As a family we have been getting re-acquainted with our surroundings and making a mental note of the places that will be of interest to the following artists’ in resident. I had plans of hand making a map although I feel something more factual is needed such as Google maps, images of landmarks on the way to a particular destination. There is plenty available within walking distance from the accommodation such as the bus stop, a small play area, supermarket, and lake all within a mile radius. Takahuhti is located within a park and Cassius is very happy to play on the grass and run around the trees. Walking in suburbia or in the city we regularly come by really well designed play areas not only for the children but also for the adults for example the spaces are softly framed by greenery with wooden benches to sit on. The flooring is always covered with sandy stone material which the children can dig or draw into that is soft under your feet when you walk across it. I particularly liked this wooden Wendy house structure which had different pots, boxes, scoopers to collect materials in with shelves to place them onto. These play areas are places that a family would want to spend time in unless your child is having a continual tantrum about sharing the swing.
The main focus of this research residency is to re-connect with the Tampere Artists’ Association in person as there is only so much that can be organised by email correspondence. On Monday I met with Arja, the director of the association at there offices at Maltinrantaa where there are two galleries, atelier rooms, shop, art lending services and printmaking facilities. The meeting went well and I felt they where supportive of this project offering more of a higher profile space at Maltinrantaa for the resident artists to present there work. I was surprised to hear that blogging about artistic practice was not very common in Finland although the association are keen to write an article about this project which will feature in the free monthly arts magazine later in the year. During our meeting I was introduced to some artist mothers who where very enthusiastic about the idea of a family residency there was also a visiting artist from Dussledorf where there are many artist exchange programmes that I must research further into. Finally I got to meet Saara the Finnish artist mother to discuss her upcoming residency at Islington Mill.
Saara is keen to meet other artist mothers and my idea of an open crit where invited artists can come and talk about there work will be a good way of introducing people. It’s important that partners and children can also attend, this needs more planning to accommodate everyone involved. This will give Saara the chance to hear more about how the women are balancing a working practice with parenthood. Back at Takahuhti although I have access to this amazing studio Cassius is the one taking over the space with his toy cars. We did manage to start with an idea for a new performance which involved creating a child trap where a broom precariously balances on top of a ladder whilst he speeds cars off the edge of the steps. For months I have been thinking about glueing together the many structures we make as a family which I planned to do on the residency. However every time we complete a build Cassius quickly destroys it, there is something in this, the work that never gets made that I like although I still want to stick the bricks together…
