Participatory practice: art that creates shared experiences

as a part of the public program of the fourth season of 'Critical Mass' 

The talk will be held in English, free entrance

Anne Siirtola combines installation, moving image and sound in her work in order to explore interaction and encounters between people. The foundation of her work lies in the communal. Traces of change and dissolution that can be identified in both the human mind and in the physical matter are visible in Siirtola’s work. The artist often  uses reused, second-hand or discarded, cast-off materials. Anne documents her own life and the life of others by asking what is worthy and important in life. She sees her role as an artist in acting as  a mediator or  a catalyst: “Sometimes even minor participation can be very remarkable for somebody and can give you a sense of inclusion and success’’, she says. 

In her talk Anne will speak about her finished and current projects including the project ‘Living Villages’ that took place in Karelia and brought together linguists, artists and local Russian and Karelian speaking communities. She will also present her work in progress ‘Family Stories’ based on the interviews with senior citizens in New York and will talk about the video project she will be working on together with young people of the youth club ‘Raduga’ in St Petersburg during her residency.