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Nine plays to receive the World on Stage grant

The first round of World on Stage grants was announced in 2022 by the Finnish Cultural Foundation to encourage Finnish theatres to translate 30 new theatre works from around the world into Finnish, and show them on Finnish stages. There is an emphasis on primarily finding plays outside the Anglo-American language sphere. The overall funding sum for the initiative will come to around EUR 1.2 million over three years.

The total sum awarded in this application round was EUR 250,000, given out to a total of nine projects. The source languages of the theatre works in question are Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, French, Swedish, and Russian. 

“The World on Stage grant was developed based on the observation that top-quality contemporary dramatic works from non-Anglo-American language regions are in a clear minority in theatres. The works being translated now can enrich and diversify the programmes of theatres in Finland,” explains the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Regional Fund Officer Antti Niskanen, who is in charge of the World on Stage grants application round.

Teatteri Avoimet Ovet will present the Finnish adaptation of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych), based on the Polish novel by Olga Tokarczuk, in which not only numerous villagers but also a diverse group of animals make their voices heard.

As an Iraqi-Ukrainian-Finnish collaboration, Alpo Aaltokoski Company will produce a theatre performance based on Albert Camus‘ French-language work The State of Siege (L’État de siège). The play was written in 1948 but is very relevant today. It presents a post-war storyline in which people who have experienced horrors cannot shed their fears.

The Sign Language theatre Teatteri Totti received a grant to translate into Finnish the Swedish-language play Frans by Sarah Remgren, and to produce its staging. The languages used in the performance will be Finland-Swedish and Finnish Sign Languages, Finnish, and Swedish.

Of the theatre productions supported through the first funding round in 2022, three have premiered so far: KESYTÖN eli O:n markiisitar – Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (orig. WÜST Oder Die Marquise von O…. – Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) at KokoTeatteri, Heterofiili (orig. Heterofil) at Valtimonteatteri, and Neuvostoihmisen loppu (orig. Время секонд хэнд, Vremya sekond khend) by the Helsinki-based theatre group sadsongskomplex:fi and the working group Helsinki 98. The next round of applications will be in August 2024.

Vasemmalla ihmisiä rooliasuissa, keskellä kolme naista esiripun edessä, oikealla huutava miehen naama karvalakki päässään

KESYTÖN eli O:n markiisitar – Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (orig. WÜST Oder Die Marquise von O…. – Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) at KokoTeatteri (left). Neuvostoihmisen loppu (orig. Время секонд хэнд, Vremya sekond khend) by the Helsinki-based theatre group sadsongskomplex:fi (center) and the working group Helsinki 98 and Heterofiili (orig. Heterofil) at Valtimonteatteri. 

The practical implementation of the World on Stage project in the years 2022–2024 is managed by TINFO Theatre Info Finland, which has also compiled a curated database of current plays that are suitable for translation.

“It’s especially pleasing to notice how theatres are working together to produce works and tours. The range of grant recipients also shows that the initiative has managed to reach theatres all over Finland. There is great diversity among the plays being translated into Finnish, so theatre audiences can expect many enticing performances,” says Linnea Stara, director of TINFO.  

The other funding body involved in the World on Stage project is the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, which supports the translation of plays into Swedish and performance stagings in Finland’s Swedish-language theatres.

Supported performance productions in 2023:

  • MA Jaakko Heinonen and working group for the translation and staging of Svetlana Alexievich’s Russian-language novel Цинковые мальчики (Zinky Boys)
  • Jyväskylä City Theatre for translating Monika Isakstuen‘s Norwegian-language play Se på meg når jeg snakker til deg (Look at me when I am talking to you), and producing its Finnish-language premiere
  • Klockriketeatern theatre for the translation, production, and touring of the Swedish play Syrénvägen by Anders Duus, in cooperation with the theatre house Keski-Uudenmaan Teatteri 
  • The KokoTeatteri Association for the translation and production of Sara Stridsberg‘s Swedish-language play Svindel
  • Lappeenranta City Theatre for the translation, production, and touring of Daniel J. Meyer‘s Spanish-language A.K.A., in cooperation with Teatteri Jurkka
  • Nomadi / Alpo Aaltokoski Company for the translation and production of a multidisciplinary and multicultural stage work based on Albert Camus‘ L’État de Siège (The State of Siege)
  • The Teatteri Avoimet Ovet Association for the Finnish translation and production of Emilia Sadowska’s stage adaptation of Olga Tokarczuk‘s Polish-language novel Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych (Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead)
  • Teatteri Totti for the translation, production, and presentation of Sarah Remgren‘s Swedish-language play Frans
  • Art House Turku for the translation and production of Stefano Massini‘s Italian reading drama Bunker Kiev in cooperation with Turku City Theatre and Åbo Svenska Teater

The Mirjam Helin Competition to be reformed

Nainen punaisessa mekossa, tausta on tumma.

A South African soprano Mercy Malieloa was one of the winners in 2019. Photo: Heikki Tuuli

The application period for the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition begins on Wednesday 25 October 2023 and ends on 4 January 2024. The competition is open to singers born in 1992 or later. There are no compulsory works in the competition, but competitors should choose a wide range of solo songs, as well as oratorio, concert or opera arias. However, all competitors should prepare at least one Finnish composition for their repertoire. The competition jury recommends that the competitors’ choices of repertoire respect the diversity of music makers, including their gender, native country and language.

