Thanks to the support, during next year an architectural researcher from the Insurgent Spatial Practices collective, fema artist group of three dancers, an artistic mentor and a documentor work together in Hiedanranta, a city district which is under construction and undergoing dramatic scale change.
“‘Behave, this is a public place!’, shouted the construction worker to the other, as we moved between the construction site fences. (Field diary)
From the point of view of a passer-by, Hiedanranta may seem to be on the threshold of a frightening new, in a liminal state, which can appear as chaos, but also as a phase of change with seeds of better future. When cities are built, we often remember what was before and what was after the change. There was a worn down factory there, now we can see a shiny new tramway. But what happens in between, in transition? A liminal state is created. A momentary confusion as the new future still takes shape. Things are not anymore, but not yet either.
“One could not really understand where the pedestrian should go. Really confusing markings. Those routes for big machines, loud noise. And suddenly there was a BMW, right in front. Curving handsomely backwards with speed, there was something performative about it. Apparently there had not been many spectators for a while… But it reversed directly onto a steel barrier. So fast that the rear wheels were left in the air. The driver was embarrassed. Another person came to help. I had to try to keep my face basic, not willing to hurt, and felt terrible for him too. There are not well marked routes in this chaos for motorists either…” (Field diary)
In a liminal state the embodied experience and awareness of the space as well as the power and social relations related to the space are redefined. An empathic connection can be unexpectedly experienced both towards an urban rabbit and a BMW driver. Experiences in this liminal state gave birth to the name of our project: An Urban Rabbit and a BMW driver – the new joint practice of activistic dance and research of architecture (in a liminal space).
Our work will at the same time be activistic, performative, participative, public and producing new scientific knowledge. The dancers’ expertise helps to develop scientific methods for understanding embodied knowledge and conscious spatial experience, from which, in international cooperation with architectural offices, practical guidelines for urban planning and architecture are created. This builds up novel multidisciplinary expertise for the artists and a new way for them to create societal impact.
We work through making exercises of embodied moving in the public space. Tasks that activate embodied knowledge are also developed with stakeholders, such as designers and builders of Hiedanranta, craftsmen and hobbyist groups operating in the area, as well as future residents. Tasks are also developed in public open workshops and events. A significant audience group consists of random by-passers and people working in the area who come across the weekly public activity of the project. These interactions make practice activistic.
With the help of a jointly developing practice, the working group answers a more specific question: How can aware embodied moving help people to be present in the urban transition and to preserve the experiences of safety and belonging as well as their own agency?
For the funding call there were 10 706 applications, out of which 832 gained funding. The Finnish Cultural Foundation is a private foundation whose activities cover the whole of Finland, building a pluralistic and sustainable society, promoting research, art and culture, and encouraging future talents to strive for breakthroughs.
Our application was based on work done in August 2024 supported by the Seed Funding of TURNS. We have also received a cultural support fund (kulttuurin kerta-avustus) by the City of Tampere for organizing one bigger participatory event during spring 2025.
Working group:
The working group has grown around the FEMA artist group founded in 2018 drawing on queer theory and consisting of dance artists Hanna Kahrola (MA), Anna Kupari (MA) and Tuuti Touhunen (MA). Complemented with architect, environmental policy doctoral researcher, teacher and member of the Insurgent Spatial Practices research collective Elina Alatalo and dancer-filmmaker (MA) Mia Tiihonen, the working group is mentored by choreographer (MA) and folklorist (MPhil) Jaakko Simola.
Main collaborators:
University of Copenhagen, anthropologist Mark Vacher’s research group, #CallsFromThePublic –
research project and Nordhavn case corresponding to Hiedanranta. The group works with
COBE and Arki_lab architecture offices for transforming embodied knowledge actionable for designers and planners.
Architectural office Tundra, Kasmir Jolma, one of the early key architects of Hiedanranta. Local specialist to guide us in transforming the knowledge.
Hiedanrannan Kehitys oy, Sanna Karppinen. We will co-operate for selected public spaces of Hiedanranta to apply the knowledge gained through the joint practice.
Photo by Dalia Milián Bernal during our workshop in Nekala summer 2022.
See also a short film from our latest working period in August 2024.