UrbanApa

During fall 2022 UrbanApa launches a new concept called UA Miniresidencies.

UA Miniresidensies aims to enable and support artists’ and makers’ research or work in progress in a soft, light and communal way.

The first iteration is a pilot, but the long term dream is to alleviate the urgent need for working spaces, enrich the local grassroot scene and create expanded structures of support.

UrbanApa offers short week to two weeks residencies in 5 different locations in Helsinki during October 2022–February 2023. The residency includes a small working fee and production fee for residency artists and support from an artist-facilitator.

And now we are looking for artists and artist groups to join us. 🙂

UrbanApa needs you!

The loose thematic landscape of this fall is relations and connections.

Everything is connected, we move the world and each other and the world moves us.

This fall UrbanApa is busy with relations and connections, adhesion and support. Recognizing that spaces and practices are syncretic. In one there can be many.

The environments are blazing. There are wars across the world. Amidst the dry summer spells, the white gaze realism, how do we accrue protection and find connection? How do we entreat for equity?

How do we find love for ourselves, all cylinders and in a physical way? How do we extend love to our communities?  What is self care if the self is not one but many? 

How do we center feeling, sensing, connecting and sentience? 

The concept is created from the need to:

1. Offer short and low-fi residencies for working, creating, sharing, experimenting. UrbanApa wants to host and hold space for artists of diverse backgrounds and practices to create, research, come together, be lost or surprise themselves. The ways of working can be movement, jamming, installing moodboards, inattention, reading, napping, writing, zoning in and out, encountering, sharing or whatever else is the current need.
2. Alleviate the urgent need for accessible and affordable spaces. Access to time, affordable working spaces and other resources should be a right, not a privilege of the few.
3. Support the local art scene, especially upcoming, young, underrepresented, marginalized and experimental artists and makers.
4. Work towards sustainability. This means reinforcing the local structures of working. Artists and makers should have the possibility to work locally.
5. Bring lightness, joy, playfulness, sharing and communality to the local art scene.

UrbanApa strives to be antiracist and feminist. We are always dreaming of a lively, diverse, equitable and joyous art field.

During the pilot, we offer five mini residencies in five different spaces of different profiles around Helsinki. The residencies are from one week to two weeks long and can accommodate one to max four artists per residency. During the residency the artists will receive a small working fee, some production support as well as mentoring/artistic support.

What the mini residency contains:  

• A working space for 7 days or 14 days, around 8h/day depending of the space
• a residency fee of 500€ / week / person (so max 1000€ / person for a 2 week residency)
• a small production/material fee
• support from an artist-facilitator (listening, mentoring, accountability partner..)
• one residency can accommodate 1–4 artists, so a single artist or a small collective or working group.

What we cannot offer this time:

• Additional tech support that is not at the residency space.
• Expenses outside of working fee (eg additional travel nor accommodation costs / refunds)
• Support larger working  groups than 4 people.

What we ask:

• Commitment to be present IRL. This residency can not be done remotely.
• Agreement to have a light sharing or showing of some sort of the process or ‘work in progress’ at the end. The format of the sharing can be negotiated.
• Respect UA safer space guidelines. Please familiarize yourself with them here.
• Respect to the spaces of the residency
• The work can take many kinds of forms. This residency could be a first dip into something, a work in progress or a visit to a practice.

10.-23.10.2022 | Museum of Impossible Forms

More information about the space and the possibilities here

31.10–6.11.2022 TBC!| Oodi / “public space” 

More information about the space and the possibilities here

NB. This residency is designated for artists that are interested in working in public / semi public spaces.

12.–20.12.2022 | Forum Box

More information about the space and the possibilities here.

NB. This residency is for one or two artists.

23.–29.1.2023 | Virgiinia

More information about the space and the possibilities here

13.–26.2.2023 | Outo olo

More information about the space and the possibilities here

Museum of Impossible Forms

Museum of Impossible Forms is accessible by lift with thresholds up to 4cm on the way. The toilet has no thresholds but is not spacious enough to meet accessibility standards. Nearest accessible toilet is located at Kontula metro station.

Oodi / “public space”

Particular attention was paid to accessibility when designing Oodi. All our facilities are accessible.

You will find the detailed accessibility information here.

Our staff is happy to help you.

Forum Box

Gallery Forum Box is partially accessible. There is a 10 cm threshold between the street and the gallery door (see photo). We have a ramp that can be used. Forum Box offers chairs for resting. Guide dogs are welcome to the gallery. There is no induction loop system available in the gallery.

The restroom is gender-neutral. Unfortunately, the restroom is not physically accessible. There are four steps (two up, two down) leading to the restroom.The restroom has a potty and a baby changing station. The toilet is equipped with armrests.

Two exhibition spaces (Permanto and Monttu) located in the street level are accessible. There are eight steps to the Parvi exhibition space and three steps to the media art space Mediabox.

Our staff is happy to help and answer questions concerning our accessibility!

Virgiinia

The space is accessible but there’s no accessible toilet. The toilet is gender-neutral.

Outo olo

The space is wheelchair accessible with assistance. There is a movable ramp that covers the two steps in the entrance. The door is 67 cm wide. The toilet is very small, and there are two steps on the way there. The nearest accessible toilet is a public one at Dallapé park.

We are looking for a diverse group of artists and makers from different backgrounds.

Anybody can apply but we prioritize/emphasize makers artists from underrepresented groups, upcoming artists, artists and makers with less opportunities and access to institutional resources or spaces.

We ask what kind of opportunities, needs, ideas, ways of working, methods, aesthetics, the landscape of the fall or the different spaces propose right now.

And what do you need? What would you like to do? What are you interested in?

You can propose:

• Practice, concept, research, demo, work-in-progress, etc.
• Choreographic relation, working method, installation, score, etc.
• Something else! What?

The proposal does not need to be directly related to the theme of the fall “relations and connection”, but the theme can be used as a starting point, landscape or inspiration.

NB. Please consider already the possibilities as well as the restrictions of the different spaces.

Send us a CV or bio + free-form application (max. A4 or link to max. 3min. video) stating at least:

• Who are you 🙂 ?
• What do you do / working plan for the residency (what, how, why)?
• Possible connection with the fall theme “relations and connections”
• What residency period are you applying to? NB. Please note, you can only apply for one!
• Can you (and your group) commit to being physically present for the whole residency period?
• Other needs or wishes (access or otherwise)
• Please equip all attachments with your name and contact information.
• NB! that all participants are required to commit to the platform’s ethical guidelines.

Name the email “OPEN CALL 2022” and send your proposal via email to sonya@urbanapa.fi by 8.9.2022 22:00. No late admissions.

We will send a reply message to all proposals once the application period has ended.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the artist-facilitator Vishnu Vardhani Rajan: pythogorianne@gmail.com.

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS THU 8.9.2022 22:00!

UrbanApa is an anti-racist and intersectionally feminist art platform whose purpose is to create space for multivoiced feminist and communal art making. Multivoiced feminist working means that we do not aim at a consensus. There must be space for new viewpoints and experiences, but the atmosphere must also remain respectful, safe and inclusive. Read the ethical guidelines of the platform here.