take place become uninhabitable. Plants grown on such lands will be poisoned by heavy metals. This is ecocide, the war crime that Russia is committing on Ukrainian lands. We are making every effort to ensure that Russia is held accountable for its crimes.

Polina Choni - https://chemical-reaction.webflow.io/

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Oksana Mykhanko: Continue living

Exhibition: 20.04.–07.05.2023 - B-gallery’s Main Space (link)
Opening: Wed 19.04.2023 at 18–20

Ukrainian designer and visual artist Oksana Mykhanko arrived in Finland
for the first time one year ago due to the full-scale invasion launched
by Russia. With support from the Ukrainian Solidarity Residency Program
Oksana was based for eight months as artist-in-residence at AARK
(Archipelago Art Residency in Korppoo).

Mykhanko mainly works with graphics and illustration, she also
experiments with collage, textile, painting and digital art. Within
these mediums she explores identities through the prism of cultural
heritage. The most recurrent topic of her work is architecture, through
which one can learn about the features and individualities of people in
different regions, as well as aspects of their family history.

This exhibition features Mykhanko’s attempts to find what is
particular or unique about Finland, especially the Archipelago area and
the environs of AARK. Amidst thoughts of her homeland, the war and her
work related to the topic, these collages and drawings represent the
artist’s struggle to get grounded, to find a balance between being
submerged in problems and emotional stability - to focus on the
everyday, the here and now, the physicality of things. At the same time,
it is a way to get to know the culture of the country you find yourself
in. For Oksana painting and real life studies is a way to integrate
into a new society, and a new world.

«During my stay in Korppoo I tried something new for myself. I created
my first fabric collages and of course the main theme of them is boats!
What I could see from the view from my window was boats, so there was no
other choice. And they also portray the nature of the archipelago. Of
course I also made work about the war. I painted ruined and bombed-out
buildings. But at one moment I understood that I needed to show Finland
in my works, as I’m here, even though it was hard. Since the residency
I have continued working with boats, but in different ways»

At the end of March Oksana finished her second Finnish residency at
Tapiola Guest Studio in Espoo (The Finnish Artist’s Studio Foundation)
and is moving to explore another area of Finland while
artist-in-residence at Art Centre Salmela in Mäntyharju. These
residencies are supported by the Ukrainian Solidarity Residency program.

Oksana Mykhanko was born in 1992 in Kolomyia, Ukraine. Mykhanko
graduated as a painter from Lviv National Academy of Arts.

Supporters: HIAP Ukraine Solidarity Residencies Programme / Kone Foundation / Arts Promotion Centre Finland / Svenska Kulturfonden / Pargas Stad / Sparbanksstiftelsen i Korpo / Maj Granlunds och Kate Björks fond

Renja Leino, Hiostamo 5

15.-19.3.2023

Köysiratagalleria: Varviontori, Linnankatu 56, Turku

Link to Facebook event

AARK is happy to announce that we got own space in the heart of Turku: we call it AARK Satellite, located in fabulous The Taiteen talo arts centre. We are looking for a dialogue between the international and national artists coming to stay with us in Korpo island on the Turku Archipelago, and the art scene in Turku. It will be easy to meet art professionals in this new space.

The specific activities that this space will host, are under development and will depend on the ideas of the artists around, for example: artist talks, screenings, etc.

The Taiteen talo arts centre was opened in Turku in spring 2022 as a home for art and culture – for artists, local residents, and tourists alike. Taiteen talo is located in Rettig's old tobacco factory in the middle of Turku's Old Town.

Activities are spread out over the six floors of the former tobacco factory, and its courtyard buildings. A wide array of creative professionals, including visual and performing artists, work on the premises, and the house presents all kinds of exhibitions, performances, events, and workshops.

The limited company Turun Taiteen talo Oy promotes and supports cultural activities in the city of Turku, with a mission to advance the professional possibilities and livelihood of art and culture makers, and is behind the development and organisation of the Taiteen talo concept. The study rooms of the 43 artists of the Finnish Artists Studio Foundation are located on the third and fourth floors of the main building.

