The Meanwhile Use spaces in Tampere and Nokia are filled with creative working groups and interdisciplinary art activities
In the call for applications of the Meanwhile Use spaces that ended in December 2023, free premises for temporary activities were available in both Tampere and Nokia. By the deadline, 35 applications were received, 11 of which were addressed to the premises in Nokia.
International winds in Pyynikki swimming hall
In the brick-and-mortar commercial premises of the Pyynikki swimming hall (No. 5) the Tampere Intercultural Art, an art collective that supports the activities of the international art field, started already in 2023. The association was granted an extension to the Meanwhile Use space, where they will remain tenants from April onwards as part of the Tampere Welcoming City development programme.
The Pyynikki swimming hall also provided another commercial property (No. 3). ACCAC Finland – Accessible Arts and Culture was selected as the operator to establish a Korean cultural centre at the premises for the period of 1 April to 31 August 2024.
Kaleva industrial hall offers multidisciplinary art activities and urban farming
The Meanwhile Use space of the Kaleva industrial hall is shared by two operators. Between 1 April and 31 October the space will house Blokgarden's urban farming project in which a nursery garden and mushroom farm will be established indoors, and an open community farm outside the hall for the city residents to participate.
Phaser Crane Collective, on the other hand, combines art forms we are not used to seeing together in the Kaleva Hall. Space is also offered to other operators looking for a place to organise their own cultural events. At the end of the Meanwhile Use period, the collective organises a multidisciplinary final exhibition for which they curated works already exhibited in the space as well as new works.
The operators in Lielahti Manor, room 205 combine well-being and art
Dance artist Wilhelmina Ojanen was selected for a residence at room 205 at the Lielahti Manor for the period of 1 March to 31 May. She uses the space for artistic work and arranging dance workshops. Ojanen is preparing TIERRA/CURA dance installation in the space.
From September to December, the Meanwhile Use space operator for room 205 is Minna Holopainen, who organises communal workshops based on the empowering photo method. She also organises an exhibition resulting from working in the premises.
Working groups of performing arts gather at Hiedanranta
Gallery Muuntotila located in Lielahti Manor, Hiedanranta, is divided between two operators over the period 1 October 2024 - 1 April 2025. Kärhi working group works on a series of botanical art works that explore the relationship between humans and plants.
Another operator using the Gallery Muuntotila will be Ihmeryhmä, a dance collective from Tampere founded in the beginning of 2023 which aims to create bold art in diverse environments and for various audiences. Ihmeryhmä uses the space not only for artistic work but also for public events.
City of Nokia's old general upper secondary school and Art House bustling with activities
The old general upper secondary school of the City of Nokia and Nokia Art House will have premises for work, exercise and hobbies.
The artist group TaideRemmi, whose members are Leo Harjapää, Ilmari Immonen, Kari Kaellaan, Riitta-Liisa Oulujärvi, Tomi Tähkävuori and Katriina Viitaniemi, will be on the ground floor of Nokia Art House between 8 January to 15 August 2024. Visual artists Jenni Eskola, Tiina Knuuttila, Kati Vaaranmaa and Steven Gourlay were given working space in Nokia.
Nokia-Seura (Nokia association) uses the Meanwhile Use space of the old general upper secondary school to create an environmental artwork. The children's groups at Education Centre Pirkan opisto will design the concrete figures for the environmental artwork, which will be implemented at the general upper secondary school and placed in a park in the spring.
In addition, Nokia's Meanwhile Use spaces will house play, dance, choir rehearsals and performances. Furthermore, the Meanwhile Use spaces are used for the hobby activities of the chess club and the early retirees.
For more detailed descriptions of the operators selected for the Meanwhile Use premises, see below.
Background of the Meanwhile Use space model
Circus instructor and community artist Meri-Maija Näykki came up with the concept and method of the Meanwhile Use spaces as part of the joint application for the City of Culture of Tampere and Pirkanmaa. Since 2001, the Meanwhile Use space model has been piloted and developed as part of the city of Tampere's regional cultural development project Operation Pirkanmaa.
The Meanwhile Use space model offers temporary vacant premises free of charge for use by cultural and art operators through an open application process. This model can temporarily ease the space needs of cultural operators. The Meanwhile Use spaces also offer an opportunity to create place-specific concepts or pilot new types of activities.
