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iverSounds is an example of an Applied Visual Arts project that aimed to create sound environments and services in an ecological and ethical manner.The successful completion of the project was the result of a long design process and collaboration. The plan-ning process was based on theories from community art, environmental art education, and sustainable design. The many administrative tasks, and practical management and teaching, created many ideas, which finally merged into creating the Art Trail and the RiverSounds Parade. In its entirety, RiverSounds was an experiment where the concept of Applied Visual Art was further developed in Lapland. In addition, the execution of these kinds of practices in gen-eral strengthens the notion of environmental design and community art. This project was developed by the authors of this article, Master of Arts students Katri Konttinen and Sofia Waara, as part of the research studies included in the Applied Visual Art studies at the University of Lapland in 2012. In this article, the authors share their experiences of the project.
THE RIVERSOUNDS PROJECT
When planning a community art or design project, work-shops are a flexible form of working and a good way to in-volve the community. An important goal for the project was
to create encounters in the local environment between the local community and the artists/designers in order to dis-cuss the works of art or design works. The project’s motto was “think globally act locally” and it was based on ethical principles, sustainability, and cultural orientation as well as on contemporary art.
The first aim of the project was to discuss the role of Ap-plied Visual Arts in northern Finland. The second aim was to develop a concept of international workshops in the field of arctic sustainable arts and design and to create new con-nections between contemporary art, design, and traditional cultures. In place-specific art, in fact, much emphasis is placed on tacit knowledge and multisensory research, which acted as the basis of the project (Pink 2008, 8).
FINNISH LAPLAND AND A PLACE CALLED II
Geographically the RiverSounds project stretched over the northern part of Finland, from Rovaniemi to Ii. In this sparsely populated area with only a few larger cities, it is pos-sible to found a network of villages and communities filled with colourful cultures.
Tourism is one of the major industries in Lapland, in-cluding popular activities such as snowmobile safaris and hiking. However, due to its history of colonialism, the local area is still not profiting from its major industries of forestry
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or mining, which are governed by the state or run by foreign corporations. The usage of innovative design methods in de-veloping more sustainable approaches could prevent the threat posed to the frail ecosystems in the area by these industries.
Our example of an Applied Visual Arts project could be seen as part of this development introducing place-specific values and knowledge to be recognized and shared.
The project took place in Ii, which is located on the north-eastern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. During the Middle Ages, Ii was a large rural municipality and a very important trade center in northern Finland. People from the West arrived by sea and people from the East by river, turning Ii into a rendezvous of cultures. (Huovinen 2010.)
Today, Ii is a municipality with a growing population (ap-prox. 9,500 inhabitants), where various cultural events take place annually. With a flourishing local culture, the community is familiar with art in a broader sense and hosts its own artist residence. There is also a culture-landscape-route (2 km) con-necting Wanha Hamina (the Old Harbour) with the
contem-porary art centre KulttuuriKauppila.
The Ii River was the project’s main source of inspiration. The community and its culture have developed around the river, a natural resource that historically provided a livelihood for residents including fishing (salmon, lamprey) trading, and log floating. Today, the river is still important for the people; it has a strong cultural meaning as the heart of Ii and a source of life. It is also an important source of electricity, for example, through hydropower dams.
EXPERIENCING COLLABORATIVE ART THROUGH DESIGN
During two weeks in June 2012, a group of international stu-dents participated in the first international Arctic Circles Sum-mer School, where RiverSounds was organized as an environ-mental art and design workshop based on the community art approach.
During the first week, while utilizing the university´s fa-cilities in Rovaniemi, the selected multi-sensory approach pro-vided an outdoor experience of a place. The participants took
part in an ‘Inspirational Journey”’and made prototypes using place-specific materials. The indoor presentations and discussions on sustainable design, community art, environmental art, and place-research were complemented by the outdoor willow sculpting activity.
The second week took place in Ii. The journey from Rovaniemi to Ii included a short stop at a power dam so that the par-ticipants could see how industry influ-ences the local area. In Ii, activities were planned and developed in cooperation with the art centre KulttuuriKauppila.
In addition, the RiverSounds event was connected to the large local Ii Biennale of Northern Environmental and Sculp-ture Art 2012 event. RiverSounds was
The sand instrument. Photo: Glen Coutts
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planned in such a way that the outcome of the project marked the beginning of something new in the form of a welcoming party; an inspiring art-experience for arriving guests and locals.
EXISTING AMONG AND IN BETWEEN ARTS
The theory of the AVA project in question derives itself mainly from three major fields: environmental art education, com-munity art, and sustainable design. Pedagogically, the aim is to stimulate critical thinking about perceiving or experiencing nature and the relationship between environment and culture.
The concept of learning by doing was applied to the study of natural materials and environmental research. Pedagogical studies provided concrete working methods, for example, on how to create constructive discussions.