“It’s great that competitors can build their own repertoires quite freely. This also gives the jury a chance to assess each competitor’s ability to put together a coherent artistic whole”, says the new competition director of the Mirjam Helin Competition, Päivi Loponen-Kyrönseppä.

Nainen sinisessä takissa katsoo kameraan. Taustalla metallinen taideteos.

The chair of the jury, soprano Soile Isokoski. Photo: Milla von Konow

The Mirjam Helin Competition jury, headed by its chair, the soprano Soile Isokoski, hands out cash prizes of up to €190,000. The winner will receive a prize of €50,000.

The event will bring together young, talented singers for nearly two weeks, from 1 to 12 June 2024. The competition expects to receive approximately 500 applications, as for the previous event. The pre-selection jury will choose a maximum of fifty singers from among the applicants, to take part in the preliminary round to be held in Helsinki.

The preliminary round will be held from 3 to 6 June, the semifinals from 7 to 8 June, and the final with an orchestra on 12 June. In the final, the singers will be accompanied by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, with conductor Sir Mark Elder.

Organised by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition has been held every five years since 1984. In the future, the competition will be held every three years.

The Mirjam Helin Competition is made possible by a major donation from Mirjam and Hans Helin. Professor Mirjam Helin (1911–2006) wanted to establish an international singing competition in Finland. Her goal was to make it the most prestigious competition in the world.

For more information and interview requests: competition director Päivi Loponen-Kyrönseppä, paivi.loponen@mirjamhelin.fi, +358505338386

Another record number of mobility grant applications – number of awarded grants doubled

Mobility grants are intended to support residencies abroad, performance tours and exhibition projects, as well as travel for international collaborative projects. With a steady increase in the number of applications year on year, it was decided to award significantly more mobility grants this year. Support for international mobility creates possibilities for strengthening networks and offers new opportunities for action.

“This autumn’s round attracted a record number of applicants, and the level of applications was high. This is certainly encouraging, but it made the task of the expert panel particularly challenging. The highest number of applicants came from the fields of visual arts, music and the performing arts,” said Eriika Johansson, the coordinator responsible for the mobility grants.

The majority of the grants awarded ranged from €2 000 to €4 000. The largest, two grants of €10 000, were awarded to working groups. Teo Ala-Ruona, Master of Arts in Theatre, will use the grant to travel to the Performa Biennial in New York with his seven-strong team. Another large grant was awarded to the Musiikkitalon kuoro choir, whose 80 members will take The Dream of Gerontius to Cambridge.

Residence in the Svalbard Mountains

Taustalla vuorimaisema, etualalla värikäs metallinen laatikko

Kaisu Koivisto, from the series Building the World, 2022.

Kaisu Koivisto, a visual artist for 30 years, works multidisciplinarily. Her works include sculptures, installations, photography and video, in which she explores concepts of landscape, environment and nature.

“My most recent project is New Nuuk, in which I explore the expansion of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and the traces left by technology and human activity in the northern landscape. This is counterbalanced by a body of work on the major changes in the Sörnäinen, Merihaka and Sompasaari areas, which are significantly transforming urban space,” says Koivisto. In August 2024, the artist will head for Svalbard, where she will participate in The Arctic Circle expedition residency with a mobility grant.

Visual arts in Berlin

Värikäs piirroskuva, jossa jokaisessa neljässä nurkassa eri kuvioita. Väri on sininen, beige ja punainen.

Visual artist Siiri Haarla, work from the exhibition iiris ≈ siiri, 2022.

Artist Siiri Haarla, who focuses on painting, aims to create a link between painting and natural science. Her work combines many painting techniques, collage and text. Haarla’s previous exhibition Iiris≈siiri at Forum Box was about vision, colour and language. The paintings asked questions about the laws of life: how does a tree become a tree, how does a flower become a flower? How and when did I become me? 

With the mobility grant now awarded, Haarla will travel to the Toolbox Gallery in Berlin in early 2024. “The exhibition will bring together my memories from ten years of dividing my time between Berlin and Helsinki,” says the artist.

Off to Japan to learn from the masters

Pitkähiuksinen mies silmälasit päässä, taustalla punainen lautaseinä

Object Conservator Veli-Matti Mursu. Photo: Esko Suoranta

Object conservator Veli-Matti Mursu conserves and restores art objects and sculpture for individuals, museums and foundations. In addition to conservating methods, he uses the Kintsugi technique, a Japanese tradition dating back more than 500 years. The Kintsugi method highlights the damage to an object rather than trying to cover it up. The seam becomes like a golden stitch, emphasising the individuality of the object.

“Working with ceramics is particularly close to my heart. In addition to conservative measures, I emphasise the aesthetic integrity of the final result. Professional instruction in traditional kintsugi is not available in Finland, so I travel to Japan to learn from local and American masters.”

Taking the recorder to Berlin

Nahkatakkinen mies suuri nokkahuilu kädessään, taustalla puiden reunustama pitkä hiekkatie.

