Dear You Art Project

Mail Art + Pen Friends = Dear You Art Project

Arlene Tucker

Oh my! Our first package has arrived!

2018, Finland, USA, 1st GradeArlene TuckerComment

1B class in Helsinki, Finland were soooo excited to have received such a big package full of fantastic greetings and pictures from their new friends! Most of the children in the class have not visited NYC yet so their friends’ description of what Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens are like gave more juice for the imagination than you can begin to imagine!

Everybody first had a go at reading their friend’s letter by themselves. I think that the kids were too excited to focus on the words! After everybody had read their letter they started their response. Some wanted to start by drawing a picture and others immediately wanted to answer their friend’s questions.

This was wonderful as we got to practice how to be conversational on paper. The questions the New Yorkers asked were just lovely! How many people live in Finland? What is the weather like? Do you have any pets? There was a range of questions, but what was also lovely was how open and sharing everybody was. What a welcoming start to a long distance friendship!

We read and responded to the letters at school and soon realized that this was also a great opportunity to involve the parents. The parents helped the kids write their responses and find out facts for the curious New Yorkers. For example, we learnt that there are more people living in NYC than all of Finland! I think the parents had fun finding all of this information with their child : ).

The package will be sent to USA first thing tomorrow morning. Keep your eyes peeled!

With love,
Arlene & 1B

The students in Grade 2 (7-8 years old) at NEST+m in NYC are making and sharing art with the Grade 1 students at Ressun peruskoulu (7-8 years old) in Helsinki, Finland.

Through photography, The Monkeys tell about themselves

2018, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, FinlandArlene TuckerComment

The Monkeys were very happy to hear that they have new friends in Kontula! They got even more excited when they found out that they will get to meet their new friends in May after making and sharing art with them for a few months.

Since this is the first artwork in the series, we thought long and hard about what we would like to share with our new friends.  Everybody chose things they like to do, things they are interested in or shared traits about themselves:

Adripto: cabin crew (I like to help)
Neha: dancing and drawing
D: drawing
Pauli: hockey
Pranav: skating and playing with friends
Aryan: I like flying on airplanes
Aleksi: hockey
Vika: drawing
Aliah: I would like to show them how I draw
Rafael: I like how to play Kimbu with my friends
Nithila: I like to draw and I want to show it to them
Miriam: I want to show how I make snowflakes
Kinshuk: I want to show them how I play with legos
Miska: I want to show how slow I am
Miro: Playing with my soft toys
Umer: I want to show how fast humans are
Mikael: I like building castles

Once we got into the project we wanted to share even more things with you! Umer said, "We have some powers to teach you."

The Monkeys said that they liked taking the photo and also liked pretending for the photo. We hope you did too!

Sincerely,
Arlene, Sanna, Ben & The Monkeys

The 6 year old artists at Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with the 6 year old artists from Päiväkoti Pihapirtti in Helsinki, Finland.

The Monkeys and their epic stories

2017, 5 years old, 6 years old, Australia, Collective Art, Dear You Art Workshops, Dear You Workshop Leader, FinlandArlene TuckerComment

The Monkeys did an amazing job working together to create their stories! They thought about the characters in the story, what the main idea of the story would be about, and then how the story would begin, progress, and then end.

Another great part of this Inspiring Stories project is that we first looked at the artworks from our friends in Australia to gain inspiration. So you could say, K/1HT had a helping hand and was an important part of this creative process! We inspire each other!

TheMonkeys #DearYou #InspiringStories #YourSchool #Espoo #Finland #Arlene

TheMonkeys #DearYou #Espoo #Finland #YourSchool #InspiringStories

Thank you K/1HT for being such great friends to us! We love your artworks and hope you like ours as well!  Wishing you a great 2018!!

With love,
Arlene & The Monkeys

The Monkeys from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with K/1HT class from Bulli Public School in Bulli, Australia. All artists are 5-6 years old.

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These are pictures The Monkeys drew as they listened to the story, The War of the Animals.

Listen to the Tigers tell 'Joulupukki goes to India' and 'The Ice Cream Story 1'!

2017, 4 years old, 5 years old, Collective Art, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, USAArlene TuckerComment
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Who wouldn't be in the creative mood with the smell and looks of these delicious handmade gingerbread cookies?!?! With these in the air of the Tiger's room, we got straight to making the art work for our Full Moon friends in Philadelphia!

