MINNA TARKKA LECTURES 3 DECEMBER, 2024 @ HAM, Helsinki

M-Cult is pleased to launch the inaugural edition of the Minna Tarkka Lectures, a new annual initiative focused on discussing and debating the potential of art, media, and technology to participate in and shape current and future democratic societies. These yearly lectures and workshops will celebrate the legacy of M-Cult’s founder and long-time director, Minna Tarkka, honoring her groundbreaking work in Finland and internationally in the fields of media and art and their intersections with social, political, and technological developments over the past 30 years.

For the first edition, M-Cult has invited artists Tellervo Kalleinen & Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, artist Trevor Paglen and artists Julia Nisperos and Wax Roldan from Green Papaya Art Projects to deliver lectures at the HAM Helsinki Art Museum. In addition to these public events, the speakers lead workshops where they will share their working methods and research processes with local artists and other practitioners over cross-disciplinary fields of media and participatory art, activism, and critical research. These workshops are hosted by M-Cult and organised in collaboration with Aalto University and the Museum of Impossible Forms.

M-Cult is developing the Minna Tarkka Lectures as an experimental public forum and learning initiative to showcase critical activities in the arts—facilitating debates on the artistic, social, and technological urgencies of our time. This initiative creates a platform to underscore the roles of art and media as active contributors to civil society amid severe challenges to democratic life. Through this programme, we invite you to join us in reflecting what kinds of media art and participatory practices are meaningful now and in the future.

All events are free and conducted in English. You’ll find accessibility information below.
Please note that registration before November 27 is required for workshops.

If you can not make it in person, here is THE STREAMING LINK

Schedule

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM (EET)

Tellervo Kalleinen & Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen:
Confessions of a Participatory Artist

In this confessional lecture, Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen ask why participatory art remains relevant today. An artist who involves people in the creative process needs a unique palette of tools, as many small decisions influence the dynamics with the participants. In their lecture, Tellervo and Oliver will shed light on their chosen approaches, openly acknowledging what they have learned through their mistakes as well.

Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen work across many mediums from cinema to performance and interactive art forms. They share a deep interest in questions of participation, dialogue and storytelling.
3:20 PM – 4:20 PM (EET)

Julia Nisperos & Wax Roldan from Green Papaya Art Projects:
Artist Collective Practices in the Philippines

In their lecture “Artist Collective Practices in the Philippines,” Julia Nisperos and Wax Roldan explore the history of Green Papaya Art Projects from the perspective of engaged observers. They examine Green Papaya’s community-driven practices and its influence on the broader art scene in the Philippines. Nisperos and Roldan will share insights from their experiences within collectives, connecting past and present to reflect on how these observations shape their approaches to collective work.

Green Papaya Art Projects (GPAP) is an independent, artist-run space in Metro Manila, Philippines, founded in 2000. It has continued its activities despite the fire that destroyed its physical location, along with artworks and historical documentation of the initiative.
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM (EET)

Trevor Paglen:
You’ve Just Been F*cked by PSYOPS

“You’ve Just Been F*cked by PSYOPS” is a lecture-performance by Trevor Paglen. As AI-generated content, social media influence operations, micro-targeted advertising, and pervasive surveillance shape the visual culture around us, we find ourselves in an era of PSYOP capitalism — an age defined by manipulative influences designed to alter our perceptions, senses, and beliefs. This talk explores the history of covert military, intelligence, and technology programs that have laid the foundation for our increasingly surreal present.

Trevor Paglen is an artist whose work spans image-making, sculpture, investigative journalism, writing, engineering, and numerous other disciplines.

MAAILMAN ARVOKKAIN KELLO / THE MOST VALUABLE CLOCK IN THE WORLD, OULU, FINLAND, 2024-2026

Scroll down for English

Oulussa tehdään maailman arvokkain kello

Taiteilijat Tellervo Kalleinen ja Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen kutsuvat oululaiset tekemään kanssaan Maailman arvokkaimman kellon. Sen arvo perustuu paikallisten lahjoittamiin arvokkaisiin hetkiin, joita parimetrinen elektro-mekaaninen kello tulee näyttämään tunnin, minuutin ja sekunnin sykleissä.