Musician Eero Saunamäki.

Musician Eero Saunamäki has premiered dozens of contemporary music works for recorder. Working with the support of a Taike grant next year, the professional recorder player has performed as a soloist in more than ten Finnish symphony orchestras over the past five years. With the support of a mobility grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, he will travel to Berlin for the Classical:NEXT music event.

“My goal is to perform my Nokkahuiluguru solo concerto on ten different recorders at the event. The concert will include music from the Middle Ages to the present day, as well as stories behind the works, instruments and the performer.”

All the awarded grants (in Finnish)

Intriguing contradictions of YouTube girlbosses

Text Susanna Bono
Photos Rami Marjamäki

It all began with handbag videos.

Ten years ago, the reporter and researcher Ida Roivainen was studying social sciences at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. In between her studies, she noticed herself watching more and more What’s In My Bag videos on YouTube.

In these videos, young women present the contents of their handbags.

“At first I was pretty biased and maybe also a bit annoyed that such superficial videos are made. But I still immersed myself in this world.”

Roivainen soon noticed that there was a lot more in the videos than appeared at first glance. She decided to write her bachelor’s thesis on women vloggers on YouTube.

After returning to Finland, Roivainen continued her master’s studies at the University of Tampere’s journalism program. When her graduate advisor suggested PhD studies in media research, she decided to switch from reporting to research.

“At first I was pretty biased and maybe also a bit annoyed that such superficial videos are made. But I still immersed myself in this world.”

Roivainen noticed that many videos made by young women had appeared on YouTube in which they proclaimed to be empowered leaders and called themselves girlbosses.

She had found the topic for her PhD thesis.

“Some of the girlbosses were the same lifestyle types that I’d studied in my bachelor’s thesis. During the time that I hadn’t followed them, they’d become much more skilled. I immediately decided that I wanted to study this topic in more detail.”

Vaaleahiuksinen nainen seisoo tiiliseinän edessä ja katselee kaukaisuuteen. Etualalla liloja kukkia.

The study of popular culture is important because mass culture, perceived as superficial, has the power to generate wider social debates.

The videos had become more professional, and they projected a strong neoliberal, American-style emotionalism.

What fascinates Roivainen the most in girlbosses is contradiction.

“My first impression was that these are superficial women with annoying voices that present some of their lip glosses and daily routines.”

But Roivainen noticed that her studies of the contradictions in the girlboss videos had become a trip into herself and into the world. By means of her research subjects she has become aware of her biases and stereotypical opinions. Roivainen recounts that she has become more open towards things that she disagrees with.

The term girlboss was made known by the businesswoman Sophia Amoruso, whose bestseller #Girlboss was published in 2014. According to the American researcher Sarah Banet-Weiser, the girlboss concept is a manifestation of popular feminism. Popular feminism is a neoliberal presentable feminism circulating in the economy of visibility that focuses on the individual instead of structures.

Roivainen is working on her PhD thesis, which approaches the multilayered and contradictory phenomenon from many different angles. 

“The content providers I observed are in many ways very privileged. Most of them are white, beautiful women that get a lot of visibility on social media platforms already because of their looks, which provides them with power and business partners.”

Nainen punaisessa samettijakussa istuu kahvikupin kanssa nojatuolissa. Taustalla ikkunasta näkyy kaupungin silhuetti.

According to Roivainen, the dismissal of human interest and lifestyle content is prejudiced and misogynistic.

Girlbosses create the image of empowered women that are themselves responsible for their success. But not everyone has access to the world saturated with brands. Investing in expensive filming equipment and taking the time to produce social media content already demand financial resources at the outset.

“The content providers I observed are in many ways very privileged. Most of them are white, beautiful women that get a lot of visibility on social media platforms already because of their looks, which provides them with power and business partners.”

Condescending attitudes towards girlboss contents however expose deep, historical structures in attitudes towards work done by women.

Roivainen’s background is in journalism, and she noticed the same condescending attitude while working for ten years as a reporter, especially in producing feature and lifestyle contents. Politics, for example, is considered “hard news” in journalism, whereas lifestyle contents are classified as “soft news”.

“The belittling of human interest and lifestyle contents is biased and misogynistic. Things perceived as interesting to women are automatically considered superficial rubbish, not so important.”

The same kind of value judgement is clearly visible in social media contents. Game contents, for example, are considered more valuable than contents that, for example, discuss important topics alongside make-up.

Women have throughout history met and discussed lifestyle-like topics.

“The phenomenon itself isn’t new. Already in the 19th century, there were women’s coffee meetings, and women shared their experiences in home economics clubs, and women’s magazines have already for a long time produced similar contents as girlbosses.”

Roivainen is studying English-speaking content producers that define themselves as girlbosses and that want to make a living through social media work. Of Finnish content producers, Alexa Dagmar and Linda Juhola produce girlboss-style content, and they have since founded the clothing brand Almada Label, which has been successful internationally too.

“Both of them started keeping a fashion blog when they were very young and have since managed to get a faithful follower base. If nowadays a young woman wants to be successful in social media, it is much more difficult because there’s so much competition. Sometimes they try to get visibility by taking part in reality TV programs, for example.”

