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CULTURE FERRY – Open call for applications

Open Call for Applications, 1 – 31 March 2023

This is a call for art content that is suitable for events directed at audiences of all ages, to take place in the Southwest Finland and Satakunta archipelago in July and early August 2023. We will accept proposals for existing stage productions, music productions, visual art content, street art, literary art and other art forms. The content may be inspired by the local environment or comment on it.

The events will take place across three islands during the peak season, inviting participation from local residents, summer residents and tourists. The CULTURE FERRY’s mission is to foster community spirit while promoting ecological values and cultural diversity. During summer days and afternoons, visitors may enjoy artworks, take part in nature-themed workshops, explore an island on a guided tour and ask questions from a panel of nature experts, for example.

We are looking for work that will blend in well with the islands’ vulnerable natural environment and their unusual performance and exhibition venues. The artworks should be lightweight and easy to transport on connection ferries, and should fall into place naturally on the local rocks, terraces or gardens, or on the sea itself.

Dates and venues

Saturday 8 July, Iniö

Iniö is a locality on the Archipelago Trail. Many tourists pass through the main island, which has an active and tight-knit local community of permanent and summer residents. Iniö comprises more than one thousand islands and islets, and the event will take place outdoors, around the environs of the Norrby guest harbour.

Saturday 29 July, Kuuskajaskari

Kuuskajaskari is a popular tourist destination, attracting 200–300 visitors every day. The island is a former army defence and training fortification, still containing old barracks and military fixtures. Besides the outdoor environment, the venues include an old artillery hall, which has previously been used for summer theatre productions and can fit an audience of 150.

Saturday 5 August, Archipelago Centre Korpoström

The Archipelago Centre offers a versatile programme and services for yachters, visitors interested in culture and the Archipelago Sea, and families with children. Its main exhibition for summer 2023, entitled Migration, considers the topic of migration through contemporary art, while the Kids’ Lab will allow children to explore life forms and water samples from the sea bed. Our event can spread itself across indoor and outdoor spaces.

Application form

Please submit your artwork proposal using the digital application form on the Regional Dance Centre of Western Finland website. The application can be filled also in Swedish and Finnish.

Information to provide on the form:

  • Title of piece or performance
  • Name of artist or group
  • Suitable venues and dates
  • Brief promotional description of the piece or performance for marketing purposes
  • Marketing picture and name of photographer
  • Duration(if applicable)
  • Compensation: salary or invoice
  • Estimated travel costa per venue (cheapest public transport option or mileage allowance if necessary)
  • Written description of completed work (max. one A4) and preferred venue
  • Links to visual and/or audiovisual materials, if available (remember to provide passwords)
  • Contact details (email, telephone, website or online portfolio, contact person for group)
  • PDF file containing cost estimate for materials, rented technology, etc., as well as a list of necessary technical equipment and other details related to erecting/displaying/performing the work
  • Other comments
  • Please note, that you have 60 minutes to complete the application. Therefore you should read the questions in advance and make sure that you have all the necessary attachments available.

Selection process and compensation

The selections for the event programme will be made by a jury appointed from among the organisers, who may consult experts if necessary. The jury may also suggest further developments for ideas. The selection process will pay attention to the proposals’ artistic quality and their suitability for the programme as a whole. Selections will be made by 30 April 2023. After that, the organisers will proceed to make agreements with the selected artists/groups. We will be in touch with all applicants.

Jury composition: Risto Kupari, Fund Officer of the Satakunta Regional Fund; Sari Torvinen, Project Coordinator; and Timo Vuorisalo, Fund Officer of the Varsinais-Suomi Regional Fund.

The selected artists or groups will receive compensation in the form of salary and daily allowances. If desired, the artists/groups may also invoice the organisers for the work as freelancers, including all daily allowances and employers’ contributions in the invoiced sum (they will not be paid separately). We will also cover travel expenses between the artists’ home addresses and the venues, in accordance with the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s travel expense regulations. At some venues, accommodation expenses may be necessary if travel connections demand an overnight stay.

Please clearly itemise all the material and technology-related costs on your application, and we will cover them where possible.

For further information, please contact:

Sari Torvinen, project coordinator
sari.torvinen@skr.fi
Tel.: +358 44 9064 764

Organisers:

Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Satakunta and Varsinais-Suomi Regional Funds.

Partners:

Regional Council of Southwest Finland, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Regional Dance Centre of Western Finland, and the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland.

Children learn by singing

Text: Laura Iisalo

Language is more than a communication method. It lays the foundation for learning, self-expression and understanding, and enables the formation of an identity; what we understand about ourselves, and others.

– Language forms the basis for all learning and the way we perceive the world, concludes teacher of early childhood education Katri Borm, who is one of the two founders of Kielinuppu, a producer of pedagogical music for children.

The method was founded as part of a study project four years ago by Borm and Sarah Goncalves, who are both students at the University of Turku’s Department of Teacher Education in Rauma. The inspiration came from the doctoral thesis of Jenni Alisaari at the University of Turku, who concluded that singing is an efficient way to teach a language.

Language lays the foundation for learning, self-expression and understanding, and enables the formation of an identity; what we understand about ourselves, and others.

