In 2019, Art in Halland partnered with KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre in the northern part of Finland and created an exchange program called Fresh Forest Air. The project was all about highlighting the forest, a multifaceted environment and a source of not only hard work but also rest and relaxation, solitude and togetherness, the wild and the disciplined—a collaboration between the artist and the local community.
Find out more about the Fresh Forest AiR exchange program
Through this exchange program, Halland received a visitor between 26 August and 22 September 2019, namely a Finnish artist and costume designer called Miia Kettunen. With a base in Hylte, she set off exploring and started creating pieces connected to what experiences a forest has to offer. Applied art, materials and recycling were central both in her own work and as she met her audience, but also forestry, logging, microscopic details and health through natural experiences.
During this period, the public could meet with Miia at Forum in Hyltebruk, where she had a studio and showroom. She also conducted workshops, partly for the art students of the local Cultural School and youngsters from the after-school care in Hylte. However, three sessions in September were open to the public and anyone who wanted to join in (4, 11, 18 September, 4-7pm). The participants created their own pieces using nature studies and corrugated paper from Kinnareds Well. At the same time as this residency, the Foundiverse project was underway within the framework of the Art Express, i.e. Art in Halland’s art-based pedagogical resource.
Find out more about Foundiverse – risen from the woods
Forest bathing is a form of experience in nature where you practice mindfulness and Mia performed such an activity with pupils from the Halland Art School. She hoped to rouse an interest and provide the pupils with new perspectives and angles in their creative process. Forest bathing was also offered as a “Meet the Artist” session organised by Art in Halland on 10 September.
Find out more about the ’Meet the Artist’ session ‘Welcome to the forest’
During her residency, Miia Kettunens’s piece was also exhibited at the local library in Hyltebruk and inside the train station during the Train Days event in Landeryd, 7-8 September.
At the finissage at Forum in Hyltebruk on 20 September, the Dance of the Forest, a piece by Miia Kettunen and the pupils of Halland Art School, was displayed. Works by the pupils at the local Cultural School were also on display.
Via Konst i Halland tog Finland i sin tur emot Klara Bergman Fröberg.
Läs mer om Klara Bergman Fröbergs vistelse