Link to Taiteen talo webpage

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The German filmmaker and artist resident at AARK, Astrid Menzel, will screen her award-winning documentary Blue Sky White Clouds at Kuvateatteri (Turku Arts Academy - TUAS). After the screening, there will be time to hold an informal discussion with the artist. Don't miss it!

Information about the event:
Date: 7.3.2023
Time: 15.00 (3.00pm)
Place: Kuvateatteri (link)

Blue Sky White Clouds 2022, Director: Astrid Menzel, 91 min.

After her grandfather passes away, a granddaughter takes her Grandmother on a canoe trip to find out how to take care of the 86-year-old who suffers from dementia.

"Blue Sky White Clouds" is the documentary debut of Bremen-based director Astrid Menzel, who has already won numerous awards with her equally unsparing and sensitive short film "Unlike Today".
The successful world premiere of the documentary film "Blue Sky White Clouds, was celebrated at the renowned documentary film festival DOK Leipzig in Germany. The film won the "Young Eyes Film Award" and is currently nominated for the "Gesa-Rautenberg-Preis" at Filmfest Schleswig-Holstein and the Bremen Audience Award at Filmfest Bremen.

Menzels film debut tells a very personal story about the loss of the grandfather and the subsequent helplessness in the face of the grandmother's progressive dementia. The film accompanies the director and her brother in their act of defiance, wanting to counter their own lethargy with something active after the grandfather has died and the grandmother complains about her loneliness, hence a canoe trip through the North of Germany.

It is the director's personal perspective and the unsparing honesty in dealing with the question of what it really means to be there for a person suffering from dementia that makes this film unique. "Blue Sky White Clouds is a documentary feel-good movie with emotional depth that captivates with its charming protagonists; two infinitely patient grandchildren and a grandmother bursting with joy for life.

Checkout: www.astridmenzel.com

Gallery of stills from the film

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The splitting and the space between: Ukrainian Solidarity Residencies Exhibition

Dates November 5 – November 12, 2022

Opening hours Monday to Sunday, 12:00–17:00 (extended to 20:00 on November 5th and 12th)

Location HIAP Gallery Augusta, Suomenlinna (Building nr. 33 on Suomenlinna map)

"A splitting can occur in a second or be a long drawn out process, the reverberations felt through all forms, spanning an accountable amount of time, touching all aspects of being; political, physical, emotional or other.  A splitting can leave you with two sides or nothing at all, two sides of something – like black and white, two sides of a spectrum with every shade and bearing in between."

Read more about the exhibition, the artists involved, the public program and more in this link: https://www.hiap.fi/event/the-splitting-and-the-space-between/

On 22 September 2022, a diverse group of European artists’ union leaders, artists and people who work in the fields of visual arts and artist residencies came together at the Maijansali hall in the Helsinki Central Library Oodi to take part in the Building Artists’ Futures – Strengthening Solidarity symposium.

The event drew a large audience interested in learning how to help artists who are seeking refuge. The topics discussed ranged from building sustainable international support networks to finding ways to welcome displaced artists as part of local artist communities.

Artist's Association of Finland - artists.fi

Oksana Mykhanko has been an artist in residency at AARK since May 2022, as part of the H.I.A.P. program Ukraine Solidarity Residencies. She took part in the symposium Building Artists’ Futures. You can read the interview that the local magazine Korpo Bladet did to Oksana on the PDF linked bellow.

As a very special treat, artist Renja Leino’s sound work Tuuli – Vind is available on SoundCloud before, during and after the ABOAGORA 2022: Wind event! 🙌

ABOAGORA Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/p/ChW_Y6Ct4rF/

Wind (2011)
In her sound work Wind Renja Leino, an artist based on the island of Korpo, makes tangible the constant presence and significance of the sea wind in the archipelago environment. Leino’s work consists of a collection of stories told by the islanders about their experiences of the wind. They capture the way that natural phenomena, changes in the weather and the climate, have a greater effect on the everyday lives of the islanders than they do on urban communities. The stories flow smoothly between and across two languages, Swedish and Finnish, just like the daily life of the archipelago. 