Not all stories that Roivainen has encountered in her research have been success stories. She recounts that many people work for years for their social media channel essentially for free.

“There are many young women who want to be the next Alexa Dagmar or Linda Juhola but will never achieve their dreams.”

Roivainen thinks that it’s good, that due to the Barbie-film there is more discussion about feminism than in years.

Social media trends change quickly. For example, the expression girlboss is already outdated, and it has also received a lot of criticism. Nowadays, content producers often use the hashtags #itgirl or #thatgirl.

According to Roivainen, the Barbie film directed by Greta Gerwig is a good example of the same contradiction that is at the core of the girlboss phenomenon.

She feels it’s good that due to the film there is more discussion about feminism than in years.

“The Barbie film has made it mainstream to engage in discussions about feminism resembling discussions by researchers. This is in my opinion popular culture’s greatest power and the very reason why I’m interested in phenomena that are considered superficial and mass culture. They always show what state society is in, and they can function as gates to more profound public discussion.”

Roivainen hopes that her research gets people to ponder their attitude towards gender roles more profoundly and that it can help to start a discussion that strives to dismantle the structures that influence these roles.

“I see lifestyle content producers as part of popular culture, which is always in some way a mirror of society. I want to make the invisible work of women visible and to get it respected. Despite the fact that my research subjects are privileged in many ways, I approach them with empathy.”

Who is Ida Roivainen?

Researcher, reporter

  • Lives in the Finnish city Tampere
  • Background in journalism. Worked for 10 years as a print, online, and radio reporter in current events and feature journalism.
  • Is writing a PhD thesis on YouTube lifestyle channels and business-oriented femininity and is working as a project researcher and part-time teacher at the University of Tampere.
  • Worked as a media researcher in the DIFA (Digital Face) and NSR projects (2019-2021) funded by the Finnish Academy.
  • Received two year-long grants from the Finnish Cultural Foundation for work on her PhD thesis on YouTube lifestyle channels and business-oriented femininity.

October Round is on

The Finnish Cultural Foundation supports science, art and culture with over EUR 50 million every year, of which about EUR 30 million is open for applications this October. Typically, the Foundation receives over 9,000 applications in the October round. Some 10 per cent are successful. 

Applications are welcomed from any field of science or arts, either for the work itself or to cover expenses. Academic grants are directed particularly at doctoral theses and postdoctoral academic work. Artists may apply for grants for work or projects, while artistic communities may apply for cultural projects. The Finnish Cultural Foundation is also happy to accept applications for large-scale, multi-year projects. 

Besides the regular grants, applications can be made for a specific purpose grant. The October round includes several new special purpose grants. A total of EUR 1 million will be available until 2030 to support the revitalisation of the Finnish Romani language and Romani art and culture. The Kirpilä Art Collection Research Grant will support research related for example to art collecting. In this October round, the Additional Million-euro Funding for Science will support research on Finland’s competitiveness. 

“Many fields in the arts particularly are sounding an alarm about the difficult financial situation. The Finnish Cultural Foundation cannot fill the gaps in public funding, but we still encourage artists to persevere and build even far-reaching, large projects,” says Juhana Lassila, the Foundation’s representative for grants and culture. 

The Foundation is looking to increase the number of multi-year working grants. Applications may be made for as many as four years at a time. The annual grant sum has been raised to EUR 30,000 (EUR 34,000 for the postdoc stage). 

Familiar and new special purpose grants in October  

Besides working and expenditure grants, diverse special-purpose grants are available for specific themes and areas. 

Support for Romani Language and Culture  

The Finnish Romani language and culture will be supported through a new special purpose grant. You can apply for a grant for preparing educational materials for the Romani language, written work in the Romani language, translating literature into the Romani language, researching the Romani language and developing materials that support the Romani language revitalization. “The Foundation has awarded grants for Roma culture every year, but now it will receive a more solid and long-term support,” says Juhana Lassila.  

Read more about support for Romani Language and Culture  

Kirpilä Art Collection Research Grant  

The Kirpilä Art Collection Research Grant from the Juhani Kirpilä fund is available for application for the first time. The grant is intended for PhDs for research, the topic of which may be related to collecting art, collectors’ collections, memorial houses or artists in the collection of the Kirpilä Art Collection. “The Juhani Kirpilä Fund maintains the Kirpilä Art Collection and also provides substantial support for the work of artists and researchers. With the new grant, we want to focus on research into collecting and domestic 20th-century art, and thus accumulate knowledge on topics that Kirpilä considered important,” says Johanna Ruohonen, the Senior Advisor in charge of the grant and Museum Director of Taidekoti Kirpilä. 

Read more about the Kirpilä Art Collection Research Grant 

Additional million for science: Finland’s competitiveness in industry, business or creative fields 

The Finnish Cultural Foundation will award EUR 1 million under the theme ‘Finland’s competitiveness in industry, business or creative fields’. The funding will be used to support no more than five research projects. Eligible applicants include working groups. Universities and research institutions, however, are ineligible. 

