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ART II BIENNIAL FESTIVAL WEEK STUDIES WATER FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

During the spring and early June, there will be a versatile and interesting program offered in Ii. The Art Ii Biennial (AIB) is altering its concept and transforming into a week-long festival to bring you multimedia, performances, panel discussions, interactive art and workshops. In addition to one large physical piece of public art, the core of AIB18 will consist of process-based, participatory works. AIB18 will take place in Ii, Finland, during 4–10 June 2018, and the main event is scheduled for Friday, 8 June. A versatile pre-event program is made available so you may get in the mood for the festival.

AIB18 will be structured around the theme and images of water: water is the fundamental element in all forms of life, a cultural interface, a transformable material, a natural storage medium. Civilizations have flourished near water throughout history. Water is a central element in Ii as well, where the River Iijoki flows into the Gulf of Bothnia. An especially interesting aspect about water is that it exists in three states: solid material, liquid or gas. Water keeps changing its form and yet it stays present in different environmental circumstances. Snow and ice, the sea, the rivers, evaporation and the constancy of the annual changes of water play an important role in the forming of the Northern landscape that, in its turn, influences the everyday lives and world views of the people who inhabit these territories.

Why is water so important in today’s world? How does it reflect changes that are taking place on a global scale? How can art help us adapt to our transforming environment, interacting with it? These, among others, are questions that AIB18 seeks to answer.

The curatorial team of the fifth Art Ii Biennial consists of Anastasia Patsey (Head of the Saint Petersburg Nonconformist Art Museum and artists’ residency programme), Antti Tenetz (Bioart Regional Artist, Arts Promotion Centre Finland) and Merja Briñón (AIB18 Art Director). The names of the selected artists and the event schedule will be announced in March.

The Art Ii Biennial addresses current themes, participates in the public discussion through the methods of art and daringly combines the cultural heritage of Ii with contemporary art. An essential aspect of the event is the facilitation of the interaction between the local community and the international arts professionals through community activities. The site-specific art at the AIB is located primarily at the Environmental Art Park and the village center. Temporal, local and cultural conditions affect the production of these pieces of art. One of the main values of the event is sustainability: ecological, economical, social and cultural.

Further information: www.artii.fi
Merja Briñón
Executive Director, KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre / Art Director, Art Ii Biennial
tel. +358 50 395 0313
merja.brinon@ii.fi