ABOAGORA webpage https://aboagora.fi/renja-leino-tuuli/

Next Tuesday, 26.07, the artists in residency will open their studios to welcome everybody that wants to get to know them and their art practices.

Open Studios are a great opportunity to meet creative people for around the world in a relaxed environment. If you haven't been in the residency before, Open Studios are also a great opportunity to get to know better AARK project, and the life of an artist living temporarily in our community.

Feel free to join us.

• When?

  Tuesday, 26.07.2022 / 17:00 - 21:00

• Where?

  AARK residency / Saaristontie 5891 / Just by the Korpo Nagu ferry pier.

• Who?

  Matisse Clermont - Canada / Frances Cocksedge - USA / Essu Koskinen - Finland / Mykhanko Oksana - Ukraine / Renja Leino - Finland

When you are an art residency on a small island on an archipelago, and a new and horrible war hits a "nearby" country... what is the best you can do to help those people in the best way you can?

Yes, you are right, make an open call and offer a residency for those artists that need to leave the country to have a safe place to stay and create. And that's what AARK founders Renja & Benkku did. This way, two artists from Ukraine found their way to the residency through a long and complicated process, and they want to share their art and their stories with us.

(if you wish, you can read this story in PDF format, as it was published originally in the local and rural magazine Korpo Bladet)

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/ Hello Oksana. Welcome to Korpo. Can you tell us what you are doing here, and how did you find your way to Korpo and AARK?

Hello! I am an artist from Ukraine. I was studying monumental painting in Lviv Academy of Art, but lately I was making more graphic works.

When the war came, everything stopped working and there was no job. Other countries also started helping Ukrainians and Ukrainian artists. But most of the propositions were for people who left the country. But didn't plan to move, so I started looking for some support for artists who stay in Ukraine. I filled some applications and had an answer from HIAP (Helsinki International Artist Program) to take part in Ukraine Solidarity Residency. A few Residencies take part in this program, and I was assigned to AARK in Korppoo. This is my first visit to Finland and I must say that I like to be here and I am also very happy to be in Korppoo!

/ Could you tell us where you lived before having to leave the country, and how were the living conditions for you?

I'm from western part of Ukraine and the last city I lived in was Ivano-Frankivsk. It’s not a city in the front line, but a lot of Ukrainians came there, escaping from the war. There is no safety anywhere. You always have to be careful. We were volunteering almost from the first day of the war. It was very hard to paint because of all the air raid sirens. Life has really changed.

/ Can you tell us something about your art, your creativity? What are you working on right now?

Now I have a possibility to work. I also tried something new. These are fabric collages and of course the main term of them are boats! I have a window view with boats, so no other choices. And they also pass the nature of the archipelago. Of course, I made some works about war. I painted ruined buildings. It was hard to start painting something else but war. But at some point, I understood that now I'm here in Finland, and I should show that in my artworks. Now I have some paintings with boats, local churches, but also destroyed Ukrainian buildings and some sketches.

/ Is there anything specific that you would like to tell our readers, or something you would need from our community?

I want to thank everyone for all their support and help! AARK is a great place to be here and work.

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KIITOS, MAAILMALLE!

Tervehdin sinua, hyvä ihminen!

Missä sinä olet?

Minä – olen planeetalla Maa.

Se on vihreä ja vaaleansininen, niin paljon täällä on vettä ja kasveja.

Ihmiset ovat jakaneet sen eri valtioihin.

Sininen taivas ja keltaiset pellot – niistä kertoo Ukrainan valtion lippu. Siellä minä synnyin.