Minuuttiviisariin pyydetään lahjoituksena paikallisten henkilökohtaisesti tärkeitä, arjessa toistuvia hetkiä. Mukaan etsitään laajaa näkökulmien kirjoa siitä, mitä oululaiset kokevat arjessaan arvokkaana. Sekuntiviisari koostuu asukkaiden itse videoimista ainutkertaisten hetkien välähdyksistä. Tuntiviisarissa näkökulma vaihtuu ihmisestä muihin lajeihin, sisältäen luonnossa ilmeneviä hetkiä, jotka ilmastonmuutoksen vuoksi eivät tulevaisuudessa ole itsestäänselvyyksiä. Näitä hetkiä valitaan yksi jokaiselle kuukaudelle. Kaikkiin viisareihin valitut hetket dokumentoidaan vuoden 2025 aikana.

Tervetuloa osallistumaan myös Illallinen kahdelletoista -keskusteluihin, jotka taiteilijat järjestävät yhdessä Arctic Food Lab -verkoston kanssa. Kellon fyysisestä rakentamisesta kiinnostuneet voivat puolestaan ilmoittautua taiteilijoiden vetämään kellonrakennustiimiin. Kellon toteutukseen voi ilmoittautua verkkolomakkeen kautta.

Työ huipentuu kesäkuussa 2026, jolloin Maailman arvokkain kello paljastetaan yleisölle. Kello lähtee kiertämään yleisön nähtäväksi Haukiputaalle, Kiiminkiin, Oulunsaloon, Yli-Iihin ja Ylikiiminkiin, ja lopulta lahjoitetaan myöhemmin kerrottavalle paikalliselle taholle.

ENGLISH

(NO) RULES -EXHIBITION / PERFORMANCES @ mp43-projektraum für das periphere, BERLIN, 7. – 25.July 2024

ODE TO Y INVITES YOU TO THE TABLE @ Helsinki, Vantaa, Porvoo and Tampere

On its 35th anniversary, Y-Säätiö Foundation commissioned us to create a public artwork involving its residents. The work, which has been in progress since 2020, will be celebrated in June 2024! 

Y-Säätiö is the largest nationwide non-profit landlord in Finland and an international expert in fighting homelessness. Y-Säätiö promotes social justice by offering affordable rental apartments. 

Ode to Y consists of five mosaic-covered tables – there are two of each of them – as well as an interactive mobile application. The physical tables were donated to two Y-Homes (Taipaletalo and Rukkila housing community) and three M2-Homes. The tables contain a total of approximately 17,400 mosaic pieces. The figure corresponds to the number of Y-Säätiö rental apartments in 2020, when we started planning the work. 

Anyone can download the free mobile app that is part of the work. It allows you to dig deeper into the mosaic: during 2023 we set up a mobile studio in the properties included in the project, and invited residents to add content to the mosaic tiles. By clicking the digital mosaic tiles of the Art Table, you’ll find art made by the residents. To the Table Instrument we recorded sounds produced by the residents. The mosaic of the Game Table archives residents’ memories from playing games around a table. The Common Table gathers residents’ insights and learnings about coexistence in an apartment building. The Ode to Y table, on the other hand, contains the history of the Y Foundation as told by its employees. The organization’s journey from an idea born at the kitchen table to a globally significant homelessness activist greatly inspired us. 

When Juha Kaakinen first contacted us, he emphasized the values ​​of the foundation, especially community spirit. So many communal and meaningful moments are experienced right around the table! Our work invites people to the table, but also creates connections through the stories, pictures, memories and poems hidden in the digital mosaic.