The activities will be developed and expanded on the basis of accumulated experiences. The model has already been used in various parts of Finland, and from Pirkanmaa, Nokia started participating in the activities in 2023.
During 2024, the Meanwhile Use space model will be transferred from the Operation Pirkanmaa project to be managed by the city of Tampere Urban Culture Unit.
Operators in the Kaleva industrial hall:
Blokgarden Oy: Community farm
1.4.-31.10.2024
Kaleva industrial hall
In spring 2024, the Kaleva industrial hall will house a joint nursery for city residents to promote the culture of urban farming in Tampere. A fungus farm and a nursery garden will be implemented indoors. When summer comes, an open community farm will be introduced to the outdoor yard, in which city residents are welcome to participate.
Phaser Crane Collective
1.4.-31.10.2024
Kaleva industrial hall
The Kaleva industrial hall is harnessed as a cultural space where different fields of art and artists can freely implement their visions. Phaser Crane Collective combines art forms that are not customarily seen in the same space, such as chamber music and punk nights, or a nature film performance with a synthesizer accompaniment.
The space is also offered to artists who want to organise their own art events, music events, workshops, film screenings, film shoots, fashion events, theatre performances, and other cultural events.
At the end of the Meanwhile Use period, the collective organises a large, multidisciplinary final exhibition for which they curated works already exhibited in the space as well as new works. At that time, the entire hall will be harnessed as an exhibition space.
Pyynikki swimming pool business premises:
Tampere Intercultural Art: TIcA Space
1 January -31 March 2024
Pyynikki swimming pool, business space No 5
Tampere Intercultural Art will continue its work for three months at the Pyynikki swimming pool business space No 5. TicA Space is the first official headquarters of the Tampere Intercultural Art community that explores the potential of intercultural art activities in the city centre. During the spring, the space hosts art exhibitions, guided tours, workshops and bazaars, among other things. The TicA Space also serves as an artists' workspace and a stop motion animation studio will be built downstairs.
ACCAC Finland – Accessible Arts And Culture Association / Korean Cultural Centre
1 April - 31 August 2024
Pyynikki swimming pool, business space No 3
ACCAC Finland decorates the commercial space of the Pyynikki swimming hall in a Korean style and offers city residents the opportunity to try Korean hanbok traditional clothing. Korean meditation, tea ceremonies, and small-scale performances are also regularly carried out in the space. Lectures on Korean food are also held in the space. In the room downstairs, calligraphy workshops are organised and Korean paper handicrafts are learned.
Lielahden kartanon välitilat:
The "Kärhi - Urban Growth Space" project will start as a Meanwhile Use space operator in Gallery Muuntotila in October 2024. The Kärhi working group is working on a series of plant art works that explore the relationship between humans and plants as fellow creatures and performers, drawing inspiration from plants, the human body and Reetta Pekkanen's poem Kärhi.
The first part of the series was prepared as a visual poetry performance for Theatre Telakka in the spring of 2023, and the second part was seen as a space and audio installation in the Demolition Art House Pinni47 in the summer of 2023. The new part "Kärhi 3 - Rooting" is being worked on in the Meanwhile Use space.
The Kärhi working group consists of theatre director and performance artist Tommi Silvennoinen, visualist and light artist Nadja Räikkä, kinetic and circus artist Vilhelmiina Sinervo and cultural producer and wilderness guide Meiju Mertanen.
In addition to the Kärhi working group, another operator, Ihmeryhmä, was selected to share the space in Gallery Muuntotila.
Ihmeryhmä is a dance collective from Tampere, which was founded at the beginning of 2023. The group is made up of dance and performing arts professionals who aim to create bold art in diverse environments and comprehensively for different audiences. Ihmeryhmä uses the space for collaborative artistic production work and for events open to the public.
Room 205, Lielahti Manor, Hiedanranta
During the Meanwhile Use period, the themes of well-being through art are experienced and explored in room 205 of the Lielahti Manor.
Dance artist Wilhelmina Ojanen was selected for room 2005 of the Lielahti Manor for the period of 1 March to 31 May 2024. Ojanen uses the space for artistic work in preparing the TIERRA/CURA dance installation and to organise communal open dance workshops exploring care.
