3.-5.9.2021
Tomasz Szrama at New Performance Turku 2017. Photo: Jussi Virkkumaa
The year 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the New Performance Turku Festival! The theme of the anniversary year is SURVIVAL. In their works, the festival artists will address different themes on survival and the acts and methods of surviving and coping. The performance art works move around topics such as surviving in extreme conditions and survivalism as a phenomenon, but also approach more subtle survival strategies and coping mechanisms during ecological emergencies, the pandemic and in the current and post-catastrophic world. The theme of survival carries also festive meanings, as in today’s world it’s not self-evident to maintain a long-term arts organization for a full decade.
New Performance Turku Festival 2021 artists are Finland-based, internationally active artists across the performance art discipline. The artists include Tytti Arola (FI), Maija Hirvanen (FI), Minerva Juolahti (FI), Maria Kananen (FI), Tiia Kasurinen & Johanna Naukkarinen (FI), Maire Karuvuori (FI), Katriina Kettunen (FI) & Olga Spyropoulou (GR/FI), Antti Laitinen (FI), Tuija Lappalainen (FI), Diana Soria Hernández (MX/FI), Tomasz Szrama (PL/FI), Antti Tolvi (FI), Timo Viialainen (FI) and Jani Petteri Virta (FI). The festival has also invited researches, Marjukka Parkkinen and POLIMA research project (Academy of Finland), both affiliated to the University of Turku.
Survival and survival modes demand tolerance, resources, strength and resilience from the individuals. In the context of performance art these necessities can be brought up and be amplified through discussion and festival works. Survival skills can be developed through building up resilience. Essential elements for resilience enhancement are the significance of the community, participation and sharing. The SURVIVAL theme is inviting the audience, artists and the art scene to recover and carry on together.
The festival has curated internationally active artists based in Finland, which means that possible travel bans won’t affect the planned on-site works. Focusing on locally based artists also enables our goals of ecologically sustainable event organization, which includes avoiding travel by air. As an organization we want to challenge the perceptions of internationality being based on ecologically unsustainable ways of work and travel. We aim to keep on developing and challenging these ways also in the post-pandemic world. This means strong local collaboration, long-term international collaboration and new, even challenging ways to look at international relations. The year 2021 festival and activities are supported by Arts Promotion Centre Finland, City of Turku and Finnish Cultural Foundation. In collaboration with Pro Manilla Foundation, the City of Turku, Southwest Regional Dance Centre of Finland, Tehdas Teatteri, KULTVA research network, POLIMA
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