TAF Magazine released

Taf Magazine 2010 is now out, and this year a few pages are published in English! The magazine, produced by a journalism course, highlights the recent success stories, international projects, artworks, films and everyday life at the School of Art and Media.

The editor in chief was Niina Virtanen, who also took the cover photo. Layout was designed by Riina Vendelin and most of the photos are by Tuomas Jaakkola. The other editorial team: Sanna Hakanurmi, Saara Kallio, Suvi Tuuli Kataja, Jenni Liikaoja, Johanna Peltola, Esa Nikkilä, Hanna-Mari Suutari, Tiia Vestola and Pertti Näränen as a teacher.

The editors also want to thank other writers and helpers: Tuuli Juntunen, Emmi Nuorgam, Aino Sepponen, Eeva-Kaisa Ahlamo, Annika Tenho, Eero Alava. The heading font was designed by graduate Kaisa Pennanen as her final thesis project.

You can pick up your copy from the School of Art and Media or any Tampere Art Factory event. The online copy of the magazine will also soon be published on this blog.

Tampere Art Factory (TAF)

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Download TAF Magazine
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TV1 airs gold-themed short story this Thursday

The Downside of Gold airs this Thursday (April 29) on TV1

Throughout the spring the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle)has aired several current affairs stories by students in the Film and Television programme of TAMK. They have appeared on Kuningaskuluttaja – an informative television show with a focus on consumer issues. All the aired stories were made in a course on
factual television production. Yle has already aired pieces on the book publishing industry, communal living and gender-based pricing.

On this spring’s last Kuningaskuluttaja the student's story will delve deep into the murkier aspects of the gold industry: environmental hazards and human rights issues. The story will also present ecological
alternatives to gold. The remaining TV stories by TAMK students will be aired next fall when Kuningaskuluttaja returns from its summer break.

Kuningaskuluttaja airs this Thursday (April 29) on Yle TV1 at 7:30 PM.

Story: Niko Nurmi

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Timo Wright's photographs in the Ikuinen Galleria

Ikuinen Gallery
April 29 - May 21
Timo Wright: "Long Sunday"
Open Mon-Fri 12-16
Finlaysoninkuja 3 Tampere

Timo Wright's exhibition is the first of Tampere Art Factory exhibitions to open. TAF will begin on May 7.

Timo Wright:
"Long Sunday is a series of photographs, which I started in 2002 and in which I photographed my own and my friends' life on the cusp of growing up, that last summer, the Sunday when can already hear the Monday of adulthood coming up the stairway. I left the series for years, it felt childish and trendy – my friends hungover, at the after-parties, on the beaches, drunk. However, I kept shooting the series in secret, even from myself.

One day I notices that the Long Sunday still wasn't over. But it had gained edges, cracks. Even though most of my friends hadn't subscribed to the infamous ”a house, a Volvo and a golden retriever” lifestyle, something had definitely happened. Children, work places, jobs. Had I changed too? Definitely! Hopefully!

Now the Long Sunday, like myself, is at a crossroads. What happens now?"

Timo Wright 
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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.
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Previous Ikuinen Gallery posts
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Family Act achieved 140 visitors in two days

Picture: Daniel Stolle

Some 140 people visited communal animation project Family Act in Ikuinen Gallery during the weekend. In three days time, a family story was animated and shot in the gallery space. The gallery was open for public on Saturday and Sunday. The people visiting the gallery became a part of the animation, as appearing and disappearing communities.

The whole animation shot during the weekend will be shown in MEGAGAGAA exhibition in Gallery Nottbeck on May 7th to 23rd.

Family Act is a project by a second year Fine Art student Laura Rytkönen. The project was chosen to represent Ikuinen Gallery in the regional art event Exploring Art, Pirkanmaan Taidesuunnistus. The crew of Family Act is Liisa Hietanen, Niina Huovinen and Viliina Koivisto as animators, Nalle Mielonen behind the camera, and Daniel Stolle as making of -photographer.