Read more about the additional million 

Discover Science 

The Finnish Cultural Foundation wants to encourage the interest of children and adolescents in science, regardless of their place of residence and background, and to improve their ability to acquire, handle and evaluate new information. Discover Science grants can be up to EUR 150,000, and altogether EUR 600,000 will be rewarded in grants.  

Read more about the Discover Science grants 

Art for Everyone 

The Art for Everyone grant is aimed at increasing the opportunities of people in need of care or support to experience high-quality art and, in this manner, promoting cultural equality. The grant is available to artists, work groups and professional, registered art associations.  

Read more about the Art for Everyone grants 

Eminentia 

Each year, the Finnish Cultural Foundation gives out one or more Eminentia grants to scientific researchers and artists who are approaching the end of their careers. A prerequisite for the Eminentia grant is that the resulting work be published in writing as a book, online publication or a series of articles. The grant size is EUR 25,000. 

Read more about the Eminentia grants 

Ask about applications in our webinar 

Information webinars on the October round of applications will be held via Zoom, in Finnish on Wednesday 11 October between 2pm and 3.30 pm and in English on Thursday 12 October between 2pm and 3.30 pm. Experts from the Finnish Cultural Foundation will present the different grant types and give tips on making a good application. The webinars are open to all, and attendees will be able to ask questions from the speakers. 

Join the webinar here. 

Recordings of the webinars will be released later on the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s YouTube channel. 

Useful links 

 

The Singing Organiser

Text: Reeta Holma
Photos: Petri Summanen

Päivi Loponen-Kyrönseppä took on a new position at the Finnish Cultural Foundation in August, as director of the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition. The next instalment of the event, which ranks among the top classical singing competitions in the world, will take place in June 2024.

Tummahiuksinen nainen mustassa jakussa kaupunkimaisemassa.

When asked about her hobbies, Loponen-Kyrönseppä says that her whole life is about art and culture. Winter swimming and mushrooms are a small exception. “I am a passionate mushroom picker with an unbridled desire to catch mushrooms. I pick mushrooms beyond my needs.”

Loponen-Kyrönseppä says that she highly appreciates the Cultural Foundation’s decision to invest even more effort into the competition. She also finds the foundation that funds arts and sciences an otherwise enjoyable workplace.

“Especially in these times of great uncertainty globally, domestically and in cultural spheres, it feels wonderful to be working for the greater good.”

Loponen-Kyrönseppä has been involved with music since childhood, having started the violin at the age of seven.

At some point she began to dream of a career in music, and was accepted into the Sibelius Academy. While studying music education and classical vocal arts, she also began to teach and to work as a journalist. She established the opera company Skaala with some of her fellow students in 1996.

“We suddenly realised we could do opera independently. We commissioned our first opera from composer Juha T. Koskinen and produced it ourselves. I chaired Opera Skaala for seven years, which was a really deep dive into building, funding and developing an artistic organisation.”

Having always also carried out other work in the music business in addition to singing, Loponen-Kyrönseppä felt increasingly drawn to that. 

“Very few people in Finland make a living out of singing, so many combine performing with vocal teaching, for example. I wasn’t interested in teaching, so I started to work as a music journalist, first for local papers, then Helsingin Sanomat newspaper and, from 2003, for the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation (Yle).”

This was followed by stints leading Vantaa Pops Orchestra and the Savoy Theatre. Since then, she has utilised her performer’s instinct in tasks such as presenting.

Being asked about leisure pursuits, Loponen-Kyrönseppä answers that her life revolves around art and culture, the only exceptions being ice swimming and mushroom picking..

“I am passionate about mushrooms, with an intense drive to forage. I pick more mushrooms than I need.”

Loponen-Kyrönseppä’s work experience serves her well in her new role as singing competition director.

“As a singer, I am aware of the special characteristics of the singing world. A competition such as this is not only about skill but also involves matters of taste. Sometimes it’s about identifying future potential. Sensitivity is important,” she says. Managing a singing competition requires even more organisational skills, however, and she has amassed some of those while running various musical institutions.

Meanwhile, thanks to her background as a journalist, Loponen-Kyrönseppä finds it easy to approach people, including global superstars, without hesitation.  

The Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition is among Finland’s finest vocal contests, and it is also highly valued abroad. While being highly ranked among professionals, the competition still has some work to do to improve its recognition among the public. How can one get people who are not well versed in classical music to become invested in a contest such as this? 

Is it even possible to compete in art? Loponen-Kyrönseppä doesn’t see a conflict in it. Yes, it is about skill and talent, but ultimately the crucial thing is for the artist to win over the audience’s hearts.

“Besides a good voice and a fine musical ear, a singer must have persistence, tenacity and good luck. Competitions are an excellent opportunity for singers to introduce themselves, and for audiences to discover new talents.”

The director feels that the best singers are not only competent vocalists but also smart, deep, interested in the outside world, and keen on continuous self-development.

Many singing competitions have scrapped having separate categories for men and women, and the next instalment of the Mirjam Helin Competition will do the same. The world’s diverse range of genders and human voices is more highly valued than before.

“Of course on the stage, particularly the opera, gender fluidity has always been a thing – just think about trouser roles, where male parts are played by a mezzo-sopranos or contraltos, or older works where all the roles were played by male adults or children. Not to mention the parts written for countertenor or castrati.”