Lapsuudesta asti olen halunnut tulla toimittajaksi, ja sittemmin olen opiskellut Kiovan Kansallisessa yliopistossa. Olen aina halunnut oppia kuulemaan ja ymmärtämään sinua. Siitä kertovat minun artikkelini, kirjani, valokuvani ja lauluni.

Eilen näin painajaisunen, että minun maalleni tuli sotajoukko.

Näin unessa ankaria taisteluita, evakkojunia, äitejä jonottamassa maitoa lapsille.

Aluksi minä itkin.

Mutta sitten ymmärsin nopeasti: minun täytyy ehtiä kertoa sinulle omasta maastani. Sen vuoksi lähetän sinulle oman viestini. Se on rakkauden viesti.

Minua kutsutaan Tata Asteriksi. Se on minun syntymänimeni Tatjana Zvezdochkina käännettynä latinan kielelle. Passissa seisoo miehen sukunimi – Skorokhod. Se tarkoittaa sananmukaisesti nopeaa kulkemista.

Ja minä haluan, että minun viestini kauneuden voimasta saapuisi pian luoksesi.

Vielä minä ehdin hymyillä sinulle!

Rakastatko kukkia?

Tiedätkö, minä kuuntelen niiden kertomuksia elämästä, matkoista, rakkaudesta.

Myöhään illalla, kun taivaalle ilmestyvät tähdet, astun ulos kuullakseni, mistä terälehdet puhuvat taivaan kanssa.

Ja aamunkoitteessa minä herään ottaakseni kuvia, kun luonto odottaa auringonnousua.

Entä tiedätkö, kuinka hyttyset iloitsevat minusta! On totta, olen niille vain ruokaa. Ja suojaksi minä puen käsineet ja mehiläishoitajan hatun.

Pidätkö sinä enemmän puutarhan kukista vai villiruusuista?

Minä pidän niistä yhtä paljon ja tiedän, että ne ovat erilasia, mutta ne kuuntelevat yhdessä yöllistä taivasta.

Ukrainan symboli on unikko.

Suomen kansalliskukka on kielo.

Kielo on aina mukanani, koska se on minun syntymäpäiväkukkani.

Entä – rakastatko omenoita?

Sinä näet, miten ne loistavat aamun sarastuksessa, aamukasteen peseminä.

Näin sinä näet, miten kasvit pystyvät olemaan ystäviä – kasvit, jotka kasvavat samassa maassa. Niitä yhdistää taivas, aurinko, tähdet, maa, kaste ja tuulet.

Ne ovat kaikkia varten.

Vielä minä ehdin hymyillä sinulle!

Rakastatko merta?

Ajattelen, että kaikki rakastavat sitä.

Minun maassani se on lämmin kesällä ja jäätyy vain harvoin talvella.

Se on monivärinen ja erittäin ystävällinen.

Me juttelemme aina sen kanssa.

Se antaa minulle lahjoja. Minä laulan sille lauluja. Ja otan valokuvia sinua varten aalloista ja simpukankuorista.

Vasta viime vuonna olen oppinut valokuvaamaan levää ja valmistauduin ottamaan sarjan valokuvia siitä, kuinka merellä aloitettiin taisteluharjoitukset.

Minun oli matkustettava pois. Meri tuli surulliseksi ja valmisti minulle hyvästiksi lahjan.

Uin illalla ja yhtäkkiä näin, että läheisyydessä, noin viidenkymmenen metrin päässä minusta vilahti jotakin tummaa.

Sammakkomies?

No ei kai hai!

Samassa silmänräpäyksessä kolme delfiiniä ui luokseni, ne ympäröivät minut omalla ihmeellisellä tanssilla eviään heilutellen.

Enkä minä kertonut tästä kenellekään, mutta nyt puhun.

Nyt, kun olen nähnyt painajaisunen sodasta, ajattelen, miten siellä voivat ystäväni – delfiinit?

Mitä mieltä sinä olet, onko niillä kaikki kunnossa?

Näetkö jälkiä hiekassa?

Tässä minun.

