Porttiteatteri is a Helsinki-based, professional theatre that produces artistic and high-quality theatre productions. The theatre produces 1-2 premieres per year and an annual prison arts Porttiteatteri festival, and organizes workshops in prisons.
Porttiteatteri presents Sovinto 1919/2019 (translates to Reconciliation in English) during Quiet Week 15th to the 17th of April 2019 at Suomenlinna Church. Sovinto is based on the community theater’s method of working and reaches out to over a century of inmates from Suomenlinna prison to the people who suffered from the Finnish Civil War. Sidenote: ‘Portti’ in Finnish means gateway, port, entry and ‘teatteri’ means theatre. You can interpret what Porttiteatteri means to you. Arlene Tucker and Juha Hilpas went for the theatre preview. This is their conversation about the experience. April 14, 2019. Arlene Tucker (AT): Hi Juha! I got a lot of energy after the performance! How did you feel when it was over? Juha Hilpas (JH): I did make a note after the performance about how positively surprised and refreshed I felt about it. Dealing with traumatic experiences in art and especially through theater falls very easily to some manner of moralism or tear jerking that I confess having a few prejudices about such play on entry. The fact that after the performance one found energy to walk around Suomenlinna and talk about the play and subject matter says a lot though. AT: Yes, I remember that. I understand well what you mean. It has been a long time since I have been in the theatre and I forgot how strong of a medium it can be. I went there without any expectations, only with questions and and a feeling of excitement. I suppose that because the performance was on Suomenlinna it added the feeling that we were on a journey, in the process. Was there a particular subject, scene or story that especially touched your own life? JH: I experienced that even though the play was produced by inmates, who are serving or have already served their time, that fact no matter how real, took more of a symbolic quality to it. By this I mean that the real traumatic experiences of the performers were presented in a very human and relatable way. Even if I can’t draw absolutely direct comparisons to my own life experience I still find some sentences and sentiments very relatable. I find it important that in the play considerable weight is put on the fact that behind many prison stories there tends to be a long history of substance abuse and mental health issues. Subjects whose management still tends to feel like the elephant in the room. AT: Everybody has been through trauma. I think that we can find our way to understand and to be empathetic about something or with someone, if we have the energy and if we have the motivation. JH: Through trauma? AT: Not necessarily through trauma. When the four actors chanted in a forceful yet slightly exhausted tone in unison, "Why do I not respect authority?" this scene brought up a lot of questions and feelings from inside. Where does this characteristic or personality trait come from? Where do I see it in my life at the moment? When does it go into hiding and when is it revealed? JH: To be honest, my first reaction to that chant was: “Why should authority be respected anyway?” The next one was “What IS an authority?” AT: Yes! Good question. For me, authority refers to when someone thinks they have power over me. It could be a teacher, a president, a bully, for example. It doesn't mean that right away I don't respect, I am just explaining what is my own simple hierarchy model or structure. JH: I understand. I feel it’s more about the initial reaction that the concept of authority is triggering (in me), that which arises without rationalisations or justifications. The question is, what kind of authority figures have affected your life? And why authority has formed into a traumatic element in your life? AT: I didn't mean that directly about myself. Perhaps these are better questions for the actors because of what they told were true stories. After the performance, I talked with Kari Vähä-Aho and he told me that the stories were real. The presentation became even more relevant! Kari said that they, the actors, wrote all the stories themselves, which were then put together. The script was really great, as well as the dramaturgy. I liked how they used the whole space of the church. Nothing was still. It was like a stream finding its way to the sea. The flow of the spoken