Post 200 - Happy Holidays!

Entrance to Finlayson area, home of TAMK School of Art and Media

The blog wishes everybody easy and happy holiday season! This is blog post number 200 of this blog :-)

On January 1st Tampere University of Applied Sciences will be bigger and cover more fields of study due to the merger of TAMK and PIRAMK. (More about that beginning of next year.)

Most TAMK lecturers will begin the new working year on Thursday, January 7. The students begin the spring semester on Monday January 11 with the exception of the new exchange students, who have their orientation January 7-8.

In the center the entrance to School of Art and Media

The application period for our Degree Programme in Media and other TAMK international degree programmes also starts on January 11.

tamkadmissions.fi
Degree Programme in Media (aka International Media Programme, IMP)

"A Group" is born...

As we're are now officially over with the first period of our semester, the students of 09's Media Degree Program are naturally eager to get busy with their new and improved skills as well as to gain more. So what do a bunch of aspiring designers do to get networked, create and develop their skills? "A Group" would be the answer.

"A Group" (we let our works, not our name, speak for our skills) is a newly founded group for people interested in visual design. The goal is to exchange knowledge and ideas with each other, develop our own personal skills through projects and tasks and of course network and expand our horizons. Although these will be done in the school environment for now, work on professional context in the future is also a goal.

The group does not demand a certain level of expertise. Anyone who wants to design anything from a logo to a magazine and would like the support and feedback a group of kindred spirits can offer them is welcome. The group's location is Seelanti on the 5th floor of TTVO and although still in its infancy, there has been a lot of interest by many new and older students.

The current task is to create a visual work about our name "A Group" and it can be of any form, including video or animated.

Ikuinen Gallery: Christmas Bazaar and Exhibition

Christmas Bazaar
December 17-20
Open 12 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ikuinen Galleria
Finlaysoninkuja 3

Ikuinen Gallery welcomes you again to the traditional Chrismas Bazaar and exhibition.

There a lot of student's works, photographs, paintings, graphics, books, cards and small items for you to buy and admire.

Ikuinen gallery is a contemporary art project space located in the old factory complex Finlayson in central Tampere. The gallery is run by a board of fine art students in Tampere UAS School of Art and Media as part of their study program.

Ikuinen gallery’s main focus is in presenting interesting and high quality student work, whereas work from other art school students and teachers as well as visiting artists are regularly also at show.

Danko Pantovic created the logo for Karate European Championships 2014

Finland and Tampere are to host the Karate European Championships in 2014. The Finnish Karate Federation contacted Tamk in order to have a competition for the logo of the event. The competition was organized as a part of the visual design course for International Media Programme.

Finnish Karate Federation rated highest an entry by Danko Pantovic.
Congrats Danko!

Read Danko's interview here.

Degree Programme in Media

Interesting Innovation Conglomerate Building at Tampere

The Hub is an initiative to build a network of places around the world where entrepreneurs, innovators and changemakers can meet and work together to tackle the world's most pressing social, cultural and environmental challenges. A place is needed to inspire and support imaginative and enterprising initiatives for a radically better world.

In the historical Finlayson district at the heart of Tampere a unique innovation environment is being born. Purpose of this innovation environment is to create social innovations by connecting companies needs and ideas with extraordinary student and professional talents across disciplines. Finlayson also hosts TAMK School Art and Media and Proacademy, a unit for entrepreneurship students bringing diversity and business thinking into the mix.

We saw that The Hub would be a perfect match for this environment. It would build sustainability and social entrepreneurship into the innovation initiatives and new enterprises, it could act as an interface between the parties and facilitate ambitious people and start-ups to work together.

Hub Tampere is currently being established by TAMK Proacademy in cooperation with Hermia and the Creative Tampere programme. Our goal is to open Hub Tampere in spring 2010.

Story: Jukka Siltanen

Hub Tampere Blog

Photo: The planned home of the Hub at Finlayson

Climax of the Autumn Semester: TTVO Festival

TTVO Festival 2009
Thu 17.12. 9:30 p.m.
Jack the Rooster

Experience the last and the best party of the year! The traditional School of Art and Media festival and the best school bands and performers are at Jack the Rooster for you Thursday night.

Admission 3 € (includes wardrobe fee)

Esiintyjät:

STAND-UP: Fredi Lilius

STREAK AND THE RAVEN
"Streak and the Raven introduces a musical scenery tinged with both profound, film music inspired moods, as well as catchy pop tunes. The songs are based on a uniting story, which at times brings alive the legendary wild west and at times revisits the black-and-white towns of the early 20th century. The cinematic and episode-like narration lays a foundation for the band's individual compositions which combine styles such as drama, western and horror in an original way."

PIIRI
Finnish rock, four of five band members are from deep north.

YOURNALIST
Turku arcipelago rock.