The Finnish Cultural Foundation has organised the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition every five years since 1984, based on a major donation made to the foundation by singer and professor Mirjam Helin (1911–2006) in 1981.

The competition cycle will now be shortened to once every three years.

It has been an established part of the competition to arrange home accommodation for the contestants. Whether this can continue is currently under consideration.

“Accommodation hosts become involved in the competition in quite a unique way, and for many contestants this form of housing adds a whole new dimension to the experience. An entire community springs up around the event. I warmly encourage people to apply to be hosts and to enjoy the ambience of the competition!”

What is The Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition?

  • The Finnish Cultural Foundation has arranged the competition since 1984. From 2024 onward, it will take place every three years.
  • The IX Mirjam Helin Competition will take place in Helsinki between 3 and 12 June 2024.
  • The total prize money is EUR 190,000.
  • You can subscribe to the competition newsletter at mirjamhelin.fi.

Päivi Venäläinen to lead the Uusimaa and Kymenlaakso regional funds

Nainen silmälaseissa ja mustassa puserossa. Tausta on valkoinen.

Päivi Venäläinen has started as a Fund Officer for the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Uusimaa and Kymenlaakso funds on 2.10.2023. She is also the person in charge of the Art Testers project at the Foundation.

In her previous position, Venäläinen was the Executive Director of the Art Centre for Children and Young People Foundation that promotes the art education of children and young people in Finland.

She brings a solid knowledge of children’s and youth culture and expertise in art and pedagogy to her new workplace.

“It will be exciting to work in a specialist organisation like the Finnish Cultural Foundation, with a wide range of skills, both in staff and trustees. I have often applied for grants, which makes peeking into the other side particularly interesting,” says Venäläinen.

She has worked in cultural education and audience development for most of her career. Her doctoral thesis in art education, completed in 2019, has focus on the same topic: contemporary art as a learning environment.

Previously, Venäläinen has worked in various roles at the Art Centre for Children and Young People Foundation, in pedagogical positions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Finnish National Gallery, and has taught museum pedagogy. She holds a PhD in art education and a master’s degree in education.

In her new role, she is particularly inspired by broadening her perspective from children and youth culture to the wider phenomena of art and science. “It’s great to get to know what kind of thoughts and ideas our grantees have.”

Color Up Peace: Supporting Ukraine and Ukrainians since 2016

Text: Lisa Glybchenko

Color Up Peace works at the intersection of art-making and technology to leverage artistic innovation as a peacebuilding tool. I invite people from all over the world to submit photos of what peace is to them – and then turn the photos into coloring pages by drawing every outline manually. The idea is that then someone would be able to color the outline and connect to another’s experience of peace in visual and digital ways. Like this, the outlines become instruments of deliberative and participatory futures design – where people build demos of peace arrangements by exploring and multiplying peace values through the ways they engage with the outlines.

vesiväreillä maalattu paperi, jossa taustalla ukrainanlipun sininen ja keltainen ja edessä punaisia kukkia.

Artwork by a Color Up Peace workshop participant Kateryna Drobakha. Photo: Lisa Glybchenko

In general, Color Up Peace aims to encourage participants to think about peace and what peace means to them; to create opportunities for sharing visions of peace through artistic and digital means; to foster dialogue through collective artmaking; to challenge the abundance of violence-centered visuals in the media and popular culture; and to employ digital visual artmaking as a peacebuilding tool. My motivation to start Color Up Peace in 2016 was to help people like me – who suffered from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine since 2014.

Vasemmalla pieni tyttö pitää auringonkukkaa kädessään, oikealla sama tyttö ääriviivoin piirrettynä.

This photo was taken in the sunflower field in Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. Photo: Kateryna & Veronika Drobakha. Outline and image design by Lisa Glybchenko.

I think it is in every peacebuilding startup that the founder would wish their startup did not even exist – that there would not be a need for that, that there would be no violence and cruelty that make such startups and the services they offer needed. And I never imagined I would be helping Ukrainians in Tampere in 2022–2023, after 8 years of collective suffering for the participants, myself – and lots of other Ukrainians in Ukraine and abroad.

Participants came from different places in Finland: not only Tampere, but, for instance, Vaasa and Jämsä. Part of these workshops were supported by Operation Pirkanmaa and the City of Tampere.

I recently also finished a Nordic-Ukrainian initiative to create art-based support programs for my compatriots in Ukraine and abroad like in their host communities in Vaasa and Tampere in Finland; Reykjavik in Iceland; Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernivtsi in Ukraine. The programs were supported by The Nordic Culture Point and they attracted around 250 participants and received extremely positive feedback. Within the programs 390 artbooks were printed and distributed in Ukraine, Finland and Iceland. New projects are already in implementation too!

Pöydällä lojuvia mustia värityskirjoja, joiden kannessa kukka keltaisessa pallossa ja teksti Color Up Peace Ukraine.

Latest coloring books by Color Up Peace. Cover design, layout and illustrations: Lisa Glybchenko.

Some new opportunities for helping Ukrainians and generally people affected by wars came out of these workshops. With the virtual education company Claned we collaborated to create the virtual version of the workshops so that people in other places around Finland and in other countries could join and have this experience too. The workshops are self-paced and available both in Ukrainian and English.