word, written words, and music worked really well. JH: Yeah. Now that I think about it, it’s somewhat confusing how easy it was to forget that the stories and situations presented were real experiences. In some ways one easily follows theater as a performance, or representation, not as reality. This of course already tells something about the technical quality of the play. AT: Maybe this is the reason why the performance was in the church! The begging of forgiveness. I don’t know. I always have something I would like to apologize for and somebody I would like to thank. Another question to the theater group. JH: I don’t feel like the play was about begging, or even asking for mercy, or grace. For me it wasn’t even about regret, but about seeking to come at peace with the ghosts that one has carried or that have been imposed on one by others. AT: I agree. It was their story and it's their time to tell everyone who wants to listen. It was their own decision to be real, vulnerable. Quite strong. I respect this! JH: Yeah, it felt more like something was offered to the audience, as a food for thought. And like we found later at the stairs of a metro station, the producers of the play had no intentions to force feed the subject to anyone. AT: Not at all. It was nice that almost the whole journey home, we bumped into different actors and we could thank them face to face and talk with them for a little while. It felt good to discuss this with them, even if just for three minutes. Three important minutes. JH: It was somehow poetic that after the play the audience and the actors would find themselves on the same ferry home from the island. AT: As a whole, I feel that the performance and group were really touching. Real, in real time, real life. Juha, is there something else in your mind? I understand that feeling are always in motion, all the time changing. Good thing we have the moment. JH: Like I already mentioned, I found myself leaving the island refreshed, despite the heavy subject matter of the play. In many ways, theater is about connecting to other people and their experience about life, with all their similarities and differences. +++ There are many changes over the years 1919-2019. Yet, the process of reconciliation and forgiveness has hardly changed. The performance is a story about forgiveness, short stories around that theme, and how reconciliation can be achieved. Director: Tuija Minkkinen Music & sound dramaturgy: Sanna Salmenkallio Dramaturgy: Taija Rautio Performers: Porttiteatteri members Performances: 15.4, 16.4 and 17.4 at 18:00 at Suomenlinna Church Tickets:15/10€ can be bought from: Tiketti https://porttiteatteri.fi/ 15.4.2019 Images: Arlene Tucker https://prisonspace.org/Sovinto-1919-2019-by-Porttiteatteri Our first Interpreting Free Translations meeting was very personal and intimate. Beautiful March sunlight made Bokvillan's library even more welcoming.
We started by moving around the room and translating own and each others feelings into performance. Then we looked at the artworks on Free Translation online gallery, and each selected pieces for translation. We used collage, writing, embroidery, language, used copy books, photography. We shared stories about identity, speaking own languages, accents. We tried to imagine what it was like for our artists to work on the pieces they have sent. At the end we shared our translations, and talked about the choices we'd made when working on them. Our interpretations are now being uploaded in the gallery under the source images. Welcome to join us next time in Bokvillan on Tuesday, 2.4 from 15:30-18:30. https://www.facebook.com/events/331066980873951/?ti=ia Arlene & Anastasia *Текст на русском языке ниже*
>English version below< Tulkitaan vapaita käännöksiä Tervetuloa meidän taiteen tekemisen sarja. Katsomme ja keskustelemme taiteellisista töistä, jotka ovat saapuneet eri puolilta maailmaa vastauksena vapaiden käännösten (Free Translation) avoimeen kutsuun. Teoksia ovat luoneet ihmiset, joihin on vaikuttanut vankeus, ja ne ovat olleet esillä MAA-tilassa marraskuussa 2018. Kaksituntisen tapaamisen aikana tutustumme teoksiin ja kuulemme tarinoita niitä luoneilta ihmisiltä, joista monet ovat tälläkin hetkellä vankilassa. Tämän jälkeen teemme käännöksiä, vastauksia taideteoksille, ja lataamme ne verkkonäyttelyyn, jossa myös taiteilijat ja suurempi yleisö voivat osallistua dialogiin. Käännökset voivat olla visuaalisia, kirjallisia, kuunnelmia, valokuvia tai muita