You can see the physical tables in the yards of Taipaletalo (Porvoo), Rukkilan asumisyhteisö (Helsinki), Lyyrapyrstö 2 (Tampere) and Puunhaltijankuja (Vantaa). 

The project was funded by Y-Foundation. It was co-production of Y-Foundation and Firma Oy / Studio Kalleinen. The work was made possible due to AVEK’s Mediarata support for Firma Oy.

EXHIBITION IN HILBERTRAUM, BERLIN, 5-14 APRIL, 2024

WELCOME TO THE OPENING ON FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 6–10 PM

Helsinki-based artist duo Tellervo Kalleinen (FIN) and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen (DE) work in the field of participatory art crossing various mediums: performance, cinema, and socially engaged games. They became known as the founders of the International Complaints Choir project (2005-2014). 

In the exhibition, they show three works of participatory art. Collective Mindscape (2024) is a digital 3D world constructed of the inner mindscapes of eight people who have experienced cancer. The viewer can move freely in the open world, through simple hand movements. Collective Mindscape is a commissioned work for the Cancer Day Care Center in Helsinki. In Hilbertraum the work is shown for the first time outside the hospital.

For the Final Scenes for Disaster Movies (2023), the duo invited residents of Helsinki to imagine a final scene for an imaginary disaster movie. The scene had to take place at Kansalaistori, a square located in the heart of Helsinki. From 105 submissions, 3 scenes were realised, with over a hundred volunteers acting in the film scenes, most of whom portrayed adult zombies. 

People in White (2011) explores the relationship between doctor and patient in mental health care – strictly from a patient’s point of view. In the film, 9 former clients of mental health institutions return to their memories through storytelling and re-enactments.

PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION CONVERSATION PARK ON SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 4 PM
together with  Philip Horst (ZK/U) and Susanne Bosch

Conversation Park is a unique artistic experiment of transforming an abandoned plot of land into a public park in the Finnish town of Rauma. In 2019 thirty residents between the ages of 6 and 89 became players in a two-year-long “Public Space Game”. Their mission was to unify their 30 individual park visions into one urban park. The playful process, designed and moderated by Tellervo and Oliver, progressed through 6 phases. Conversation Park was made possible by the Lönnström Art Museum. In the event at Hilbertraum, Tellervo and Oliver will present the Conversation Park -project, and the book they wrote about it. The duo has invited renowned artists Susanne Bosch and Philip Horst to provide additional commentary and insights with respect to their expertise on participatory art and participatory urban planning.

COLLECTIVE MINDSCAPE @ COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER, HELSINKI

We are very happy to announce that Collective Mindscape is now open for viewers at Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

Eight participants described their two inner landscapes to the us: their personal sanctuary, and the more difficult terrain, which reflects life with cancer. The mindscapes were realized with 3D graphics and combined into one virtual world.

The artwork is displayed on a framed screen, which in passive mode looks like a large slow-moving landscape painting. You can dive deeper by sitting in front of it: simple instructions on how to move in the terrain appear. 

If you want to hear the thoughts and experiences of the participants, you should look for particles of light in the terrain: walking through a shiny cloud makes the participants talk about their cancer experiences and their relationship with their mental landscapes.

Common Mindscape has been realized using the open world game technology. The visualization of the work is made by 3D artists Vilma Ratinen and Katariina Kontturi.

Common Mindscape  is the result of five years of work. The piece is part of a collection of commissioned works for the hospital Encounters – art in Siltasairaala, curated by Taru Elfving. Common Mindscape  is the first media artwork in the collection involving patients.

We first designed the piece for cancer patients, but have later understood that we all belong to target group.

COMPLAINTS CHOIR INSTALLATION @ KIASMA, HELSINKI, 12 JAN 2024 – 12 JAN 2025

Complaints Choir installation is part of Feels Like Home -collection exhibition of Contemporary Art Museum KIASMA, Helsinki. The exhibition is curated by Saara Hacklin, Saara Karhunen and Satu Oksanen.