I think the most important highlight for me so far has been that I could see that the workshops make a difference and that I was able to help holistically, as well as use my skills and talents to help. I also learned a lot from the people I worked with and from their experience of restarting their lives in a new place they did not choose and may barely know anything about. Based on this, I think it is important to highlight how it would be good to continue supporting Ukrainians:

  • creating employment opportunities that do not require fluency in Finnish
  • mentoring Ukrainians about certain topics of interest, like entrepreneurship or NGO management, as they are done in Finland, since it could be very different in Ukraine
  • creating ways for connections between the Ukrainians under temporary protection in Finland and the Ukrainian diaspora, since they could be scattered around the country with difficulties moving around
  • asking Ukrainians, including diaspora members, what kind of help they may need
  • and realizing that supporting Ukraine and Ukrainians is essential for everyone who appreciates freedom.
Pitkähiuksinen nainen harmaassa villapaidassa ja silmälaseissa nojaa seinään, jossa on vaaleanpunaisia graffiteja.

Artist Lisa Glybchenko is a researcher and an entrepreneur of the startup Color Up Peace from Crimea, Ukraine. She is preparing a doctoral dissertation at the University of Tampere, in which she studies Digital Visual Images as Security-Building Tools. She has participated in the design and implementation of the visual identity of the Tampere Freedom of Speech Event in September 2023.

One more thing to note is that Ukrainians in Ukraine and away from Ukraine are also simultaneously doing a lot of decolonization work to protect their culture, and the ways their culture is part of their everyday lives even abroad. It is important to make space for this kind of work and actively support the needed conversations and initiatives, even if they are difficult to hold.

Follow the Facebook and Instagram pages of Color Up Peace for more information!

facebook.com/coloruppeace

instagram.com/coloruppeace

Using white blood cells to attack cancer cells

Text: Antti Kivimäki
Photos: Harri Tarvainen

Nainen valkoisessa takissa nojaa muuriin. Kattoikkunasta loistaa valoa.

Katri Selander, a specialist in cancer medicine.

Over the past ten years, cancer treatment has been revolutionised by so-called immuno-oncology therapies. These drugs boost the activity of white blood cells.

“The drugs take the brakes off white blood cells, allowing them to attack cancerous tissue more vigorously,” says Katri Selander, a specialist in cancer medicine and associate professor of medical cell biology.

The mechanism of immuno-oncology therapies is as follows.

A cancer cell is a cell that has stopped obeying the body’s orders and is growing on its own. It begins to produce proteins on its surface that are foreign to the body. The white blood cells that defend the body should therefore recognise the cancer cells and destroy them.

“However, cancer cells have their own immune defence. They know how to put proteins on their surface that fight white blood cells. Immuno-oncology drugs bind to these proteins and, as a result, white blood cells can attack cancer cells.”

The immuno-oncology drugs that have been in clinical use the longest include ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab and avelumab. These drugs do not help all patients, but for some they are of considerable help.

These drugs were first tried in patients with advanced cancer and no other hope. In some patients, the drugs destroyed the cancer tumour completely.

Today, immuno-oncology drugs are increasingly being offered to cancer patients even in the early stages of treatment when the cancer has not yet spread. They are now being offered for some lung, bowel and breast cancers, melanoma and head and neck cancers.

The downside of treatments

There is, however, one major risk with these drugs.

“When white blood cells attack cancerous tissue more aggressively, they may also attack the body’s own healthy tissues more aggressively.”

The most common side effects of these autoimmune attacks are rash, diarrhoea, thyroid dysfunction, and lung inflammation. The symptoms are often mild, but in the worst cases they can be fatal. Rare and life-threatening complications include intrahepatic bile duct destruction and pituitary destruction.

Patient data have shown that an autoimmune disease in the patient or a relative – such as rheumatoid arthritis or type 1 diabetes – increases the likelihood of immuno-oncology drugs causing white blood cells to attack the patient’s own body.

“The patients may not remember or know if any of their relatives have had autoimmune diseases, so the most sensible way to find out is to do a genetic test.”

It is therefore not advisable to boost white blood cell function in patients in whom white blood cell function can cause problems even without boosting. Immuno-oncology treatments are not offered for these patients.

“However, patients may not know if they have a latent autoimmune disease. They also may not remember or know if any of their relatives have had autoimmune diseases. The most sensible way to find out is to do a genetic test,” says Selander.

“Susceptibility to the side effects of immuno-oncology drugs can also be increased by something that does not manifest as an autoimmune disease but is genetic.”

Gene tests to support treatment solutions

Selander and her team are developing a genetic test that would reveal susceptibility to side effects. This would allow a doctor prescribing cancer treatments to assess whether it is safe to administer immuno-oncology drugs to a cancer patient based on the test alone.

KOlme naista tutkivat näytteitä laboratoriossa valkoiset takit päällään

Katri Selander, Sini Nurmesniemi ja Essi Parviainen are developing a genetic test that would reveal susceptibility to side effects.

Many other research groups in pharmaceutical companies and universities around the world are developing similar tests. There are probably many predisposing genetic variants.