IDIOMATIC
"Sasja, Sami, Juuso and Arttu stept to their batcave (in Hallila, Tampere) in fall 2006 and started to create their own luscious rock songs. After drunken nights and heart breaks they decided to form a real band. It took some kind of combination of each others affections.
Finally, Idiomatic was born end of May 2007 when they played their first gig! Six months (and bunch of other gigs) later they figured that one piece was still missing. So happily their good friend Joonathan came along bringing some low frequencies and muscles to the group.
And now , in the year 2009 Idiomatic do well and get all the love it needs."

DJ: Pretty in Pop / mikkomikko ja Farttu

VJ: Satu&Joonas

Micaela and Ricardo - IMPs always come back

Two IMP 2005 students; Micaela Paiva and Ricardo Meneses from Portugal have visited Tampere again this week, yesterday they came to School of Art and Media. In Autumn 2005 they participated in the Interactive Media Programme (IMP), a special course for exchange students.

Micaela and Ricardo had two main reasons for this trip: to experience snow and to meet old friends in Tampere. The snow is late again this winter, but fortunately some snow fell, and friends are always available in Tampere.

In 2005 Micaela and Ricardo were students of Faculdade de Belas Artes Lisboa but have graduated some years ago. Micaela is now web designer and Ricardo does graphical design in the company he runs with some friends.

The IMP for exchange students was arranged 2000-2008. From this autumn on we don't have a special programme for exchange students, but they can take courses in the new IMP, our four year Degree Programme in Media and participate in courses run in English of our Finnish degree programmes.

Degree Programme in Media

Pictured: Micaela Paiva and Ricardo Meneses

Hannaleena Hauru's If I Fall invited to Animateka

The eight Animateka film festival in Ljublajana, Slovenia, December 7-12 has focus on Finland this year. One of the short films representing Finland is the graduation work by Hannaleena Hauru "If I Fall".

The film project got a flying start: in 2005 Hannaleena Hauru's script got the Nisi Masa Script Award and additionally 4 000 € funding for production. Also the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE offered funding. The premiere was in 2007, and the film has ever since been invited to numerous film festivals in Europe, Asia and South America. It has been awarded in Tampere, Oberhausen and Uppsala.

If I Fall is a short film about Kaarina, a Finnish sawmill worker. She’s falling down repetitively without anyone noticing.

If I Fall is now shown also on the Internet.

Animateka
If I Fall online

Read more about If I fall

Ikuinen Galleria Presents: "The Opening" performance by Virpi Viljamaa

December 7-11
4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Virpi Viljamaa: The Opening (performance)
Ikuinen Gallery
Finlaysoninkuja 3,
Tampere, Finland

The invitation:

What is art and it's value? Or is art disappearing? And what is the part of an artist in making art? These are the questions asked in the performance "The opening".

What is the meaning of art?

We humans live in good conditions, we eat, buy and get entertained. Somebody collects the money somewhere, we transform into machines that consume.

What does art speak of? Of longing, pain, questions, answers, of the battle of existence - and one can also think that it is this battle - but, it reaches somewhere higher, it's speaking with the deep voice of the world, it is a crystallization, another level. It is a dream, a collective dream, it is our meaning, it creates and births us.

Everything had become only a game. I didn't know anymore who I was. There was a price for me too - the higher the price, the better I was? One million euros sounds good.

I have sometimes time just to lie still and dream. In my mind, or in your mind, I lie now in snow at winter, looking into the empty universe, and on the beach in the spring time listening to the sound of an infinite sea. What is futile, and what is not? I am not sure, and I don't answer.

Welcome to the performance "The Opening" at 16-17 o'clock (N.B. the exceptional time) from Monday till Friday 7.-11.12!

Ikuinen gallery is a contemporary art project space located in the old factory complex Finlayson in central Tampere. The gallery is run by a board of fine art students in Tampere UAS School of Art and Media as part of their study program.

Ikuinen gallery’s main focus is in presenting interesting and high quality student work, whereas work from other art school students and teachers as well as visiting artists are regularly also at show.

IMPs Nightmare Before Christmas Party

Last Friday the IMPs gathered at one of the student's apartment to spend together a great "Nightmare Before Christmas" party. The offerings were great; delicious Greek food and home-made sweets along some of their traditional drink, Ouzo. Even though — on behalf of the food — the party was very Greek, we did not forget the typical Finnish mulled wine consumed during the Christmas time. Glögi was enjoyed as a delicate treat after the filling dinner.