Text: Laura Rytkönen
Pictures: Nalle Mielonen and Daniel Stolle

Read the previous story about Family Act and the Exploring Art Event

Gallery Nottbeck ( Satakunnankatu 17 Tampere) can be found in the Media 54 building of Finlayson area next to main square Keskustori.
The MEGAGAGAA Open Studio exhibition is a part of Tampere Art Factory festival.

Picture: Nalle Mielonen

SpringGraph 2010 – Sneak Peek at Finnish New Media

Remedy Entertainment's Saku Lehtinen presenting their newest video game Alan Wake

A bunch of enthusiastic IMP students headed to Helsinki yesterday to see what's going on in computer graphics and interaction scene in Finland.

The SpringGraph 2010 -seminar also gave us a good look at the latest works of different animation companies in Finland.

Here's a brief note of the most fascinating bits in SpringGraph 2010:
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Ball-It’s Blobo rides the wave of motion control games which Nintendo Wii has started. The new innovative gaming ball is now available in stores and can be connected to any device with Bluetooth. The control is based on a magnetic field and offers a full 360-degree-freedom in 3d-movement.

Keino Yhtiö is a company specialized in game AI. Currently they are working on an open source navigation library called Detour and Recast. Check out the developer’s blog  about prototyping & game AI.
Rightware‘s Kanzi tool  is on its way from Beta-version to a full 3D-concept of an application store for mobile user interface. The developer and the artist can work together on it easily as the interface is easy to adjust.

We took a peek at the new film Iron Sky  from the makers of StarWreck. The movie takes nazis to the moon and uses the latest technology in 3D-graphics.

Finland's biggest and the most famous animation company Anima Vitae is working hard on their new short film What's up.

Sick of blurry pictures of business cards? Norfello’s DocScanner does the thing for iPhone owners. The app automatically removes the distractions such as noise from the picture.

Remedy Entertainment's highly anticipated video game Alan Wake will be released in May 2010.
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The media students in TTVO are always kept up-to-date as the University takes care of the access to the most important events and seminars in the field and actively shares information of ongoing new media competitions and happenings.

Story: Johanna Peltola
Pictures: Amir Abdi


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IMP: Degree Programme in Media
TTVO: TAMK School of Art and Media

Border Guard horror film premiere tomorrow

Rajavartija (The Border Guard)  is a short horror film that takes place in the border area of Finland and Russia. A man goes to work for the first day as a border guard. Soon, an old incident and a secret start to haunt him and the events lead to a brutal battle for survival.

The film is writer / director Miro Laiho's second film. His directing debut Herääminen (The Awakening) won the best short film's award in the Iik! Horror Film Festival of 2009. The first draft of Rajavartija's script was written, while Herääminen was still in post-production.

The crew of the two films are pretty much the same. Rajavartija is produced by Minna Korhonen and Miro Laiho. Anne-Mari Musturi returns as the director of photography, Jaakko Sorja as the gaffer and Ville Hakonen along with Jussi Sandhu as the film editors. Sound designer and composer of the film is Laiho himself, only with his artistic name Michael Law.

Rajavartija stars Reidar Palmgren, with whom Laiho starred together in another film of TAMK School of Art and Media, "Whistle While You Work." Laiho met Palmgren during the shooting and thought he would be a great lead actor for Rajavartija as well. The other lead actor, Jevgeni Haukka, was recommended by many actors in Tampere. The Ingrian actor brought a level of authenticity for the role of the Russian border guard. Other actors include Vesa Wallgren and Tomi Pietilä.

The film's public premiere is April the 24th at 5.30 PM in the film theatre of Niagara in Tampere. It will be also seen at Tampere Art Factory festival May 5-7. Also, on May 12th, the film will be screened in the Ruma restaurant in Tampere, where the filmmakers will be present to talk about the filmmaking process.

