In the picture, the work by Timo Vaittinen for Solstice Festival 2022.
Kuusamo ARK is inviting an artist for a three-week residency in Ruka to create a site-specific piece of art for Solstice 2023, held during Midsummer.
Solstice Festival is a music and arts festival that focuses on diverse forms of dance music and art and is being held for the third time this Midsummer on June 22-24, 2023, in Ruka. The festival area is situated in a beautiful location on the peak of Ruka Fell. The carefully curated music program features international guests, domestic heroes, and rising talents spread across three stages. In 2023, Solstice will feature artists such as Gabrielle Kwarteng, Josey Rebelle, Young Marco, Wata Igarashi, and Lena Willikens. The entire artist lineup can be seen here.
Sustainability and environmental friendliness are at the core of Solstice Festival’s values in all aspects of production. The festival follows Ruka’s Responsibility Program and actively seeks to develop solutions to minimize environmental impact on its own.
Solstice works closely with The Most Sustainable European Capital of Culture project to develop an effective recycling model for waste generated during the festival. Efforts are made to develop reusable materials from waste that can be used in next year’s festival production and art program. Circular economy practices are implemented in production with the experimental design studio Caracara Collective.
Artwork
The artist selected for our art residency will work with locally sourced waste material to create an installation to be presented at the festival. The available materials include metal, wood, plastic, fabric, and organic materials. The artist is responsible for sourcing the materials from the Kuusamo waste station. The final material will be assessed together with the selected artist for the residency. The artist has complete freedom in choosing the method of execution for the artwork. However, we emphasize a focus on sculpture in the call for artists.
The artwork should take into consideration the environment in which it will be installed: outdoors in a mountainous terrain where weather conditions can vary widely. The artist should also take into account the size of the area. Photos of the event area can be found here.
The artwork remains the property of the artist and they can decide the fate of the artwork after the event. If necessary, the festival will arrange transportation for the artwork out of Ruka and it must be removed from the festival area by June 26th.
More info and application form: https://www.kuusamo-ark.fi/en/separate-application-art-residency/