Pohjat / Grounds is an independent sound work about the stages and performances of the Baltic Circle festival in its 20 years of existence. It’s perhaps a podcast, perhaps a radio feature or drama. The work gives a voice to invited artists and past and current festival directors over the years. The festival is seen as a heterotopia, an enabler of work and a means of organising it. There is talk of exceptions and interruptions, and of the passing of time. Dramaturge Milka Luhtaniemi and critic Matti Tuomela will initiate the conversation. The sound design is by Tatu Nenonen. The title of the podcast refers to a ground or soil, the base or start of something. Baltic started somewhere, and this is where it is now. What happened in between? What phase is the current phase?
The podcast is in Finnish and English. All source material used in the sound design of the podcast comes from the archives of Baltic Circle.
Episode 1: Event
(The episode is in Finnish)
The opening episode of the podcast Pohjat / Grounds takes a trip five years back in time to the performance Wake and features a discussion on uniqueness. The guests of the episode are Emmi Venna and Ossi Koskelainen, and Baltic Circle’s new artistic director Hanna Parry and managing director Hanna Nyman.
The Post-MJ Era Institute of Consciousness made a club performance called Wake at Baltic Circle in 2015, as well as a performance called Afterlife in 2017. In addition to Emmi and Ossi, the team of Wake and Afterlife included Michael-Jan Havia, Ilpo Heikkinen, Anne Hiekkaranta, Samuli Laine, Suvi Matinaro, Jani-Matti Salo, Esete Sutinen, Sunny Seppä, Salla Hakkola, Emilia Neuvonen, Johannes Holopainen, Laura Pietiläinen, Marlon Moilanen, Pauliina Sjöberg, Iiris Laakso, Emilia Kallioinen, Niko Hallikainen, Kristiina Männikkö, Antti Salonen, Diana Tenkorang, Tino Singh, Corinna Helenelund, Ilmari Paananen ja Liisa Pesonen, Miko Kivinen, Touko Heikkinen, Anni Swahn, Geoffrey Erista, and Johannes Purovaara.
– –
Episode 2: Return
(The episode is in Finnish)
This episode returns to the roots of Baltic Circle with the festival founders Erik Söderblom and Jukka Hyde Hytti, together with Johanna Hammarberg. Furthermore, dancer-choreographer Maija Hirvanen shares her thoughts on her Operaatio Me (‘Operation Us’) trilogy. The first part of the trilogy, Meidän sosiaalidemokraattiset kehomme (‘Our social democratic bodies’) and the final episode Days Without Names were seen at the Baltic Circle festival in 2012 and 2014. The discussion with Maija also addresses failure as artistic potential.
The episode discusses at least the following performances: Our Social Democratic Bodies (with Maija Hirvanen, Eeva Muilu, Satu Herrala, Miikka Tuominen, Heikki Paasonen, Jouko Korkeasaari, and Ville Häkkinen), Days Without Names (with Maija Hirvanen, Fornier Ortiz, Tuovi Rantanen, Aino Voutilainen, Mikko Hynninen, Heikki Paasonen, Jouko Korkeasaari, Ville Häkkinen, Riikka Pelo, Ville Kabrell), Carnival project (with Maija Hirvanen, Janne Masalin + working group), Epic Failing: After You (with Maija Hirvanen, Pasi Mäkelä, Maija Karhunen, Hanna Ahti, Jouko Korkeasaari, Ville Häkkinen, Pekka Pitkänen, Hannu Nummela, Riikka Pelo).
– –
Episode 3: Others
(The episode is in Finnish)
In the first part of the episode, the dramaturge-author Laura Gustafsson discusses her and artist Terike Haapoja’s performance The Trial (2014) for Baltic Circle. Inspired by this work, the discussion segues to the relationship between art and activism, the institutional context of artworks, and the political status of non-human species. The working group for The Trial included Laura Gustafsson, Terike Haapoja, Suvi Kokkonen, Sami Säynevirta, Visa Kurki.