Story: Miro Laiho

Join the film's Facebook  group
Watch the trailer on Youtube

Family Act – have a cup of coffee inside the animation!

Ikuinen Galleria
Laura Rytkönen:
Family Act  – communal animation project this weekend
Part of art the event Pirkanmaan Taidesuunnistus - Exploring Art
Destination number 50
Saturday to Sunday April 24-25 2010
Open 11-17
Finlaysoninkuja 3 Tampere
Free coffee!

Family Act exhibits animations and the making of one

In the middle of the gallery space there is a table with five puppets. The puppets animated by a crew realize several small stories of family life. Even the smallest events illustrate the power relationships inside a family. The stories the puppets act are collected from magazines and Internet forums and will be partly improvised.

The animation will be shot inside the gallery while it is open for public. The people who visit the gallery will be appearing and disappearing in the background of the animation. The animation pieces that are ready will be shown in the gallery throughout the weekend.

Come and have coffee inside an animation!

Laura Rytkönen is a second year Fine Art student in Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Emphasis of her work at the moment is on animation, drawing and community art projects.
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Pirkanmaan Taidesuunnistus - Exploring Art online (in Finnish)
Exploring Art
How artworks are made and what kind of people artists actually are?
Exploring Art  is an annual happening which presents the whole range of artists working in Pirkanmaa region. Visual artists, designers and artisans open the doors of their studios for one weekend for visitors to explore art, purchase artwork and to meet the artists. The happening is free for all visitors.

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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.
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Previous Ikuinen Gallery posts
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World Summit Youth Award launched: Register by June 27

TAMK is WSYA partner since 2008. WSYA 2010 was launched yesterday, this is the press release:

The World Summit Youth Award (WSYA) invites once again young designers, e-content creators, writers and bloggers from around the world to enter their online-projects in an international multimedia competition: using internet and mobiles to put the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) into Action!

GET ACTION ON MDGs!
The WSYA selects and promotes best practice in e-Content and technological creativity, demonstrates young people’s potential to create outstanding digital contents and serves as a platform for people from all UN member states to work together in the efforts to reduce poverty and hunger, and to tackle illhealth, gender inequality, lack of education, lack of access to clean water and environmental degradation.

An application form is available from April 19 – June 27, 2010 online at www.youthaward.org

Online projects by youth under the age of 30 may be submitted in the following six categories:

1. Fight Poverty, Hunger and Disease !
2. Education for all !
3. Power 2 Women !
4. Create your Culture !
5. Go Green !
6. Pursue Truth !

An international jury of 12 ICT experts will evaluate the projects in two rounds of online judging, where the three winners and two runners-up for each category will be selected.

WSYA GOES BIG APPLE!
Winners will be invited to showcase their platform to heads of state, business leaders and civil society at the 4-days WSYA Winners Events, where the most committed and creative young people from around the world will be brought together with the UN Millennium Review Summit Leader in New York in September 2010. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered.

MORE BENEFITS
Next to the presentation of the winner’s projects all winners of the contest 2010 are invited to
participate in workshops at the WSYA Winners Events. All nominated projects will be presented online at
www.youthaward.org and extensive promoted through the WSYA network, which offers all contest
participants co-operation possibilities with ICT experts, business leaders, multimedia producers and
youth to youth organizations.

CONTEST DATES 2010!
ONLINE REGISTRATION April 19 – June 27, 2010 at www.youthaward.org
ONLINE JURY June 30 – July 7, 2010: elimination round of judging July 19 – July 25, 2010: nomination round of judging and winners selection
WINNERS EVENTS September 18 – September 22, 2010 at the UN MDG Review Summit in New York City, USA

WSYA home 
Previous posts about WSYA
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When others seem to know better what you want

Finding Frank is a warmhearted comedy-drama, which tells the story of 18-year-old Jussi and his journey at the brink of adulthood. Ville, Jussi's godfather, invites the youngster to his cabin, aiming to teach Jussi the way of responsibility and self-confidence. Against his will Jussi ends up in a situation where the modern-day temptations and fears gang up on him in the streets of a small town. On his journey Jussi realizes his fears and finds the courage to stand up against himself and his opponents.