We started by looking at all of the artworks they mailed us. This gave us inspiration for our stories. We got into two groups and worked together to come up with characters and an amazing story line. Have a listen!

Tigers #Espoo #Finland #InspiringStories #DearYou #YourSchool

These artists create and told the story of Joulupukki goes to India! ps. Joulupukki means Santa Claus in Finnish :). 

These artists create and told the story of Joulupukki goes to India! ps. Joulupukki means Santa Claus in Finnish :). 

InspiringStories #Tigers #YourSchool #Espoo #Finland #DearYou

Jumping with joy, the artists of The Ice Cream Story 1 say woo hoo!!

Jumping with joy, the artists of The Ice Cream Story 1 say woo hoo!!

The Tigers are so grateful and happy they had this time to make and share art with you all!  Thank you and we wish you a HAPPY HAPPY New Year!

With love,
Arlene & The Tigers

The Tigers from Your School Espoo, Finland are making and sharing with the Full Moons from Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia, USA. Both groups are 4-5 years old.

Making inspiring stories calls for a party!

13 year olds, 2017, 7th Grade, China, Dear You Art Workshops, FinlandArlene TuckerComment
We are watching a video our friends in China made for us!

We are watching a video our friends in China made for us!

For the last project of this session, we thought it would be great to bring the artists in 7C from Helsingin yhteislyseo to get to know another artistic space in Kontula, Helsinki. So we gathered in Museum of Impossible Forms to create Inspiring Stories art project and celebrate with next year's Dear You group from Päiväkoti Pihapirtti, who are also located in Kontula!

We started the session by looking at a video a few of the artists from Shenzhen Middle School made for their friends in Kontula. They had made a sweet introduction of themselves and also shared with us the art that they have been making in China.

Looking at our friend's artwork and thinking about past Dear You projects we have made gave us some material to work with as the next step was to make an audio story.  One artist said we need to keep in mind the sanoma (the message) when creating a story.  Some other creative writing elements are to designate characters and what is the beginning, middle, and end of the story. 

We then got into small groups and came up with four different amazing stories! When it was time to record, we thought about intonation, sound effects, and tone of voice to enhance the story.

The stories were all so different! Have a listen! 

MuseumofImpossibleForms #Forest #Kontula #Helsinki #Finland #13yearsold #InspiringStories

Forest is a story about a boy named Ajax. He lived in the 1940s in a small village. Ajax went to pick some berries and mushrooms in the woods. About an hour into the journey, he found himself lost. He then saw a mökki (a small cottage) and peaked through the window. Inside he saw an open cupboard, which had a lot of food in it. He went inside and ate a big loaf of bread. After that he left the mökki to try and find his way home. Along the way, he met an old person and asked this person some questions. The old person didn't understand anything!

DearYou #Kontula #Helsinki #Finland #InspiringStories #13yearsold #MuseumofImpossibleForms

DearYou #Kontula #MuseumofImpossibleForms #Helsinki #Finland #InspiringStories #13yearsold

The storytellers from Differences and Similarities have more questions for their friends in China.

Do you pack your own lunch? Or do you pay 1euro for it? Or how much?
Do you have a lot of homework?
When does your school day end?
Are your tests difficult?
Does your school have any after-school activities?

Helsinki #Kontula #MuseumofImpossibleForms #DearYou #InspiringStories

Eläimet puussa , Animal in the tree (English translation)
All the animals are meeting under a tree and they decided to make a pack. The pack leader is the lion. The walrus also wants to be a leader. They start to fight and the walrus wins. The walrus will become the leader and so the lion has to go. The walrus was a good leader but the lion returned. The lion took a coconut from the tree and hit the walrus in the head with it while the walrus was asleep. The walrus got a mild concussion! The lion became the leader again. The animals didn't want the lion to the be leader so everybody else left the pack.

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We had a great time making these stories for you!

Thank you! Kiitos!

With love,
Arlene, Anastasia, Saara, and the artists at 7C

The 13 year old artists at Helsingin yhteislyseo in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 13 year old artists from Shenzhen Middle School in Shenzhen, China.

In autumn 2017 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.

From left to right: Saara Raevuori, Arlene Tucker, and Anastasia Artemeva. Saara is the art teacher at Helsingin yhteislyseo. Arlene and Anastasia are the makers and creators of Dear You. Thank you, Museum of Impossible Forms for hosting us!

From left to right: Saara Raevuori, Arlene Tucker, and Anastasia Artemeva. Saara is the art teacher at Helsingin yhteislyseo. Arlene and Anastasia are the makers and creators of Dear You. Thank you, Museum of Impossible Forms for hosting us!