The western holiday tradition "Secret Santa" was also introduced to many, as we were randomly assigned to buy gifts for each other. Even though the whole idea of the tradition is to give the gifts anonymously, everyone was too thrilled to keep the secrets to themselves. I, myself, received a big bar of Fazer Blue chocolate and the seeds of red salad and Easter grass. For most women chocolate works like magic, but I personally know that the seeds of the red salad was a mischief, as I can't stand lettuce. However, I think the intention was sweet as the gift was most likely meant to teach me. Maybe I'll plant the seeds next Spring and see if I'd finally learn :)

Since we're an international programme, we have many people from abroad studying with us who have never experienced pikkujoulut (= Christmas party) or glögi (not to mention Greek food and ouzo). Hence this must've been a wonderful and unforgettable experience for them.

Anna Tikkanen

IMPs are students of the Degree Programme in Media of TAMK School of Art and Media (Interactive/International Media Programme)
More stories about IMPs
Media Programme home

Young Artists 2009 Exhibition Recognises TAMK Talents

Young Artists 2009
December 5 - January 6
Kunsthalle Helsinki
Nervanderinkatu 3

The Young Artists exhibition is a regular event that has acquired a legendary status in Finland. The first show was held in 1939 in the Kunsthalle, 70 years ago. Young people have always caused a stir, and the work of young artists has presaged future trends.

Chaired by the artist photographer Stefan Bremer, this year's jury appraised 465 submissions comprising 1,246 artworks. The final selection consists of 70 works by 62 artists, all under 35.

Out of the 62 artists 13 study at or have graduated from TAMK School of Art and Media:

Pii Anttila, Liisa Hietanen, Riikka Kuoppala, Satu Leppänen & Mikko Tapio, Hannamari Matikainen & Krister Gråhn, Liina Mäki-Patola, Sanni Rajapolvi, Pinja Sormunen, Jarno Vesala, Noora Westerberg and Timo Wright.

Young Artists 2009

Photo: Sanni Rajapolvi: Kokonainen aka Whole 2 min 50 sek, 16mm film, 16:9 high definition

GUEST POST: Happy food and living by Sparkling Ink

WRITTEN BY TIINA RINKINEN

Greetings from Sparkling Ink, the food and home blog! I'm Tiina, the author and editor of Sparkling Ink, and I'm also a media production student in TAMK Media department. Sparkling Ink is a Scandinavian style blog in English about food and home related topics, with a focus on seasonal food and living. I just recently completed my thesis about lifestyle blogging and publishing my own blog. Developing as a blogger and my studies have really worked together perfectly for me.

I started writing Sparkling Ink in September 2008, and it has been quite a journey. Since then, I have stood in -30 degree weather in the snow, fine tuning a drink with juniper sprigs trying to get a perfect photograph. I have cooked Christmas food all December long, and let me tell you, that is a far too long time to enjoy eating it. I have stood on a kitchen stool, on my balcony numerous times hovering over a plate of food, trying to catch good light and angle with the camera. Blogging has got me into doing these, and many other things. Sometimes I wonder myself, why did I start blogging?

Blogging combines three passions of mine. I have wanted to expand my knowledge and experience with editing and writing, especially in food related topics. I have developed kind of an obsession for photography. And for years now, I have been interested in online content production which my studies in TAMK School of Art and Media have supported well. Producing Sparkling Ink simply includes all these three things: food editing, photography and media production.The lifestyle blogging community has grown strong in the last few years. The connections and networks created in the community have started to offer opportunities more and more also outside of the virtual world entering our everyday life. After publishing my blog for over a year now, I have written over 300 posts. Now looking back, I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to the next 300. I have received great feedback, and with the experiences of writing my thesis, I'm excited to keep developing Sparkling Ink. After all, that's what blogs are; a gradual process with always more to learn, work on and look forward to. Just like the development of becoming a media professional. Quite a journey.

With this guest post, I would also like to thank all the teachers and staff who have supported me during the last four years. Kiitos.

You can read more about lifestyle blogging and my blog project in my thesis "Blogging Life - Aspects of Lifestyle blogging", and of course by visiting Sparkling Ink at
http://entertaininganytime.typepad.com/

I wish you a lovely holiday season and end of the semester!

-tiina-

Sparkling Ink

You can also find me on:

TWITTER
FACEBOOK

Photos from Sparkling Ink.
A link to Tiina's thesis will be added here when it is online.

DETVET Blog Launched

DETVET (Development of Educational Techniques in Vocational Education and Training) is a Leonardo da Vinci Programme funded partnership project which started August 2009 and will last until July 2011. Partners are from Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Italy and Finland.

The kick-off meeting in Klaipeda in October decided that the project website would be a blog - easy to update for all project partners. The first posts and much of the informative content on right hand of the blog was made already at the meeting. It was however decided to launch the blog later, when there is more for to explore.

The aim of the project is to form an international sustainable partnership in order to improve VET teachers’ competencies in education techniques.

The main role of Tampere UAS (TAMK) in this project is to contribute to the expertice of using Social Media in education and training.

DETVET Blog
Previous posts about DETVET