Selander and her group have identified one. The gene is linked to immune function. Selander is unable to disclose the gene in any more detail than this as their research is still ongoing.

A gene discovery in a relatively small number of patients at Oulu University Hospital must first be confirmed in a larger number of patients through collaborations with international researchers. Then the research article will still have to be published.

Research led by Selander is being carried out in many places in Finland. Patient samples are being collected at Selander’s workplace at Oulu University Hospital. There is clinical collaboration and data exchange with the cancer clinics of the University Hospitals of Tampere and Kuopio. Laboratory studies are being carried out at the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Oulu, and mouse experiments are being carried out at the University of Turku, where Selander holds a professorship.

Selander’s research team has transplanted into mice a gene discovered in humans that may predispose them to the side effects of immuno-oncology drugs. The aim is to find out whether the susceptibility gene and immuno-oncology drug treatment alone are enough to trigger a mouse’s immune defence system to attack its own cells or whether other factors, such as a particular diet, are needed. Selander is not yet able to say what these results will be.

Towards individualised cancer treatment

Selander received her PhD from the University of Oulu in 1996, focusing on the mechanism of action of osteoporosis drugs, and planned to do the orientation phase of her medical work at the Pello Health Centre in northern Finland. However, a PhD-related business trip to a conference of bone researchers in Switzerland changed her plans.

“The leisure programme at the conference included skiing. Having grown up on the slopes of Ounasvaara in Rovaniemi, I was excited to teach Texas researchers about the sport, and they in turn invited me to do post-doc research at their home university,” says Selander.

“If I had known who they were, I would not have dared to go and give them advice. They were great gurus in their field. I decided not to work at the health centre in Pello but to become a researcher in Texas instead.”

Selander spent the period from 1996 to 2000 at the University of Texas at San Antonio campus studying the mechanisms by which breast cancer metastasises to the bone, and that is also where she met her future husband. From 2000 to 2017, the couple worked at the University of Alabama, where Selander established her own research group.

“One day, researchers in Finland and elsewhere will hopefully have mapped out all the genetic variants that prevent immuno-oncology treatments.”

Selander had three children and in 2017, when her oldest child was 17, she decided that it was the last sensible time to move to Finland so that all her children could easily access the Finnish school system.

Selander started working as a cancer specialist at Oulu University Hospital in September 2017 and within a couple of months she had this research topic in mind.

“Not all patients experience side effects from immuno-oncology treatments, but some patients have severe symptoms. I thought that the cause must be genetic and that we needed to investigate the matter further,” says Selander.

The end result is clear in her mind: one day, researchers in Finland and elsewhere will hopefully have mapped out all the genetic variants that prevent immuno-oncology treatments.

“Then patients could immediately undergo genetic testing and treatments would only be given to those who have no genetic predisposition to serious harm. If they then develop mild side effects from the drugs, the treatment could still be continued. Immuno-oncology therapies are so good that it is not worth stopping them for minor reasons,” says Selander.

Announcing the second edition of writing course for critics

The Finnish Cultural Foundation will organise a course for critics in the spring of 2024. The aim is to reinforce professional identities and collegial relationships, and to teach new skills that support professional competence. The participants will update their understanding of the significance of art and critique, and familiarise themselves with international discourse around art. 

The course will be held in the premises of the Kirpilä Art Collection, and will comprise eight training days, as well as mentoring and personal feedback sessions. The course content is designed by the online publication Long Play, which is known for its high-quality writing courses, with editor/journalist, author and writing teacher Anu Silfverberg and editor, author and music critic Sonja Saarikoski as the responsible teachers. 

Other teachers on the course will include literary critics Maaria Ylikangas and Vesa Rantama, pop critic Oskari Onninen, film critic Kalle Kinnunen, arts critic Sanna Lipponen, postdoc researcher and music critic Nuppu Koivisto-Kaasik, former Helsingin Sanomat theatre critic and communications expect Suna Vuori, and theatre and dance critic Maria Säkö. Additionally, there will be guest lectures from artists from various fields.

The participants’ final coursework will consist of a series of podcasts dealing with the significance of art criticism. The course will also include a study and work trip to Berlin. The chosen participants will receive a working grant for the coursework.

The 2020 course received extremely positive feedback; some participants even described it as pivotal for their careers.

Anu Silfverberg, Long Play: “When we ran the course for the first time, the best thing for me as a teacher was to notice the great strides that the participants took in their writing, and their careers, during the semester. The strengthening of peer support among professionals was also beautiful to witness: critics are often fairly lonely in their jobs, and it was great to see how infectious encouragement and enthusiasm – however small – can be in the field. Based on last time’s feedback, we will now try to set aside enough time for dialogue.”

Susanna Pettersson, CEO, Finnish Cultural Foundation: “Critics play a central role in cultural discourse, which should be characterised by diversity, a multiplicity of voices, and a variety of channels. Our writing course offers critics a unique opportunity to hone their expression and deepen their professional competence.”

The course is possible thanks to the Cultural Foundation’s donor fund named after art critic E. J. Vehmas, whose designated purpose is to support art critics.

Applications for the course are accepted until 4 pm on 10 October 2023.