"The 2023 Aleksanteri Conference will be held on October 25–27 at the University of Helsinki, Finland. This year’s conference will address changes in the relationships within and between the former communist countries of the Global East, by which we mean the region that has been labelled as post/former -Soviet, -socialist, -communist, -imperial. More info about the conference and program here."

Workshop on Thursday, October 26 from 18:00–19:00 at HALL 4 (B214), Metsätalo

Free Translation is a multi-disciplinary project showcasing international works by persons affected by imprisonment.

In this project we view works of art and letters received from prisons all over the world. Together we interpret the meaning of the works and create responses based on the translations. These are then sent to the original authors and added to the online exhibition. In this edition the special focus is on political prisoners in Russia. 

Workshop facilitators Arlene Tucker and Anastasia Artemeva.

Welcome to join a professional development workshop on how to incorporate artistic practice into a rehabilitation program. We will present the Free Translation project, share our techniques, and discuss ways to participate in the program. We will create a room for us all to share and to hear more about your work. The main language of the meeting will be held in English. Language support in Finnish and in Russian can be given. If you would like to join this meeting and need special technical or communication support, please let us know in your registration form. We strive for an equitable society where art is accessible and dialogue is encouraged.

Meeting via Zoom on:
May 12th from 17:00-18:30 EEST
May 13th from 10:00-11:30 EEST

Free Translation (2017, Helsinki, Finland) is an ongoing international art project and a series of open workshops for system-impacted people to share their thoughts and experience through art practice. In this project we use translation techniques as a means of creatively interpreting works of art. This means that we interpret the meaning of the works and create new works of art based on the translations. This can be a translation into another language or another medium. For example, a poem can be realized into a photograph and a drawing can be written as a letter. In this way, we make new works of art and literature, and attempt to understand each other and ourselves as we have an open dialogue. After a new work is complete, it is sent to the original author via an art exchange program. To date we have received over 100 works of art from people affected by incarceration who have participated in our program. Visit the online gallery at https://freetranslation.prisonspace.org.

As a result of many years of collaborating with system-affected people, we recognize the need to prepare a person for the reintegration into society. Free Translation project experts see the idea of reintegration to mean finding a place in society, but also how to communicate, confront, and approach and identify one's feelings, thoughts, and needs. The project offers a diverse, inclusive and transcultural approach to arts in and around institutionalization.

Working together with organizations in Finland and abroad we can reach more people who are in need of tools for self-expression. This is a unique project for Finland, as it allows the sharing of art, experience, and knowledge internationally. This project ensures diversity, promotes empathy, and helps to build a more tolerant society. As inclusivity and creating space for all voices to be heard is the project’s aim, we have implemented a way for incarcerated artists to create with others.  

Our community is a skill-sharing based group for artists, educators, lawyers, policymakers, social workers in Russia, Finland, Belgium, the United States, and beyond. In this cross-disciplinary project we invite workers from different departments, such as social workers, psychologists, guards, and educators. 

​Space is limited and registration is required. The first admitted 15 persons will be able to join. Subsequent registrations will be put on the waiting list.  Zoom link will be sent to you the day before the event. Please register here or use the form below.

About the authors: Anastasia Artemeva and Arlene Tucker are artists, researchers, educators and diversity agents, who come from the perspective and field of creative expression and process based arts through open dialogue.  We are experts in promoting diversity within the creative arts and strive to ensure everyone is included and heard. We have been working extensively with different groups of people of all ages, including youth in children’s homes, currently and formerly incarcerated people, folks in retirement homes, in Finland and abroad. We are honored to be supported by the Arts Promotion Center Finland and Kone Foundation.
We can be reached at [email protected].  We look forward to hearing from you.

Our best,
Anastasia & Arlene

Welcome to Arlene and Vishnu’s NVC lab at Pixelache!

Meetings are held on Wednesday, 22.1 and on the  following Tuesdays; 25.2, 17.3, 7.4, and 28.4 from 17:00-20:00 at the Pixelache office:  Kaasutehtaankatu 1/21 (Suvilahti, Building 7) 00540 Helsinki.
Our group is open to all who would like to learn how to clearly communicate and be better listeners. As a group, we would like to investigate how we can get a grasp of our own emotions and how to be aware of our projections and attract what we want to say. 

We will use NVC developed by Marshall Rosenberg's as our main source. His theory will help guide us on how to find ways to check our blindspots. In these sessions we will practise how to express ourselves honestly. We would like to focus on identifying our needs and then carry them out. We will listen, be heard and confirm that we have been understood in the way we have intended and likewise wise understand what has been communicated.

As performance and visual arts are our main artistic voice, we will use these methods and techniques as a means to put theory to practise. Depending on the group’s dynamics, we are open to all forms of expression.

“NVC is about connecting with ourselves and others from the heart. It’s about seeing the humanity in all of us. It’s about recognizing our commonalities and differences and finding ways to make life wonderful for all of us.” https://www.cnvc.org

Participation is free of charge. Register by emailing Vishnu & Arlene at pythogorianne(at)gmail.com and arlene.dearyou(at)gmail.com.