Are you an artist or part of an artist group? Are you interested in multi-disciplinary research related to forests and the atmosphere? The Climate Whirl art programme at the University of Helsinki offers artists an opportunity to work at a scientific research station and related measuring stations in dialogue with researchers and utilising the research infrastructure and data of the station. The residency will be realized in 2020. The Call is international and the deadline for applications is 18th Nov, 2019.
Hyytiälä’s SMEAR II research forest makes electronic and pneumatic sounds. Multi-coloured leads and pipes crisscross among the tussocks and undergrowth of a Finnish commercial forest. Plexiglass measuring chambers sigh as they open and close in tree branches and on the forest floor. Measurements also go on all year round in the immense Siikaneva wetland area and Kuivajärvi lake. The area surrounding the station also features an old enchanting natural forest and clear-cutting area. Hyytiälä is a renowned base for international researchers who come to the station to conduct measurements and meet colleagues. The station is located in Juupajoki, Finland.
It has been calculated that the measuring stations of the Centre of Excellence in Atmospheric Science measure at least 1,200 different items from the atmosphere, northern coniferous forest, swamps and lake. Research conducted at the station, scientific experiments and measuring campaigns help to answer complex research questions posed by natural sciences.
Climate Whirl is an art programme functioning under the umbrella of theInstitute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) of the University of Helsinki, which began its operations in 2012. The programme realises artist residencies and commissioned works as well as art&science workshops.
Working in Hyytiälä
We are looking for an artist(s)-in-residence for the Climate Whirl programme to conduct their own research at the station. An artist or group of artists may work at the station from four to six weeks during 2020 depending on the needs of their project. We aim to be flexible with regard to the duration and format of the residency; the most important thing when making our selection is the interest the proposal arouses and its topicality. We appreciate research oriented approach and long-term commitment. We hope that the artist-in-residence will leave something permanent at the station after the residency. It may be a work of art in the area surrounding the station, an experience shared with the audience that could possibly be recorded or an inclusive workshop after the residency period.
The research station employs approximately 20 people permanently and receives regular researcher visits from all over the world. During the summer, the station is at full capacity with university courses and scientific workshops or measuring campaigns. The station organises, for example, courses related to climate research, forest ecology and forestry.We will find a scientific partner or advisers to support the project, and the artist will be assisted in integrating into the everyday life of the station. The station has laboratory facilities and sauna is often warm!
The artist-in-residence will live in either a log building or the course centre with a shared kitchen and sanitary facilities. The station area includes historical log buildings from the early 1900s, which can be used for accommodation from May to September. Shared flats in the more modern course centre are used for winter accommodation.
The artist(s)-in-residence are selected by an expert jury comprising representatives from the worlds of science and the arts.
Conditions of the residency
- A fee of €3,000 will be paid to the selected artist or group of artists.
- Max. €3,000 will be contributed towards the production costs of the new work of art.
- The residency covers the accommodation costs.
- Reasonable travel costs to the station from Finland or Europe will be covered to a maximum amount of €500. We encourage applicants to travel to Hyytiälä by land or water!
The artist-in-residence or group of artists may stay at the station for a maximum of six weeks during 2020. In the case of a group, the residency must be agreed according to the accommodation capacity of the station.
Submission of applications
Send your proposal in Finnish or English by 18 November 2019 to:
cwair2019@helsinki.fi
The proposal must include:
- A description of the project topic and goals (max. 1 A4 page)
- CV or portfolio of the artist or group of artists (max. 3 A4 pages + internet links)
- Tentative plan for the timetable
- Tentative budget of the artwork
The maximum size of appendices is 3MB each, in PDF format.
More information about the call for residency applications is available from
Curator Ulla Taipale, phone: +358 50 476 2483, email: ulla.taipale@helsinki.fi
DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE CALL FOR ENTRIES PDF >
More information about artistic activities at Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station
In recent years many artists have visited the station, one of whom is the visual artist Terike Haapoja who became interested in the research conducted at the station in 2008 and her work, related to carbon cycling, was performed at the 2012 Venice Biennale. German media artist Agnes Meyer-Brandis worked as Climate Whirl programme’s artist-in-residence in Hyytiälä in 2013–14. Her work Teacup Tools received an honorary mention in Ars Electronica’s Hybrid Arts category in 2015 and it has been travelling in exhibitions around the world. A Finnish group of artists IC-98 is currently working on a piece which is situated in the old forest in Hyytiälä. It will be published later this autumn. Other artists who have worked at the station include Finnish visual artist Josefiina Nelimarkka and the Saine Ensemble.
Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station is located less than an hour’s drive from Tampere towards Mänttä. The exact location can be found here. The closest town, Orivesi, is located approximately half an hour’s drive away. The station has cars which can be used to get around in the local area for a fee.
Useful links:
Climate Whirl: http://climatewhirl.fi/en
Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/research-stations/hyytiala-forestry-field-station
INAR: https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/inar-institute-for-atmospheric-and-earth-system-research
Video: https://vimeo.com/232310734
Articles in Finnish:
Helsingin Sanomat, “Hyytiälässä on mitattu Tšernobyliä, havaittu ensimmäisenä Islannin tuhkapilvi ja nyt kurkotetaan Kiinaan” (‘Hyytiälä has measured Chernobyl, been the first to detect the ash cloud from Iceland and is now reaching out to China’), 23 March 2019
https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000006042682.html
Helsingin Sanomat, “Vihreän hiilinielun maa” (‘The land of the green carbon sink’)
https://dynamic.hs.fi/2019/hiilinielu/?_ga=2.266257039.1002841150.1566211440-35369761.1564174732
CAPSULA (art-science-nature) 