Finding Frank is the final thesis work of media students from the School of Art and Media in Tampere University of Applied Sciences. The film was written and directed by Joona Sarisalmi, shot by Markus Tynskä, lit by Jukka Hautajärvi, edited by Joonas Halkola with sound design by Pauliina Saarman. The film was produced by Essi Silvennoinen with Anna-Maija Salmi as the production manager.

The main role is played by Jose Viitala, Ville the godfather by Jyrkki Mänttäri and in other roles we see Matti Onnismaa, Minka Kuustonen, Juha Kulmala, Arto Palojärvi, Hiski Grönstrand, Pekka Hautala and J.O. Manninen.

Finding Frank was filmed between June and July in 2009 in Sastamala. The movie premiered on 23 January 2010.

Text: Joona Sarisalmi
Photo: Jaakko Tyhtilä
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Finding Frank and other film student graduate works are on show at Tampere Art Factory festival. The films are on view in Finlayson's Vooninkisali on 7 May 1pm-7pm and on 8-9 May 11am-6pm.
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Feel like everything doesn't always go as you planned?

Welcome to the worst day in Kalle's life. The twenty-something Kalle just wants to play heavy-metal and go hunting with his friend, Niilo. These mundane dreams are forestalled by the family heirloom shotgun and Ylermö, the boy next door, who will stop at nothing to play in Kalle's band some day.

Kalle's planned perfect day is ruined by unexpected turns in surprising forms, and Kalle must decide what is most important to him.

Gunbag is a graduate short film from the School of Art and Media in Tampere University of Applied Sciences. It was written by Jukka Hautajärvi and Tommi Hietaniemi. The film was directed by Jukka Hautajärvi, shot by Jukka Moisio, lit by Nalle Mielonen and edited by Tommi Hietaniemi. The sound design was made by Veera Niemi. The film was produced by Anna-Maija Salmi.

The film was shot between September and October in 2009 both in Tampere and Ruovesi.

In the film Kalle is played by Lari Kananen. The role of Kalle's best friend, Niilo, is interpreted by Pekka Hautala. Heavyboor Ylermö is given life by Juha-Petteri Kulmala, and the role of Kalle's level-headed father, Pentti, is filled by Vesa Wallgren.

The film was shown for the first time at the Tampere Film Festival in the TAMK New Films Special Screening, where it served as the opening piece. The film was warmly received by the audience.

Text: Anna-Maija Salmi
Photo: Ville Salminen
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You can see Gunbag at Tampere Art Factory  7-9 May
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TAMK's Battle Royale

So far we've had the students of IMP (international/interactive media program), TIKO (computer science), VISU (visual design) and VUORSU (interactive media) take action in this massive battle of TAMK's domination.

Yes, I'm talking about the up-coming, free Megazone game night!

I have reserved a 50-minute Megazone session for 26th of April, 2010. The game starts at 6pm sharp, but it is required for everyone to be there no later than 5.45pm! There's space for 27, but only 17 have confirmed their spot. That means we're still looking for 10 more! So... Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? If yes, just show up to Megazone at 5.30pm, and one of the spots might be yours!

Now why would I care to organize such an event?

Well, it's a lot of fun! What better way to network with the fellow students of other study programs than a friendly game of laser tag? When I asked each one attending the event to give their opinions and thoughts, many responded with a desire to bring back remote childhood memories. Some also thought that students engaging in such activites become more laid back and open, making everyone see them from a completely different perspective. And last but not least, these games encourage teamwork, mutual development and competition all at once.

All-in-all a great activity for a great bunch of students!