Theoretical and philosophical studies of place are essential in this field. Place can be considered physical or immaterial, near or far, here and in between. Ultimately, people create a place in-dividually and collectively. When perceiving and representing places from the design perspective, it is possible to think that places are co-created by people who live or have lived there. In design terms, this could be seen as a process of co-creation: how did a place come to look like this.
During the project workshops, important information was collected from various discussions when studying the com-munity and improving understanding of its everyday life. Sus-tainable design theory gave the tools for visualizing it in an understandable way by using the design process as an illustra-tion. From an environmental art point of view, we were work-ing with site-specific materials and the environment was the source of inspiration as the works of art reflected the theme:
RiverSounds. Community art emphasizes community involve-ment and is a participatory and collaborative form of art where people meet and create works of art.
The cultural turn in the 1960s led to a major shift in social sciences, which has been crucial to the development of applied visual arts. It is not all about styling or decorating, pure design or art; applied visual arts are characterized by participation,
collaboration, and inclusion where the process itself is highly important.
AS MANY ENCOUNTERS AS PLACES
During the week in Ii, the group work empowered the partici-pants. The week consisted of four working days, with final pres-entations on the last day. There were participants from Siberia, Ii and the University of Lapland. In addition, a group of people with special needs and a small group of local youngsters took part in the workshops. Different participants were mixed in small groups in order to enable encounters across cultural and age boundaries. However, a few times a day all groups came to-gether to review the progress. Meetings and short presentations helped everyone to get an overview of the situation resulting in purposeful encounters where everyone had an important role as a participant and co-creator of the event. It was important to maintain positive group dynamics and to cater to the different needs in order to make the work go smoothly and to ensure a reassuring and empowering experience for everyone involved.
The aim was to highlight the place specificity in the process by using materials found mainly in the environment; extra materi-als such as wire, threads, and tools were materi-also provided.
The events culminated in the RiverSounds Parade that can be considered an interactive presentation of the workshop.
Enthralled by the story of the Tukinuiton Henki (Spirit of the Log Floating) written by a young participant, the audience was
Performance under the bridge. Photo: Glen Coutts
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guided along the river to view five installation sites. Works in-cluded sculptures and sound installations and the parade ended with a theatrical performance.
CONCLUSIONS
Due to electronic communication (email, internet) and physi-cal distances in the workspace, some problems and admin-istrative challenges emerged during the process. Despite the logistical issues, effective meetings took place and there was the possibility to explore and learn about the local history, the meaning of place, and the common ground.
The idea of mixing the participants in the encounters worked well; groups were formed and they quickly created an inspira-tional experience. Language barriers caused some problems, since not everyone participated in the scheduled meetings. This resulted in a delayed bus schedule, some empty morning plan-ning meetings, and missing information. In future projects, it is important to be clear about who is responsible for what and that everyone gets information on time. However, in the end, communication was successful because of the participants’
willingness to interact and collaborate with each other. Partici-pants communicated, for example, by using body language and demonstrations.
The event and works of art took shape naturally through collaboration. The groups planned their works of art for dif-ferent sites (each group selected their own site for their work).
It was amazing to see how well people, who did not share the same language, worked together. The experience of designing and leading the workshop required flexibility; many theoretical designs were modified according to the actual situation (space, time, and location). The process is always a challenge for the researcher who has to be ready to adapt and to reflect, remem-bering that, afterwards, evaluation is essential.
For the municipalities involved in the projects, it is impor-tant that activities are brought on site; through the workshop and other international art activities, the municipality of Ii gains visibility and makes a name for itself as a destination. It attracts people and shows the potential that smaller (municipalities and) cities in Finland have.
The given task of planning a welcoming party for the artists arriving to the Art Biennale 2012 and the locals was completed.
We were pleased to be able to work with more participants from Ii than first expected and, in its entirety, the workshop went ex-tremely well. Also, the weather turned out to be perfect for the final show and welcoming party.
Last evening in Ii. Photo: Glen Coutts APPLIED VISUAL ARTS IN EDUCATION
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KATRI KONTTINEN
graduated as an industrial designer from the Kuopio Academy of Design in 2011 before starting her studies at the University of Lapland. Katri is interested in art and design and the relationship between those two fields. During her Master of Arts studies, she has been able to deepen her knowledge in the fields of community and environmental art as well as design. In the future, she wishes to work within these fields in the North.
SOFIA WAARA
graduated as a teacher of fine arts and design from the Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Sweden, in 2010. Sofia comes from north-ern Sweden and currently lives in Rovaniemi, Finland. In the future, she wishes to work with Applied Visual Arts cross-border in the Barents region, taking part in environmental design and community art projects.
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The burning boat. Photo: Anna-Mari Nukarinen