Ja tässä sinun.

Vielä minä ehdin hymyillä sinulle!

Rakastatko lähdevettä?

Vartuin siellä, missä graniittikallioilta virtaa lähdevesi. Vesi tuo mukanaan puhtautta, sanan, valon ja äänen lahjoja.

On mahdollista istua pitkään lähteen luona ja kuunnella sen laulua.

Kolme vuotta sitten ensi kerran otin kuvia lähdevedestä.

Enkä uskonut silmiäni!

Mitä tämä on?

Miksi vesi näyttää vaaleansinisiltä juurilta, silkiltä, lankakerältä?

O – o – o. Lähdevesi?

Siitä alkaen se on ollut minun sankarittareni, ja kiiruhdan aina iloisena tapaamaan lähteitä.

Muinaisista ajoista alkaen niitä on nimitetty lähteiksi.

Tässä on se salaisuus. On mahdollista, että nimenomaan vesi on elämän lähde.

Tiedemiehet tutkivat nyt tätä.

Ja minä peseydyn lähdevedessä, ja yhdessä sen kanssa luomme kuvia.

Aseta kämmenet alle. Se vesi on sinua varten.

Ja minä ehdin hymyillä sinulle!

Rakastatko seppeleitä?

Viime kesänä minä asuin seuduilla, joilla oli paljon kukkia, yrttejä ja marjoja. Ihanien Karpaattien vuorten läheisyydessä. Ja olen lukenut, että kansan kalenterin mukaan ennen elokuun 15 päivää oli tapana sitoa seppeleitä vaaroilta suojelemiseksi. Minäkin keräsin ruohoja, tyrnin oksia, monenlaisia yrttejä – ja niin punoin ensimmäisen oman suuren seppeleen.

Yksinkertaisesti, minä todella halusin tehdä sen!

Mäkimeirami on minun maani ihana sakraalinen yrtti. Se parantaa ja antaa voimia. Ajattelen, että juuri mäkimeirami antoi minulle impulssin seppeleiden tekemiseen.

Se oli oivallus!

Tiedäthän sinä, mitä se on, kun pääset innostuksen pyörteisiin.

Unikko ja heisipensaan marjat, tammenlehvät ja omenapuun oksat pohjiksi – kaiken antoi luonto oikealla hetkellä. Minulle jäi vain tehtäväksi kerätä materiaali ja solmia seppeleet. Joskus korkeassa ruohikossa kastuivat kengät ja piikit pistelivät käsiä.

Mutta kun seppele oli valmis – kuvittele, kuinka paljon iloa se antoi!

Haluan jakaa sinun kanssasi tämän ilon.

Vielä minä ehdin hymyillä sinulle!

Thank you, Oksana & Tetiana! 🙏🏼‍💚

The artist Jukka Hakanen has been invited by Renja Leino and Benkku Adersson to AARK to paint Corpa bird on the building facade. The artwork is an interpretation of the original Coat of Arms of Korpo by Gustaf von Numers.

Jukka Hakanen is a well known Finnish artist and mural painter. Have a look at his webpage here

In 2021, Jukka was commisioned by ELY-keskus to paint a mural on the concrete wall by the new ferry pier in Retais, with archipelago motif. This mural can be seen from the residency, as this iconic building is located in the opposite side of the road Saaristotie. You can see images from this artwork on Jukka's webpage here

Next Saturday, AARK will host an open studio with Tata Asteri & Mykhanko Oksana, artist from Ukraine that are staying at the residency as a part of Ukraine Solidarity Residencies.

The open studio is a great opportunity to get in touch with the international artists staying at the residency, and their work. It is an informal meeting in a relaxed environment open to connection and discussion. Please visit us!

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More information on Ukrainian Solidarity Residencies

Ukraine Solidarity Residencies (formerly Emergency Residencies) offer
residencies and accommodation in Finland for Ukrainian and Ukraine-based
artists and art professionals who have been affected by the war in
Ukraine. The aspirations of the collaboration are to promote solidarity
by establishing sustainable support networks and finding the means for
Ukrainian artists to continue their practices.