ilmaisumuotoja. Olet tervetullut tuomaan valitsemiasi materiaaleja – tai vain tuomaan itsesi. Paikka: Bokvillan Kirjasto, Hämeentie 125, 00560, Helsinki Milloin: 5. marraskuuta, 2. huhtikuuta, 7. toukokuuta Aika: klo. 15.30-18.30 Kielet: Suomi, englanti, venäjä Kenelle: kaikkien ikäisille Lisätietoa tapahtumasta meihin voit ottaa yhteyttä Anastasia Artemeva ja Arlene Tucker sähköpostilla osoitteeseen info(at)prisonspace.org. --- Interpreting Free Translations Welcome to our art-making sessions. We will view and discuss artworks received from all over the world in response to the Free Translation open call. These artworks are created by people affected by incarceration, and exhibited in MAA-tila in November 2018. During the two hour session we will view the works and hear the stories of people who created them, many of whom are currently in prison. We will then create translations - responses to the artworks and upload them on the online exhibition, for the artists and for the general public to see and continue the dialogue. The translations can be visual, written, audible, photographic, or in any other form. You are welcome to bring materials of your choice - or simply bring yourself. Place: Bokvillan Library, Hämeentie 125, 00560, Helsinki Date: March 5th, April 2nd, May 7th Time: 15:30-18.30 Languages: English, Russian, Finnish All ages are welcome For more information please contact Anastasia Artemeva and Arlene Tucker at info(at)prisonspace.org --- Интерепретируя Свободный перевод Добро пожаловать на встречу по теме выставки Свободный перевод. Мы будем изучать произведения искусства, полученные из разных стран мира, и созданные людьми, на судьбу которых повлияло ограничение свободы. Эти работы были показаны на выставке в пространстве MAA-tila в Хельсинки в ноябре 2018 года. В течение трехчасовой встречи мы рассмотрим рисунки, услышим стихи, и узнаем личные истории авторов работ, многие из которых в настоящее время находятся в тюрьме. Мы создадим свои собственные творческие работы, интерпретируя, “переводя” услышанное и увиденное, и загрузим из на сайт онлайн выставки, где их увидят авторы и публика. Мы будем писать письма, рисовать, фотографировать, и использовать разные другие формы художественного самовыражения. Приносите любимые материалы, или просто приходите. Место: Библиотека Kafilla Bokvillan, 00560, Hämeentie 125, Helsinki Дата 7 мая 2019 года Время 15.30-18.30 К участию приглашаются взрослые и дети любого возраста. Bokvilla: http://arabianasukastalot.fi/ freetranslation.prisonspace.org/ prisonspace.org/ InDialogue 2019: 19th, 20th and 21st November, UK
InDialogue is back, and this time it is inviting artists and researchers to participate in the interrogation of dialogue across 3 cities in the Midlands, UK. Over the course of 3 days, InDialogue-ers will activate the cities of Derby, Lincoln and Nottingham through papers, workshops, performances, happenings, artist-led labs, live music, eat together, dance, debate, create installations and interventions. This 4th iteration of InDialogue brings together UK and International based artists and researchers to push the boundaries in thinking about the use of DIALOGUE and SITE within PRACTICE, across the disciplines of art and design. We invite proposals that activate a variety of regional cultural venues Derby Theatre, Déda, S.H.E.D, Mansions of the Future, Nottingham Contemporary. The call seeks to harness the potential afforded in the temporary occupation of, and movement between these sites in order to expand our examination of dialogic practices. We also welcome proposals for the InDialogue bus that will transport participants between the 3 cities, and the mobile art space S.H.E.D., the Social Higher Education Depot commissioned by In Good Company & the University of Derby. InDialogue 2019, sees us working with 11 cultural partners from across the East Midlands: Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN), Dance 4, Déda, Derby City Council, Derby Theatre, In Good Company, Mansions of the Future, Nottingham Contemporary, S.H.E.D., University of Derby, University of Lincoln. Further details of venues can be found on the InDialogue website. Over the coming months we announce the Artists undertaking the InDialogue International Artist Residency, delivered in partnership with Dance4 and In Good Company details of registration and charges. The full programme for InDialogue 2019 will be announced early summer 2019. Proposals InDialogue encourages abstracts and