"My friends are trading together"

2017, 5 years old, 6 years old, China, Dear You Art Workshops, FinlandArlene TuckerComment
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What a day it was with The Explorers! When I told them that the idea today was to come up with a unanimous title for our collective book and to weave using recycled materials, everybody was so open minded to try new art techniques and to work together!  As always, I am deeply impressed with these young artists with how respectful and imaginative they are!

So how are ALL of us going to come up with one title when we ALL have such amazing ideas?  The Explorers came up with excellent suggestions such as, 1. to mix the ideas together, 2. we can vote, 3. we can take turns.  Being the kind and diplomatic group, The Explorers combined these methods and off we went with spouting out title ideas!

The top three titles were:
- Together my friend trading
- My friends are trading together
- Friends trading places

And the winner is, "My friends are trading together"!  This title really encapsulates Dear You art project and the process of exchange. Amazing how these 5 year old artists understand so clearly the heart of friendship, sharing, and creativity!

This was the first time The Explorers tried weaving and they all did a fantastic job as they took their time, asked for help when needed, and persevered when faced with a challenge.  Everybody could choose what they would like their base or loom to be.  They then played with colors, patterns, and happy coincidences that arose when weaving images together.

We hope our friends in China like our artwork!

With love,
Arlene & The Explorers

The Explorers, 5-6 year olds, from International School of Helsinki in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing with the artists aged 6 years old at Shenzhen Primary School in Shenzhen, China.

"Differences and Similarities"

13 year olds, 2017, 7th Grade, China, Dear You Art Workshops, FinlandArlene TuckerComment
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With open minds and ears, 7C came to art class full of energy! In this session we made book covers for our joint project with our new friends in China. We decided to use recycled paper not only to be ecological and creative, but also, this way one can extrapolate so much information about the local environment in Finland just from the words and pictures found on the paper.

The first challenge was coming up with a unanimous title for the book!  Everybody was so gracious and diplomatic that it went smoothly, but we did go through quite many processes to get there. First we got into small groups to brainstorm and come up with some ideas. Then every group wrote their favorite idea on the board. They were:

- The wisdom of art
- The book of art
- Dear You
- Art book / Taidekirja / 藝術書
- The story of difference and similarity
- FinChi Konchita

We all voted and 'The story of difference and similarity' won! All was settled, until somebody spoke their mind and asked if we could shorten it. Good thing this person opened up because they made a very good point about why it should be modified. So then we all revoted and that's how the title 'Differences and Similarities' was born!

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The range of papers gave them so much to play with color, patterns, and storylines!

I think these woven pieces of art are beautiful and we hope you like them too!

With love,
Arlene, Saara, and the artists at 7C

The 13 year old artists at Helsingin yhteislyseo in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 13 year old artists from Shenzhen Middle School in Shenzhen, China.

In autumn 2017 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.

"Our Nice Monkeys"

2017, 5 years old, 6 years old, Australia, Dear You Art Workshops, FinlandArlene Tucker1 Comment
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As usual, when I visit the Monkeys we start by reviewing what have made together so far to give context and understanding. This time, their memory continued to last year when we were making art with our friends in Mexico and United Arab Emirates! They recalled all the art projects we had made together. Amazed and heartfelt that they remembered all those details!

The November project, Weaving environments, is about putting the first two art projects received from our friends in Australia into a book. But what will the title of the book be? The first challenge of the day is to come up with a title together! So how will we do that? The Monkeys suggested we do rock paper scissors or listen to everybody.  We did a combination and took a vote! They thought this could be a fair way to proceed. 

SO many good ideas for the title to choose from! The possibilities were: 'Our Sweetheart', 'Our artwork', 'Our objects in the park', 'Our nice objects', 'Our nice Monkeys', 'Our nice friends in Australia', 'Our nice group', and 'Our nice toys'.

And the winner is...
Our nice Monkeys!!

Weaving was a new art technique for most of the Monkeys and they did a great job! They started to play with patterns and colors after they got the hang of the technique. Also, we talked about the symbolic aspect of weaving and the usage of recycled materials. I think our friends in Bulli can pick up a little on Finnish language from the papers we chose to weave.

Thank you and we hope you like our artwork!

My best,
Arlene and The Monkeys

The Monkeys from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with K1HT class from Bulli Public School in Bulli, Australia. All artists are 5-6 years old.