The program was started in March 2022 by a group of independent art
organisations who joined together to pool resources and share
information. The current partners are AARK, Connecting Points programme,
Fairres, Frame Contemporary Art Finland, Goethe-Institut Finnland, HIAP
– Helsinki International Artist Programme, Pro Artibus, The Finnish
Artists' Studio Foundation, The Finnish Illustration Association
Kuvittajat and Saari Residence.

The residencies are located in various places around southern Finland.
Accommodation, travel and living costs of the residents are covered as
part of the program. The residency period generally lasts from 1 week up
to 3 months. The residencies can host a single artist or artist with
family members (up to 4 people).

You can find the application form and the most up to date information on
the website by HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme:
www.hiap.fi/ukrainian-aid [1]--

Artist leaving Ukraine, we want to support you in this horrifying situation!

We welcome artists / art professionals to free 2 Studio apartments. Right now for some months till end of May, maybe longer. Apartments can be shared by 4 artists easily. Please contact us info at [email protected] (add short cv / motivation letter)

Of course, children are welcome!

Varsinais-Suomen taidetoimikunta palkitsi taiteilija Renja Leinon hänen kokonaisvaltaisesta omistautumisestaan ja pitkäjänteisestä toiminnastaan taiteilijana. Palkinnon suuruus on 10 000 euroa.

Renja Leinon ammatillinen ura on yhdistelmä taiteilijan, opettajan ja taidealan taustavaikuttajan työtä. Taiteilijana Leinon uralla on ollut tärkeää ihmisen ja luonnon välinen suhde, jossa näkyvät erityisesti saaristoluonnon ja meren tilaan liittyvät muutokset. Saaristoon kytkeytyy myös Leinon vuonna 2015 perustama taiteilijaresidenssi AARK Korppoossa. AARK on saavuttanut nopeasti kansainvälistä kiinnostusta ja siitä on tullut taiteilijoiden uusi tukikohta Turunmaan saaristossa.

Renja Leinolla on ollut myös keskeinen merkitys siinä, miten Turun ammattikorkeakoulun Taideakatemia on saavuttanut asemansa keskeisenä valokuvataiteen kouluttajana Suomessa. Leino aloitti valokuvataiteen lehtorina vuonna 1998. Hänet tunnetaan sitoutuneena, helposti innostuvana ja tunteensa peliin laittavana opettajana.

Palkinnollaan Varsinais-Suomen taidetoimikunta haluaa nostaa esiin pitkän uran tehneen taiteilijan ja valokuvataiteen keskeisen valtakunnallisen vaikuttajan. Taidepalkinnon kunniaksi Renja Leinon mediateoksia on nähtävillä Turun kaupunginteatterin mediaseinällä 25.–28.11. Esillä on mm. Darling Sea, joka valmistui alun perin Leinon 30-vuotisjuhlanäyttelyyn WAM-museoon vuonna 2018.

Renja Leino on valmistunut valokuvataiteilijaksi Tukholman Konstfackista vuonna 1990. Ensimmäiset yksityisnäyttelynsä hän järjesti 1980-luvun lopulla Ruotsissa ja 1990-luvun alussa valokuvataiteeseen erikoistuneissa Hippolyte Galleriassa ja Laterna Magicassa.

Varsinais-Suomen taidetoimikunta on Taiteen edistämiskeskuksen asiantuntijaelin, joka päättää alueensa apurahoista ja taidepalkinnoista. Taidepalkinto jaetaan vuosittain alueen ansioituneelle taiteilijalle, taiteenalalla toimivalle yhdistykselle tai muulle yhteisölle. Palkinto on tunnustus kuluvan vuoden ansiokkaasta ja merkittävästä työstä. Se voidaan myöntää myös pitkäaikaisesta ja ansiokkaasta elämäntyöstä tai toiminnasta.