Aistit / coming to our senses

In addition, the exhibition includes a commissioned work by Hans Rosenström and Kalle Nio in partnership with Finnish singer-songwriter Aino Venna, called Weaving, yearning, which introduces experiencers at sunset from the Kunsthalle door to the cliffs of Temple Square. The work is shown every night from 20 August – 5 September at 20:30. Find the lyrics of the sound installation here.

The audience also has an opportunity to participate in a guided tour of the Weaving, yearning sound installation on Sunday, August 22, 2021 from 8:15 pm, featuring the artists Kalle Nio and Hans Rosenström. After the tour, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the work together with the artists. To participate, there will be a meeting in front of the Kunsthalle Helsinki before the tour.

In connection with the exhibition Coming to our senses, two discussion events are also organised at the Kunsthalle Helsinki on 20 and 25 August 2021:

A I S T I T Artist talk in the Kunsthalle Helsinki on 20 August 2021 from 6.30 pm to 8 pm (Event full)

Kati Roover, Terike Haapoja and Dominique Knowles, the artists of the exhibition, together with the moderator of the discussion, philosopher Elisa Aaltola, take part in the discussion on loss, sorrow and change. The event is free and is held in English.

Due to the current situation, the number of participants is limited to the event.

A I S T I T panel discussion in the Art Hall on August 25, 2021 at 9:30 am (discussion starts at 9:30 am) EVENT FULL

A I S T I T / coming to our senses contemporary art exhibition combines reflections on corporeality, intimacy, vulnerability and connection with others – how to be in contact with others. The overall project panel will consider how the pandemic and its aftermath have affected the implementation and funding of large-scale international art projects.

A panel of the main funders and co-curator of the A I S T I T project will discuss what the future looks like from the perspective of foundations, art organizations and festivals, and artists.

The panel includes the following speakers:

Artist and co-curator of the A I S T I T project Hans Rosenström

Special expert of the Finnish Cultural Foundation Veli-Markus Tapio

CEO of the Alfred Kordel Foundation Erik Båsk

Artistic Director of the Helsinki Festival Marko Ahtisaari

The discussion will be moderated by Kati Laakso, Director of the Finnish Benelux Institute.

The discussion will be conducted in Finnish and will last approximately 60 minutes. The event is free. Due to the current situation, the number of participants is limited to the event.

Alongside the exhibition at the Kunsthalle Helsinki, the A I S T I T / coming to our senses catalogue will also be published. The catalog is available in the Kunsthalle bookstore. The catalogue is published by Garret Publications.

In partnership with:

Institut français in Finlande

“This is a performance concert.

This is a light concert, sound concert, text concert, an organ concert.

This is a passion and a disappearance.

This is also something else.

This is all the time also something else.

Suddenly: so sad. Suddenly: so light.

Suddenly: so possible.

Suddenly: so ordinary.

Let’s go.”

“Disappearing – a passion” performance by Tari Doris, Meri Ekola and Kid Kokko is like an ever-changing landscape that defies definition. Disappearing – a passion as part of the fourth chapter of A I S T I T / coming to our senses at the cultural centre Stoa from 1–5 September 2021 during the Helsinki Festival. The performance will also be presented at Kunstencentrum Voo?uit in Ghent at the beginning of 2022.

Kid Kokko (they/them, b. 1980 in Finland) is a Finnish performance artist, actor, and writer whose work concentrates on fragile structures and soft conditions aligning them with intersectional transfeminism. They try to actively trace where knowledge/ignorance stems from seeking to understand continuities of knowing. Kokko often works in collaboration with working groups they have convened.

Working group:

Tari Doris / sound

Meri Ekola / light

Kid Kokko / text, performing, overall responsibility

with

E. L. Karhu / dramaturg

Anna-Mari Karvonen / performance dramaturg

H Ouramo / translator

Disappearing – a passion at the Cultural centre Stoa on the following dates: 

1/9/2021 at 7pm

3/9/2021 at 7pm

4/9/2021 at 7pm

5/9/2021 at 3pm

Tickets. EVENT FULL

Facebook event

A I S T I T is a three-episode podcast series that reflects on art and its accessibility both on a practical level and through a societal and philosophical approach. Each episode is based on the contemporary art programme A I S T I T / coming to our senses, which is presented as part of the Helsinki Festival 2021. During the episodes moderator Maija Karhunen discusses the accessibility of the contemporary art programme with its curators and artists.

What is accessibility? Who is art made for, and to whom is it accessible? How do artists approach accessibility in their own creative processes? How is non-binary performing arts created?

The podcast series is based on A I S T I T / coming to our senses – an evolving programme of exhibitions and performances taking place in five European cities between 2021 and 2022 produced by The Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes in the Benelux, France, Germany, and the UK and Ireland. The Helsinki chapter of A I S T I T / coming to our senses includes a group exhibition at Kunsthalle Helsinki, a public sound installation by Hans Rosenström and Kalle Nio from Kunsthalle Helsinki to the Temppeliaukio rocks and performances by Kid Kokko at the cultural centre Stoa.

In collaboration with Radio Helsinki.