See you there! :)

Story: Anna Tikkanen
The author is  Degree Programme in Media student

More stories about IMP activities 

Photos: Megazone
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IMP Entrace Exam started, deadline for Finnish DP applications on Friday

The Entrance Exams includes an interview, a pitch of the pre-task and a design assignment one of the applicants is working with in the photo.

The Entrance Exam to School of Art and Media Degree Programme in Media (IMP) started yesterday and continues today. The application period deadline for Degree Programmes run in English was in February. Of the 172 applicants who had Media Programme as their first choice 67 were invited to the Entrance Exam and 20 of them will start their studies here in August.

The application period for our joint Masters Programme in Screenwriting with Salford University ends on May 5.

Application time for our degree programmes taught in Finnish: Bachelors Programme in Fine Arts, BA in Film and Television and MA in Media Production is finished on Friday. Learn more from the TAMK web site.

www.literature and other studies

IMP Introduction to media class today

Spring has finally repelled the long winter, but the studies still continue for the Imps for at least another month. On Monday, we had our lesson in Introduction to Media. Throughout these past couple of months, we’ve had group presentations about different subjects (museums and games, for example) and how they can use interactivity. This time we talked about interactive literature and stories. We discussed different types of interactive stories found in the web, and also something about the future of the plain old-fashioned book. In the world of iPads and Kindles it sure is interesting to see, where the whole industry is heading to!

We also made a small word-play during the presentation, where the students were asked to fill in the descriptive words into a story - without seeing the story until in the end! Here is how it turned out to be. Remember that the filled in words don’t (necessarily) present any opinions about TAMK, our school, Finland or anything in general.

Imps? How _vain_!

Right in the heart of the _small_ city of Tampere, there is an old factory area called Finlayson. Its history is long and _insignificant_, but nowadays it serves as the location for many _enormous_ cafés, companies and also _heavenly_ restaurants.

In the furthest away corner, there is a _shiny_ door that leads to the _pathetic_ realms of TAMK Art and Media. This is a school of _hopelessness_! It offers its _violent_ students many different subjects of study. Let’s take an example. Last year, a new and _deranged_ line was created. It was called “Interactive Media Programme” and shortened to IMP (pretty _perverted_!). These “Imps” (as the _stinky_ students call themselves) are very varied and they all have _imaginary_ skills. They have courses in e.g. _hairy_ web and print design, general media knowledge (everyone agrees this is _irrational_), and some of them have even ventured to the _invisible_ field of programming.

Studying in _beautiful_ Tampere is not always _awesome_. The Media Programme is international, so there are many students from other countries like _controversial_ Greece, China and even _intoxicating_ South Africa. For some foreigners moving to the _never-ending_ country of Finland has been _insecure_, for some others _long_. Like one student once said: “I always thought Finland would be _putrid_, but I never thought it would be _absurd_!”

So, why is TAMK then such a _benign_ place to study? Well, first of all the Finlayson campus is _magnificent_. The teachers are all _ridiculous_ and the students in the other lines always _fast_. Of course it takes some initiative from the students to shine, but those who make the effort have all the keys to success. What can one say? _Strength_ is _mind-blowing_!

Story: Eeva-Kaisa Ahlamo
Photo: Miska Wilhelmsson

Swallow Your Fears - Animation by Laura Rytkönen

A young woman plays a game with Fear and ends up being swallowed by it.

The Fear becomes a second skin for the girl. She walks through a city with panic and paranoia. In every human encounter there’s a possibility for redemption, immobility is the end.

Swallow Your Fears is a mixed media animation by a second year art student Laura Rytkönen. The animation associatively ponders upon social fears that are often formless, without a clear object, vaguely targeting anyone and everyone who might be around. Through fear we are marketed to buy protection from thieves, accidents and old age. Maybe someday we can also buy safety from our own fears.

