RESIDENCIES
Summer Residency in Soiva Metsä in the summer of 2024
The Summer Residency in Soiva Metsä brought together a group of diverse creators for six days in July 2024 in Northern Kainuu. The entire residency was spent immersed in the forest. The goal of the residency was to offer a space to spend time and be inspired by the very environment, landscape, and place where the final artwork would be created.
Residency activities were initiated with collective reflections on the forest as an arena, a friend, and a collaborator, exploring site-specificity and the ways of bringing things into being through different forms of connection. The discussions also focused on the meanings that the forest, as well as the act of creating art and activism in our time, take on. Additionally, we collectively explored different ways to address the connections between human-produced life, art, and the diverse ecosystems of the forest.
One of the goals of the residency was to challenge the individualistic working methods often seen in the art world. By gathering a group of artists a year before the festival itself, the residency aimed to create space for the development of community and collaboration among the participants. Most of the residency time was dedicated to individual work in the forest, shared exercises, familiarizing oneself with Soiva Metsä, and planning the artworks. Additionally, we had guests, including Elsa Lankinen from the Vaara Collective, who spoke about forest disputes in Kainuu, led an exercise deepening environmental connections, and Anna-Liisa Helttunen shared the history of Soiva Metsä.
The following artists, creators, and activists were selected for the residency through an open call in March-April 2024: Poa Pohjola, Nina Luostarinen, Ville Linna, Andre Vicentini, Maija Saksman, Iida Falck, Lassi Tauriainen, Tuukka Pasanen, Elina Selamo, Marynka Dovhanych, Atso Airola, and Elo Vanhanen. Additionally, curated artists Mikko Sarvanne, Saana Pohjonen, and Kaisa Porra-Hänninen and our residency chefs Fanny Sillman and Eemil Tähtinen participated in the residency, having been invited outside of the open call process.
Winter Residency in Suomussalmi, Puras (36 km from Soiva Metsä) in winter 2025
The Winter Residency took place at the Puras village in Suomussalmi at the end of January and beginning of February 2025. Six writers participated, and together we delved into discussions about the current state of Finnish forests, various approaches to engaging in forest-related conversations, and the collective responsibility and its diverse implications. We also had extensive discussions on the themes of roots, rootlessness, intergenerational care, and its transformations, while also touching upon the slow but necessary change in values and identity towards true ecosocial well-being.
During the residency, we outlined ideas, knowledge, utopias, dreams, and emotions in written form. Based on these shared reflections, the participants will write a diverse collection of texts for the 2026 Soiva Metsä anthology, which will explore the Soiva Metsä project as a whole and delve into the themes it addresses in the form of a publication.
The residency included a visit to the Mustarinda Residency House, which promotes ecological reconstruction of society. Additionally, we got a closer look at the planning of the Vaara-Kainuu National Art Park project in the Hyrynsalmi and Puolanka areas, guided by project coordinator Laura Mellanen. On the final day of the residency, we took a shared trip to the magical, snow-covered Soiva Metsä, where we explored its ridges and instruments.
The week of the residency was also brightened by Maija and Kauko, grandparents from the village of Puras, where some of the participants stayed. Their home and yard were filled with diverse art pieces.
The following writers were selected for the residency through an open call: Stella Massa, Sonja Laukkanen, Ada Koistinen, Elsa Pakkasvirta, Stefan Saarinen, and Anna Pajari.