proposals for papers, interventions, performances, roundtables, InDialogue bus journeys between venues, coffee breaks and communal meal times. It is important to note that InDialogue is has limited resources, technical support and does not offer funding for artists or others to show or create new work. We are, however, able to provide support in kind and written letters of support for those wishing to apply for grants or needing evidence for visa applications etc. InDialogue 2019 will also be the subject of a special issue for international publication and will feature contributions from selected artists, researchers – participants to the event. DEADLINE: 6.00 pm (GMT) Monday 18th February NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION: 11th March 2019 https://indialogue2014.wordpress.com/2019-2/ To apply, click here. I am very honored to be a contributing author to the book, Translating Across Sensory and Linguistic Borders: Intersemiotic Journeys Between Media. It just came out, so feel free to buy the hardcover or get the ebook from Palgrave. Editors, Madeleine Campbell and Ricard Vidal, will present the book at the Seminar “Translation, Transmission and Cultural Transfer” at Queen Mary University in London on Wednesday 27th February 6pm (ArtsOne 1.28, Mile End Campus). The seminar is free and open to everyone. See here for more info: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sllf/comparative-literature-and-culture/research/translation-transmission-and-cultural-transfer/#d.en.591380 On 10th May there will be a celebratory book launch in Lisbon at the conference “Cultural Literacy and Cosmopolitan Conviviality” at Universidad Católica. More info about the conference here: https://cleurope.eu/events/cle2019/ (English version below)
Avataan yhdessä dialogi käyttäen ääntä, kuvaa, ja piirustuksia. Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge ja lintulintu kutsuvat luomaan SUORAN ja VÄLITTÖMÄN reaktion taideteoksiin, jotka ovat esillä Vapaa käännös -näyttelyssä. Sinun taiteellinen vastauksesi antaa mahdollisuuden inspiraatiolle virrata vapaasti. Milloin: Sunnuntai, 18.11.2018, klo. 13:00-16:00 Kenelle: kaikkien ikäisille Missä: MAA-tila, Pääskylänrinne 10, 00500 Helsinki Kielet: Suomi, englanti, ranska Lisätietoa: arlene@prisonspace.org ( ( ( Tartunta < > < > ääniaallot käännöksenä ) ) ) Resonanssi, väreily, kommunikaatio ilman sanoja. Dialogi meidän kesken, keskellämme, itsessämme, Vedä syvään henkeä. Jaetaan vaihtoehtoinen kieli, välitetään väreily kommunikaatioksi, rakentaen siltoja, yhteyksiä, resonanssi on kaikkialla ja kaiken aikaa. Ääni liikuttaa sinut lähemmäksi ydintä, jättäen taakseen materian rajoitteet. Muokkaamme tilaa läpi seinien, otamme kimmokkeen edestakaisin. Kuule mitä kuultavissa on, käännä oma äänesi kohti tilaa. ) ) ) kuva <—> teksti ( ( ( Teleskooppinen katselu, laajakulmaiset rakenteet. Tässä hetkellisessä kollaasi/installaatio työpajassa luot vastauksen tarkasti rajattuun tilaan tai tilojen väliseen suhteeseen. Esim. tietty kulma galleriassa, tietty laatta lattiassa, oven kahva , kahden seinän välinen etäisyys. Tämä kollektiivinen kuvan tekemiseen ja tekstiin pohjautuva kokeilu tutkii tekstin käännöksiä kuvaksi ja toisin päin näyttelyssä esillä olevien töiden kontekstissa sekä synnyttää dialogeja materiaalien rajallisuudesta, että kysymyksiä saatavilla olemisesta. Taiteilijoista: Vapaita käännöksiä on näyttely, joka käyttää tulkinnan prosessia ollessamme vuorovaikutuksessa ja luodessamme uusia teoksia MAA-tilassa. Tilassa esillä olevat kerätyt teokset ovat vankien, ex-vankien ja henkilöiden, joiden elämään vangitsemisella on ollut vaikutus. Nähtävillä olevat teosten ehdotus on yleisölle käydä kiihkeää keskustelua, inspiroitua ja luoda luovasti aktivoitunut tila. Poikkitaiteellinen näyttely esittelee kansainvälisen kattauksen töitä MAA-tilassa marraskuun 15-29. sekä netissä. lintulintu on kokeellinen. Identifioidumme heteroseksuaaliseksi ja etuoikeutetuksi ääni-duoksi, kaksi lintua-yksi kivi. Meillä on hintavat elektroniset välineet ja maalliset vartalomme, jotka yritämme saattaa harmoniaan. Huolimatta itseaiheutetun kärsimyksen tuottamasta valttikortista löydämme tiemme hyvän olon tunteeseen. Kaaos vaihtuu niin kutsuttuun ääni-taiteeseen ja kriittinen näkökulma on vain jalostunutta keskustelua. Äänitaidetta, performanssia ja kokeellista musiikkia avant-garden vivahteilla, dystooppinen leikki ja kolmen kuukauden pimeys tuotuna valoon. Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge syntyi pienessä ranskankielisessä rannikkokylässä Quebecissä, Kanadassa. Keskeistä Evelynin työskentelyssä ja projekteissa on kiinnostus aktivoida tiloja, joita usein ylenkatsotaan tai jotka ovat näkymättömissä, tutkien siirtymien ja muistin teemoja sekä teemoihin sulautuneita monimutkaisia tasoja ja mekanismeja. Evelyne on suorittanut taiteen kandidaattia vastaavan tutkintonsa (bachelor of fine arts) valokuvauksesta, Concordian yliopistossa (Montreal, Kanada) ja taiteen maisterin tutkintonsa elektronisesta taiteesta Alfredin yliopistossa Taiteen ja suunnittelun laitokselta (School of art and design-Alfred, New york). Tällä hetkellä hän toimii apulaisprofessorina Rochesterin yliopiston Taiteen ja linssiin painottavan median laitoksella (Art and lens based media-Rochester, New York). Evelyn kiittää Rochesterin yliopistoa ja Kanadan valtuuston taiteiden jaostoa (Canada council of the arts) avokätisestä tuesta viimeisimmässä tutkimustyössä. /// Let’s open dialogue through sound, image, and drawing. Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge and lintulintu invite you to create DIRECT and IMMEDIATE responses to the artworks on display at Free Translation exhibition. Your artistic response makes space for inspiration to flow. When: Sunday, November 18, 2018 from 13:00-16:00 For whom: all ages Where: MAA-tila, Pääskylänrinne 10, 00500 Helsinki Languages: Finnish, English, French For more information: arlene@prisonspace.org ( ( ( Transmitting < > < > translating soundwaves ) ) ) Resonance, communication without words. Dialogue between us, around us, within us, take a deep breath. Sharing alternative language, translating resonance into communication, building bridges, connections, resonance is all around and all the time. Sound moves you closer to the core, leaving out material restrictions. We’ll shape the space beyond the walls, bounce back and forth. Hear what can be heard, turn voice into sound. ) ) ) Image <—> text ( ( ( Telescopic viewing, wide-angle configurations. In this ephemeral collage/installation workshop, you will make a response to a very specific space or trajectory, for example, one corner of the gallery, one tile of the floor, a door knob, the distance between two walls. This collective image-making and writing experiment will explore translation(s) of text into image and vice versa in response to the work presented in the exhibition and ignite dialogues about material limitation and question(s) of access. About us: Free Translation is an exhibition that makes use of the translation process as we interact and create new artworks at MAA-tila. The collected artworks are created by incarcerated people, ex-convicts, and anyone affected by imprisonment. The works on view will encourage the audience to prompt dialogue, inspire thoughts, and creatively activate the space. The multi-disciplinary exhibition showcases international works at MAA-tila from November 15-29 and online. Evelyne Leblanc-Roberge was born in a small francophone coastal village in Québec, Canada. Central to Evelyne’s practice and projects is an interest to activate spaces that are often invisible or overlooked, and to explore themes of displacement and memory and the complex layers and mechanisms embedded within. She received her BFA in photography from Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) and her MFA in electronic integrated arts from the School of Art and Design at Alfred University (Alfred, New York). She is currently an Associate Professor of Art and Lens Based Media at the University of Rochester (Rochester, New York). Evelyne would like to thank the University of Rochester and the Canada Council for the Arts for their generous support on her recent research projects. lintulintu is experimental. We identify as heterosexual and privileged sound duo consisting two birds one stone. We have expensive electronic equipment and our earthly bodies, which we try to harmonize. Despite the advantage of self caused suffering lintulintu finds a way to feeling good. Chaos switches into so called sound art and critical point of view is just advanced conversation. Sound art, performance and experimental music taking flavors of avant-garde, playing around dystopia and bringing three months of darkness into light. We’ve gone to few schools and worked with institutions. We are very honoured to be invited to speak at HAM as part of Taidekoulu MAA's artist talk series at the museum. Read more about that here.