Swallow Your Fears has been screened in Kinos10 festival in Lahti, critical video art screening as a part of Elävän kirjallisuuden festarit (EKF) in the Finnish Labour Museum Werstas and in a group exhibition Lyhyt videokirjasto in Gallery Emil in Tampere.

Story: Laura Rytkönen

Swallow your fears will be shown at Tampere Art Factory 

Sold Out – TAMK Final Thesis Exhibition of the Degree Programme in Fine Art 2010

May 8 - 30 2010 Exhibition centre TR1
Väinö Linnan aukio 13, Finlayson, Tampere
Open: Tue-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun  11am-6pm (Mon closed)
On Fridays free admission!

May 8 - 25 Art Centre Mältinranta
Kuninkaankatu 2, Tampere
Open: Mon-Thu 12am-6pm, Fri-Sun 12am-4pm


While artist Jeff Koons is in Los Angeles building the most expensive piece of art in the word, the 19 million euro “Train” installation and the British artist Damien Hirst asks for 75 million euros for a skull created out of diamonds and platinum, 19 young artists graduate from TAMK.

Most of us are poor by Finnish standards: we live on less than 825 euros per month. One of us would live for 7576 years on the price of Hirst’s skull.

A Finnish artist has two ways of reaching similar earnings as Hirst and Koons. The first option is a good marketing strategy, a skillful international gallerist and an eye for the game. The other option is to do lotto. The statistics for astronomical amounts of money are almost as small in both alternatives.

Luckily, we graduates feel art has other value besides being seen as a commodity, a service or a potential investment. When art has become a thing, an expendable commodity, art has already died. Through our Sold Out exhibition, we want to wake up the viewer to think about the market value of art. Are the products of our minds just commodities, or can they give a viewer such capital, which cannot be turned into a product?

Each artist gives in their work a piece of themselves to the viewer. In our final theses works we have sold out all of the resources we have ever had for doing the work. Because we all see art in a different light, the exhibition itself is an adventure in different worlds and feelings.

Despite all this, we will be happy if the pieces are also sold.
Welcome to see our exhibition!
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Sold Out is a part of the Tampere Art Factory event organised in the Finlayson area in May every year. In 2010, TAF consists of an International week 3.5 – 7.5 with its workshops and seminars, TAMK / Fine Art exhibition Sold Out as well as a section displaying the final thesis works of TAMK Media.
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Invitation to young talents: The 13th annual EUROPRIX Multimedia Awards

The Moogo.com team (Finland) was last year awarded with The Best Business Potential Award,
from left to right Antti Ala-Ilkka, Mikko Nurminen, Kimmo Pekari

Honouring Europe's most innovative and creative multimedia projects and the young designers behind them.

Call for Entries is now open!
This year, in addition to honouring Europe's best young talents in 9 categories, the EUROPRIX presents 3 Special Awards!

Feel the credit crunch? Get your "Crisis Discount"!
EUROPRIX is offering a "crisis discount": No registration fee for first time participants!

ENTER YOUR WORK NOW!

The Categories

• Online / Web Projects
• Offline Projects / Interactive DVD
•  Mobile Contents & Applications
• Games
• Computer Graphics & Design
• Interactive Installations
• Online & Digital Video / TV
• Content Tools & Interface Design
• Animations

EUROPRIX Special Awards for:

• Innovative multimedia concept
• Project with the best business potential
• Most creative design

Benefits: Nominees will receive a host of benefits, including:

• An all-expenses-paid trip to the EUROPRIX Multimedia Festival in Graz, Austria (November 11-13, 2010)
• Presentation of their project in the EUROPRIX publications, distributed all over Europe
• Great networking and unique promotion opportunities throughout Europe
• Become part of the powerful EUROPRIX community
• Cutting-edge software packages

Registration start: April 2010
Submission deadline: July 1, 2010
Submit your project online and learn more: www.europrix.org
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TAMK School of Art and Media and EUROPRIX have been partners since 1999. You can learn more about EUROPRIX at our International Week May 3-7 and Tampere Art Factory May 7-9
Read previous EUROPRIX stories on our blog
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Ikuinen Gallery: Installation by Maija Kovari "I'm pretty sure I need this"