In the second part, we meet the artist-researcher Tuija Kokkonen to discuss non-human performance and its qualities in her thinking then and now. The episode also considers the concept of time from a dramaturgical perspective, and questions related to the structures of the art world. The episode travels back in time to Baltic Circle 2008 and the performance A Performance with an Ocean View (and a Dog/for a Dog) — II Memo of Time by Kokkonen and the artistic group Maus&Orlovski which, in addition to Kokkonen, included Eka (Ninacan Evita, dog), Sini Haapalinna, Jukka Hytti, Kaisa Illukka, Tomi Suovankoski, Robin Svartström, Tuire Tuomisto, Ari Tenhula.
– –
Episode 4: Collective
(The episode is in Finnish)
The episode dives into the Vibes collective and its appearances at Baltic Circle in 2013 and 2014. The guests of the episode are dramaturge-performer Ami Karvonen and choreographer-performer Masi Tiitta. The episode discusses the audience relationship, the borders between an artwork, its topics and working culture, and considers the conditions and rhythm of collective work. The episode discusses the work by Vibes from 2013, whose working group included Ville Ahonen, Laura Birn, Anna-Mari Karvonen, Anni Puolakka, Ville Seppänen, Heidi Soidinsalo and Masi Tiitta, and the work from 2014 which included Anna-Mari Karvonen, Anni Puolakka, Ville Seppänen and Masi Tiitta.
– –
Episode 5: Utopia
(The episode is in English)
In the final episode of the Grounds podcast we meet choreographer Sonya Lindfors and art curators Eva Neklyaeva and Satu Herrala. In the interview with Sonya, we discussed the political aspects of art and how to dream together both inside and outside of structures. The conversation touches upon topics of how to make better structures and spaces and how to find other words to broaden thinking and imagination. We Should All Be Dreaming is an ongoing dreaming practice by Sonya and Maryan Abdulkarim which manifested as a series of dinner talks at Baltic Circle in 2018.
We Should All Be Dreaming: Sonya Lindfors, Maryan Abdulkarim, Erno Aaltonen, Roy Boswell, David Munoz and local collaborations.
The talk with Satu and Eva starts with Eva recollecting her early years as the artistic director of Baltic Circle, in which she strived to make the festival more transdisciplinary. The conversation moves to include reflections on accessibility, the political potential of art in public, and the task of enabling something to happen for which there hasn’t been a place or possibility before. A crucial example of this was the year 2014 when the Make Arts Policy Summit made an important intervention into societal conditions at the time.
Make Arts Policy Summit: Dana Yahalomi, Terike Haapoja, Eva Neklyaeva, Satu Herrala, Eeva Bergroth, Sanna Taskinen
Milka Luhtaniemi is a dramaturge, writer and performer residing in Helsinki. She graduated from Helsinki’s Theatre Academy as a Master of Dramaturgy in 2020. Luhtaniemi works in the fields of literature and dramatic arts, and watches and makes performances as her job. She is interested in the information produced by performances, the power of collectives, momentariness and the interfaces of collegiality and performance research.
Matti Tuomela is a theatre and performing art critic living in Helsinki. Tuomela is a long-time contributor to the theatre, dance and circus magazine Teatteri&Tanssi+Sirkus, and his essays and critics have also been featured in e.g. Mustekala, Kritiikin Uutiset and Suomen Kuvalehti. Tuomela also writes dialogue-based art criticism together with his colleague Petteri Enroth in their project titled Seiskan pojat.
Tatu Nenonen is a Helsinki-based sound designer. Nenonen’s work serves the fields of dramatic arts, installation and radio essays by producing sonic and vibrational material. Nenonen’s designs have a physical and sculptural element. Nenonen’s latest works include Rikinkeltainen taivas at the Finnish National Theatre (2019, direction: Juhana von Bagh), Asennot at Q-teatteri (2019, direction: Anna-Mari Karvonen) and Talvi at the Centre for New Dance – Zodiak (2019, concept and choreography: Laura Jantunen).