Forming the future for all – Towards an accessible built environment and arts

Presenting art in public spaces can offer artistic experiences to those for whom traditional art venues are inaccessible. However, public art always has a relationship with its surroundings, such as the built urban environment.

The seminar will explore who has access to built environments. How can public art, art events, and urban culture be made accessible, for example, to disabled participants or artists?

The seminar will focus particularly on temporary, ephemeral, and event-based public art. Speakers will include artists featured in the ANTI Festival 2024 programme.

The Arts Promotion Centre Finland’s Creative Net project and ANTI Festival are organizing the “Forming the future for all” seminar as part of the ANTI Festival in Kuopio.

The seminar will be conducted in English.
 

Programme

Registration and coffee

Opening the event  
Elisa Itkonen, director - lead curator, ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival 
Pia Repo, advisor, Creative Net project, Arts Promotion Centre Finland

Keynote: The early years of architectural accessibility in Finland 
Marja Rautaharju, architect and PhD researcher, Tampere University

The first accessibility legislation came into force in Finland in 1973. How was architectural accessibility formulated and debated in the 1970s, half a century ago? The presentation navigates the early landscape of accessibility in Finland as an interplay of knowledge, policies, actors and discussions.

Commentary speech: To be confirmed 
Maija Karhunen, dancer

Break 

Artist's viewpoint: Tarik Elmoutawakil (UK)  

Tarik Elmoutawakil is a creative producer and independent artist, and co-founder and Artist Director at The Marlborough Theatre in Brighton. Tarik is plugged into a network of disabled QTIPOC artivists across the globe, contributing to an ongoing movement to reshape access and leadership. At ANTI Festival, Tarik and his working group will present Brownton Abbey, the Afrofuturistic, Space-Church themed performance party that centres, celebrates and elevates disabled queer people of colour.

Artist's viewpoint: Rhiannon Armstrong (UK/CA) 

Rhiannon Armstrong is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist making works with empathy, interaction, and dialogue at their core, often for unfiltered audiences. Conversation and collaboration are central to her practice: between makers of different disciplines, public contributors, and audiences. At ANTI Festival, Rhiannon will present Public Selfcare System, a performance that considers who is and is not allowed to rest and where, and what resting as an act of solidarity might mean.

Lunch

Outdoor workshop: Pottering about public, art and space 
Arvind Ramachandran, architect, city planner and stand-up comedian 

In this workshop, Arvind Ramachandran invites seminar participants to ponder some of the ways in which our art and our spaces both invite and restrict. Joining does not require any prior preparation or specific expertise. You are welcome to take part in ways that seem most comfortable for you. Active participation in the discussions, watching from the sidelines, and dropping in for only part of the event are all equally valid ways of participating in the workshop.

Closing day

Registration

Participation in the seminar is free of charge, and includes a vegan lunch. To avoid food waste, seminar registration is binding. Please cancel your registration if you are unable to attend ([email protected]).

Register for the seminar by September 5 at 4:00 PM

You can attend the entire event in person. The speeches can be followed via livestream. Separate registrations are required for each option.

Register for the livestream by September 10 at 4:00 PM.
 

Further information

Accessibility

The seminar will be held at Kuopio kulttuurikonepaja. The entrance is accessible and located at street level. The entrance does not have automatic doors, and the door opens outward. There are parking spaces and a temporary stopping area near the door. The floor in the venue is uneven, with uneven areas marked with warning tape. There is no accessible restroom inside the venue, but an accessible Bajamaja toilet is available outside.

Sign language interpretation is available upon request. Please contact us if you need interpretation ([email protected]).

Organizers

Arts Promotion Centre Finland: Creative Net project (ESF+)
ANTI Festival: Nordic Street Network II and Future DiverCities 2 projects

Pia Repo, Advisor, Creative Net, Arts Promotion Centre Finland
[email protected]

Elisa Itkonen, Managing Director – Lead Curator, ANTI Festival
[email protected]

ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival 2024

ANTI is an international contemporary art festival held annually in September in Kuopio, Finland. The festival has been organised for over 20 years and is Finland’s leading live art event. Live art is an umbrella term for innovative performance art that includes artwork that is performative, participatory and embedded in the present moment. The ANTI Festival received the State Prize for Artistic Societal Impact in 2023.  The ANTI Festival will take place from September 10–15, 2024.
The artistic and cultural use of Kuopion kulttuurikonepaja is part of the Future DiverCities project, a Creative Europe project involving ANTI Festival and 13 other European partners.

Creative Net

Creative Net is the coordination project for the national Creative and Cultural Innovation Expertise ESF+ theme under the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike). The project assists and encourages professionals in the creative industries to apply for ESF+ funding and supports the practical work of funded projects.

The seminar is part of the Creative Net’s Future Trilogy in 2024. The Future Trilogy includes three seminars that explore the future, art, and culture from different perspectives. The seminars will be held in the fall in Hämeenlinna, Kuopio, and Helsinki.