Ikuinen Gallery
April 8 - 21
Maija Kovari: "I'm pretty sure I need this"
Open Mon-Fri 12-18
Finlaysoninkuja 3 Tampere

Vernissage Wed April 7 4pm-6pm

Maija Kovari:

"In my recent works I have been studying the concept of an object existing in space. What are the limits of this concept, what is needed, in order for us to identify a given form as real. In this piece I'm working with connotations that objects have written in them. How real can these meanings become, can they be more present in the situation than the object itself, and can they exist without anything concrete at all."

Maija Kovari is a third year student in the Degree Programme in Fine Arts of Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Her installations use familiar forms from everyday life, to build new approaches to the relation between space and the body of the observer.
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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.
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Previous Ikuinen Gallery posts
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Promoting Changes exhibition to INTERCOOL 3.0, Dortmund

Idea, concept, artistic direction: Pekka Niskanen

The show “Promoting Changes” explores the diverse ways in which mediated representations function in the construction of identity politics.

The show comprises of four different topics – activism, communities, fashion and the wild. The works in the show overlap with each other as well as break these artificially constructed boundaries.

The issues raised by the works of art in the show involve the construction of identity. The core idea is to explore the production of identity through stories, involving space and the presentation of the stories. The show seeks to examine how a spatially fixed identity can also be a political issue, and how this politics of identity is implemented using representational means.

The show explores possibilities for another kind of narration for some of the stories transmitted by mass media, and how hegemonic models of thinking could be shifted through narratives. The exhibition is targeted at young people and I have chosen to mostly use socially engaged methods.

The Lammi refugee centre, Tammerkoski high school, Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) Fine Art students and contemporary art center Hirvitalo will collaborate to realize the show. Socially engaged art as a strategy makes it possible to make almost every work in the exhibition in collaboration with young people or local communities.

The publicity the young people’s performances and other content get is part of the performative aspect of the exhibition. Their narratives about how they have challenged the hegemonic culture are going to be repeated in news sites on the web, blogs, online communities and discussion forums. The Internet is just as important a distribution channel for the performances as traditional media for the performances.

The exhibition also emphasizes the role of the Internet as a tool for making art. It has enabled new networks through which young people can organize and activate supporting individuals, groups and media. Their work against the established behavior models also changes our perceptions of young people and constructs their own identities.

Story: Pekka Niskanen
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Previous stories about INTER-COOL 3.0
InterCool 3.0
RUHR.2010
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MA in screenwriting fourth edition application period started

MA in Screenwriting graduation seremony in Manchester 2009: Laura Arpalahti, Kaisa Kuikkaniemi, Pirjo Ojala and Vera Kiiskinen

MA in Screenwriting is a joint masters programme arranged by University of Salford (Manchester, UK) and Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK).

The programme wishes to develop film scripts that are innovative and creative but which are also commercially viable. For appropriate film scripts the School has the capacity to assist in developing production contacts at the Berlin Film Festival, Cannes and the American Film Market in Los Angeles.

Some short film scripts written in Finland will be produced by the Media Production programmes of Salford and Tampere.

The programme is taught entirely in English. Semester One will be taught in Tampere and Semester Two in Manchester. Semester Three, where the students write their MA Film Project, may be completed in either the UK or Finland.

The course will run from September 2010 until December 2011. Deadline for applications of Finnish students is May 5th 2010.

Application info (in Finnish)
Application info (University of Salford, non-Finnish applicants)
More posts about MA in Screenwriting (in English)
Blog posts about MA in Screenwriting  (in Finnish)

The Electrician is a film developed during MA in Screenwriting
It has been invited to and awarded at numerous film festivals in Europe and Asia
Read all stories about the Electrician (in this blog)
The Electrician website