Personal experiences of what it means to be bi-lingual, gave an even wider perspective to the project. Borm speaks Finnish and German in her family, while Goncalves speaks Portuguese as an addition to Finnish.

– We wanted to create an easy to use tool that is available for everyone. YouTube seemed like a good channel for us because one of our missions is to increase equality. There are many children with migrant backgrounds, and those that have lingual challenges. We wanted to provide every child with an opportunity to get excited and to enjoy learning Finnish through a playful method, Borm says.

From a study project to a life’s work

To this date Kielinuppu has created 47 songs that are easy to learn and absorb. The lyrics stem from everyday events and children’s play. Some of the popular songs teach children about emotions, the names of the weekdays, and numbers.

The songs are targeted at early childhood education professionals, parents of young children and speech therapists, but they are also used in language teaching for immigrants and school children. There has been no marketing – or even a budget for it – but information has passed by word-of-mouth and Kielinuppu videos have now been streamed over 3.5 million times.

– It has been a surprise that so many people have started using Kielinuppu. We are happy that so many children have been able to utilise the songs. For us this has been a once in a lifetime experience, Borm says.

She has produced a joint dissertation with Goncalves about Kielinuppu during their bachelor studies and they have almost completed their master’s thesis. Expanding the method is something that has crossed Borm’s mind but she says that Kielinuppu is, and continues to be, a non-profit product that is available for everyone.

– It’s great that I have been able to take part in starting something new, and I hope that there will be others who come up with something similar. There is an endless supply of possible topics for songs and many ways to create them. I believe in the power of singing and music, yet I don’t know where this all leads to. In that sense this has turned into a life’s work, Borm says.

Katri Borm and Sarah Goncalves have received grants from the Satakunta Regional Fund in 2017 and 2020 for producing musical language learning materials for children in early childhood education.

13 million euros will be awarded in the January Round of Applications

Regional Fund Special Purpose Grants

Priority is given to applicants who are currently living or have born in the region, work carried out in or for the region, and cultural and development projects of special regional importance.

Spearhead projects requiring larger-than-usual funding will receive a minimum of 40,000 euros in the form of one or two grants. Such projects require fresh or exceptional points of view, content, quality, or design.

20,000 euros have been earmarked for Art for Institutions projects in the January round of applications. The aim of this form of support is to promote the equal realisation of cultural rights and to improve the quality of life of people in need of special support or care, through art. The work or project may take place in welfare and nursing institutions or other environments, the residents or users of which may otherwise have limited access to art. Possible institutions include sheltered homes, day centres, and homes of the elderly, hospitals, prisons, reception centres, care units for substance abusers, and child welfare institutions.

The Local Culture Projects grants are specified for projects that aim to preserve and rejuvenate the local culture and cultural environment, such as documenting and increasing awareness of local heritage, as well as histories, exhibitions, and events of local communities and societies.

A person engaged in full-time gainful employment is eligible for a working grant (so called passion grant) for the purpose of carrying out a scientific or an artistic project not related to their full-time work. It is possible to apply for this grant as an individual or as a part of a working group. The size of the project is not specified, but the maximum amount of a working grant per person is limited to 3 000 euros.

For more information go to skr.fi/en/januaryround Please read the application guidelines carefully before sending the application. More information about the regional funds and contact information can be found on skr.fi/en/regional-funds

The application period closes at 4.00 pm on Feb 10. Ask also your referee to submit a reference in the Online Reference Service on the application deadline date.

The January Round of Applications has begun, the Regional Funds will award a total of EUR 13 million in grants

Regional Fund Special Purpose Grants

Priority is given to applicants who are currently living or have born in the region, work carried out in or for the region, and cultural and development projects of special regional importance.

Spearhead projects requiring larger-than-usual funding will receive a minimum of 40,000 euros in the form of one or two grants. Such projects require fresh or exceptional points of view, content, quality, or design.

20,000 euros have been earmarked for Art for Institutions projects in the January round of applications. The aim of this form of support is to promote the equal realisation of cultural rights and to improve the quality of life of people in need of special support or care, through art. The work or project may take place in welfare and nursing institutions or other environments, the residents or users of which may otherwise have limited access to art. Possible institutions include sheltered homes, day centres, and homes of the elderly, hospitals, prisons, reception centres, care units for substance abusers, and child welfare institutions.

The Local Culture Projects grants are specified for projects that aim to preserve and rejuvenate the local culture and cultural environment, such as documenting and increasing awareness of local heritage, as well as histories, exhibitions, and events of local communities and societies.

A new type of grant available

A person engaged in full-time gainful employment is eligible for a working grant (so called passion grant) for the purpose of carrying out a scientific or an artistic project not related to their full-time work. It is possible to apply for this grant as an individual or as a part of a working group. The size of the project is not specified, but the maximum amount of a working grant per person is limited to 3 000 euros.

For more information go to skr.fi/en/januaryround Please read the application guidelines carefully before sending the application. More information about the regional funds and contact information can be found on skr.fi/en/regional-funds

The application period closes at 4.00 pm on Feb 10. Ask also your referee to submit a reference in the Online Reference Service on the application deadline date.