Arts Centre Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium

At Etoiles Polaires 07, Finnish music and media arts were in the spotlight. Vooruit asked Juha Huuskonen to be the guest curator of the 4-day festival. In the article below he sheds light on his country, the Finnish scene and the artists he invited.

Juha Huuskonen speaks…

Etoiles Polaires 07 will focus on Finnish music and media art. Vooruit called in Juha Huuskonen as a guest curator of the four-day festival. As a taster we had a quick chat with Huuskonen about his country, its culture and the Finnish artists that he’s invited.

…about Finland

“Finland, a country up North that remains dark and frozen half of the year, the land of thousands of lakes and northern lights, the home for a small nation of five million people. Finnish people are known to be silent and melancholic, until they get some vodka and then party ferosiously throughout the night. They saviour their taste for extreme and bizarre activities, such as the Air Guitar Championship and Wife Carrying Competition. One can definitely imagine these stereotypes to be true by looking at the Etoiles Polaires festival programme, but it would be wrong to think that the artists’ inspiration actually comes from heavy drinking and howling at the moon.”

…about the Finnish scene

“Etoiles Polaires programme is a showcase of Finnish artists who did not originally create their work to please the mainstream audience. They are a part of the rich scene of alternative, critical and experimental culture that has been growing in the cracks of Finnish society. Through the persistence and hard work of the artists, this scene has over the years gained international recognition and has also become an essential part of Finnish culture and psyche. The strength of this fringe scene gives room to emerging Finnish artists to focus on developing their own work, rather than spending time on their ‘brand development’ or ‘marketing strategy’.”

…about the artists at Etoiles Polaires 07

“Etoiles Polaires festival features an exhibition by Terike Haapoja, a continuous performance by Juha Valkeapää and Le Placard headphone festival. Etoiles Polaires has also invited three visual artists to accompany the music acts: Samuli Alapuranen will perform with Aavikko, Maippi Ketola with Jimi Tenor & Flat Earth Society and Marita Liulia with Kimmo Pohjonen. A Pixelache screening will be on non stop, featuring work that subverts mainstream media and creates interventions in public space.”