During the period 1 October - 31 December 2024, the Meanwhile Use space operator in the room is Minna Holopainen, who organises communal workshops based on the Empowering Photography method. Holopainen also organises an exhibition resulting from the work.
Meanwhile Use spaces in Nokia:
Ground floor of Nokia Art House 8 January - 15 August 2024
The artist group TaideRemmi consists of Leo Harjapää, Ilmari Immonen, Kari Kaellaan, Riitta-Liisa Oulujärvi, Tomi Tähkävuori and Katriina Viitaniemi. These creative professionals will organise an exhibition, training and working space for visual arts at the Nokia Art House, where various courses and lectures can be organised, for example. The office of the working group is also in the Meanwhile Use space.
Nokia's old general upper secondary school, 8 January to 31 May 2024
Jenni Eskola, visual artist's workspace
Jenni Eskola graduated as a Master of Fine Arts in 2012 and has worked as a freelance artist ever since. In the Meanwhile Use space, Eskola is preparing her next solo exhibition, for which she will create paintings with water-soluble natural colours as well as paper sculptures. By the windows, work is ‘illuminated’ with sunlight. Eskola's works will next be on display at Tampere Artists' Association's gallery Mältinranta from 29 June to 23 July 2024.
Tiina Knuuttila: visual artist's workspace
Knuuttila is a visual artist, who has already worked in the Meanwhile Use space of the general upper secondary school this year and held her first solo exhibition in Nokia during that time. She continues to work with her own works and exhibitions in the Meanwhile Use space.
Nokia Actors’ Association (NNY): play, improvisation and theatre choir rehearsal room, trainings
The Nokia Actors’ Association organises hobby activities in performing arts. The Meanwhile Use space in the old general upper secondary school is used as a rehearsal space for the association's theatre choir, improvisation theatre and plays. The general upper secondary school is also used for organising castings, board meetings of the association, and training for its members.
Nokia-Seura: creation of an environmental work of art
Nokia-Seura’s Meanwhile Use space is used to create an environmental work of art. In a free ‘Star course’ open to all, the children's groups at the Education Centre Pirkan opisto design the concrete figures of the environmental artwork that are subsequently realised by adults. The concrete figures are made and stored in the Meanwhile Use space until they are placed along the park ditch in the spring as part of the first stage of implementation of the environmental artwork. The Meanwhile Use space may also be used for the preparation of the second stage of the work, i.e. stone mosaics for the park, such as cutting tiles.
Kati Vaaranmaa and Steven Gourlay: workspaces, exhibitions, events
The Meanwhile Use space of the old general upper secondary school serves as a working space for the creation of art. The space also hosts exhibitions and various events combining fields of art with well-being. Vaaranmaa has been working in early childhood education in Nokia for a long time. In her work, she has implemented, for example, children's theatre projects. Over the past couple of years, Kati Vaaranmaa has as an entrepreneur creatively combined visual arts and well-being, organised solo exhibitions and participated in the exhibitions by Nokia's visual artists.
Pasi Karppi/Elämän kertoja T:mi: rehearsal space for a play
Pasi Karppi has designed and produced touring mini-plays on a full-time basis since 2021. The Meanwhile Use space in Nokia serves as a rehearsal space for his play.
Mikani Balance: dance studio
Mikani Balance reg. assoc. is organising the Jamila Dance festival in Nokia. In the Meanwhile Use space, dance is practised and wellbeing-related activities are also organised, such as yoga, oriental dance or running schools.
Chess Club CC Nokia: hobby space for chess
An informal group of chess enthusiasts gathers in the space. The activities of the Chess Club are free of charge and contribute to the development of chess as a hobby as a part of the community.
Mariitta Tähtinen: Dance studio
Mariitta Tähtinen has been actively involved in oriental dance for over 30 years and has worked as both a performer and a teacher. Her group of performers, Mirame, is an ensemble of four women who perform in nursing homes and day centres in their home town of Nokia. In the Meanwhile Use space, the group organises dance rehearsals.
Early retirees: informal hobby group
An informal group of early retirees operates in the Meanwhile Use space. Activities are free of charge and support joint gatherings and hobbies, thereby increasing the well-being of the participants.