/// Artists Arlene Tucker (Translation is Dialogue), Anastasia Artemeva, and musician Sonny Elinkautinen Nyman will present their current collaboration Prison Outside. The research behind this project is centred on the subjects of imprisonment, justice, and the role of the arts in the relationships between people in prisons and people on the outside. We are interested in perceptions of incarcerated individuals and ex-convicts in the society, and how we can break stereotypes and support each other. It is also a platform where contributing artists can produce their own artistic projects related to imprisonment. In the year 2018 we are working closely with Moscow University of Psychology and Education, and young people in juvenile detention schools in Finland and Russia. During the presentation for Taidekoulu Maa at HAM on 13.9 we will discuss past and current projects by Prison Outside and its collaborators. Together we will learn about process-based practices and methodologies for artistic exchange. Through practical examples we will discuss how to design and realise a socially-engaged project. We will share our experiences and challenges of a cross-cultural multidisciplinary collaborations. We invite you to the project! This fall we are looking for a curatorial assistant for the Free Translation exhibition, and a program assistant, a photographer and interpreters, for the international multidisciplinary conference Prison Outside #2 in Helsinki in November. Learn more about Prison Outside at HAM on 13.9 or email info@prisonspace.org https://www.facebook.com/events/723082974695690/ Prison Outside #2 is a cross-disciplinary discussion on artistic projects in and around prison. It takes place on November 21st-23rd in Helsinki and will present speakers from Finland, Russia, Ireland, USA, and Belgium. The program in PUBLICS and MAA-tila will include presentations, round table discussions, film screenings, and workshops. Free Translation, an exhibition of artistic and literary works on imprisonment will be launched during the conference. We will discuss artistic practices in prison, and their effect on rehabilitation, understanding the histories of incarceration, and encouraging communication between people of different walks of life.
Artists, researchers, teachers, students, ex-convicts are very welcome to join the discussion. This event will be held in English, Finnish and Russian languages. Full program coming soon! Мы приглашаем людей, находящихся в местах лишения свободы, а также бывших заключенных и всех тех, на чью жизнь повлияла тюрьма, принять участие в выставке Свободный перевод. Выставка состоится в ноябре 2018-го года в Хельсинки. Работы будут также представлены в онлайн-галерее.
В течение выставки мы будем создавать новые художественные работы используя “принцип переводчика”. Речь идет о взаимодействии с экспозицией, будь то перевод на другой язык, или ответное произведение искусства, интерпретирующее увиденное. Ваши творчество откроет диалог и активизирует пространство галереи. Выставка организована коллективами проектов Перевод это диалог и Тюрьма Снаружи. Что отправить:
Отправляя нам ваши художественные и литературные работы, вы выражаете согласие на демонстрацию их на выставке в Хельсинки в ноябре 2018-го года, и электронной выставке. Отправляя Ваши работы для участия в выставке, Вы подтверждаете тем самым Ваше авторство на предоставляемые работы и соглашаетесь с тем, что Ваши Материалы могут быть использованы Организатором в целях, связанных с проведением выставки: информированием о программе, различными видами публикаций в СМИ (в т.ч. электронных), использованием в сопутствующей полиграфической продукции. Работы принимаются до 31-го октября 2018-го года. Почтовый адрес: Re: Free Translation c/o Kone Foundation Otavantie 10 00200 Helsinki Finland Фонд Коне любезно предоставил нам свой офис для хранения работ. Размер работ не должен превышать формата A4. Участники выставки несут берут на себя материальные расходы по отправлению работ по почте. Работы не возвращаются. По всем вопросам обращайтесь по адресу info@prisonspace.org. Адрес будет объявлен позже. |
ContributorsArlene Tucker: author and curator of TID Arch
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