Workshop on Artistic Activism

Are you interested in how society has been influenced by art, meeting artists who create activist art, or making activist or socially engaged art yourself?

 

In this workshop, we will explore the use of art in social impact through lectures, with a special focus on artistic disability activism. We will meet artists creating activist art and, where possible, visit exhibitions featuring activist or socially engaged art. Alongside the lectures and visits, we will discuss the social issues that participants feel are important and that they would like to influence. Based on the discussions, we will brainstorm, experiment, and develop artworks based on the participants’ starting points, which will be implemented as interventions in the public urban space in Helsinki.

 

The workshop and materials used are free of charge. Possible visits to exhibitions featuring activist or socially engaged art are audio described. The workshop is conducted in Finnish, but interpretation and participation in English are possible. To participate in the workshop, you do not need previous experience in art — just be curious and open to new approaches. You can attend the entire workshop or parts that suit you.

 

If you are interested, welcome to the first meeting of the workshop on Tuesday, 3 September 2024, at 5 pm at the premises of Cultural Services for the Visually Impaired (Näkövammaisten kulttuuripalvelu ry), where we will discuss the workshop’s contents in more detail and address the participants’ wishes.

 

Workshop Host

 

The workshop will be facilitated by visual artist JP Kaljonen(MFA), who is visually impaired himself. Partly due to his visual impairment, his artistic production has focused on various community art and public space projects, where instead of focusing on visuality, the emphasis is on collaboration and promoting the goals of different communities through art. The workshop is part of Kaljonen’s Transcending Sight project, which was inspired by the challenges he faced in an art world that often operates on sighted terms. The project promotes visual arts practices from the perspective and on the terms of visually impaired people. 

 

How to Register?

 

You can register for the workshop using the “register” button on this page, emailing osallistun@kulttuuripalvelu.fi, or simply by attending the first workshop. The workshop facilitator will meet you at the front door of Iris on Tuesday, September 3th 2024 at 4:50 pm.

 

Collaborators & Supporters

  

The workshop is organised in collaboration with the Cultural Services for the Visually Impaired(Näkövammaisten kulttuuripalvelu ry), and is kindly supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation / Aino Hausmann Fund.