"Ladybugs"

2017, 4 years old, 5 years old, Collective Art, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, USAArlene TuckerComment
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When I got to Your School I was so happy to hear that another magical package from Moonstone Preschool in USA had arrived!! We opened it and pondered over the amazing questions the Full Moon artists posed to us.  In short, YES! We like Halloween too!!

For this next project, Weaving Environments, we thought about how the art technique can support the idea symbolically, but also practically.  Since the aim of this month's project was to  make a book cover, we first talked about the title of our story.  How do we unanimously decide on something when there are so many of us?  For example, when our friend wants to play a different game from you, how do we come to a peaceful conclusion?  The Tigers had so many lovely ideas such as take turns.  Seeing that we are such a big group, we thought to take a vote, which is something the Tigers do in the classroom too.

Here are the many different ideas that the Tigers came up for the title of their story. 

Everybody could have one vote. And the winner is Ladybugs!!

Everybody could have one vote. And the winner is Ladybugs!!

This was the first time the Tigers had a go at weaving. They all did an amazing job taking their time and making sure that they are going under and over when needed.  They got very good at seeing where things need to be corrected, which is a big part when one is weaving.  The artists could choose if they wanted to write the title 'Ladybugs' or draw ladybugs on the book cover.

I am so proud of them and they are of themselves, which is the most important part!!

We hope the Full Moons like our patterns, weavings, and book covers!

With love,
Arlene, The Tigers, Iveta, and Atefeh

The Tigers from Your School Espoo, Finland are making and sharing with the Full Moons from Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia, USA. Both groups are 4-5 years old.

Are you silly? Great questions from the Monkeys!

2017, 5 years old, 6 years old, Australia, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, Pre-SchoolArlene Tucker3 Comments
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We had such a great time coming up with questions for our friends in Australia!  Before we got started we first looked at the self-portraits we received. They are so beautiful!  They also helped us guide what kind of questions to ask our new friends.

Making pictures to compliment words was a really good challenge for us.  And each picture has it's own history as well! For example, Pranav drew a picture of his family to compliment his question, "What color hair do you have?" Everybody in his picture has black hair because that's what is like in his family! I am guessing the purple figure is the artist. 

Let's turn this into a game! Below is what the artists drew. Can you think of what was their question? (some answers are below)

Adripto, "vegetables and fruits."
Pranav, "my family all have black hair."
Miro, "here is a boy who is taller than the house."
Aleksi, "cheese and carrots and watermelon."
Mikael, "there is a tree game."
Raphael, "this is a monster from Espoo."
Miska, "there are people running a race."
Vika, "this is a picture of me."
Pauli, "this is a picture of the game."
Umer, "there are 2 boys playing with space rocks."

We chose to use markers and colored pencils to make our artworks. The colors and medium make such a difference!

We hope you like our questions and we look forward to hearing your response!

My best,
Arlene & The Monkeys

The Monkeys from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with K1HT class from Bulli Public School in Bulli, Australia. All artists are 5-6 years old.

Which country are you from?
Are you silly?
How long is your arm?
How do you choose your clothes?
What food do you like?
Which city are you from?
What do you look like?
How fast can you run?
What color are your eyes?
Do you like to play clash clans?
Are you crazy?
How healthy are you?
Are you sleepy?
How long is your hair?
How tall are you?

Philosophical questions and art

2017, 13 year olds, 7th Grade, Dear You Art Workshops, China, FinlandArlene TuckerComment
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It has been a while since I have been sincerely thought provoked and moved by the many questions the artists in Kontula were asking. Blown away by the artistic and conceptual skills these artists have!

As part of the warm up we got into a good discussion about questions, poster art, and graphic design. Some artists were sharing what their favorite fonts were so we took a moment to imagine the font used in different contexts and how that would have an affect on the message.  One way to see how our art is being perceived is to ask, tell and listen. Our voices are a powerful tool. We should use it!

We also looked at graphic design and artists who use graphics in their artworks such as Ed Ruscha. We considered text styles, letter size, composition, and color as communication tools. 

Then the questions started pouring out! Some artists wanted to make art from their own questions and others chose to use questions from their classmates. In any case, the outcomes were amazing!

Thank you and we hope you have a moment to answer our questions!

With love,
Arlene, Saara, and the artists at 7C

The 13 year old artists at Helsingin yhteislyseo in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 13 year old artists from Shenzhen Middle School in Shenzhen, China.

In autumn 2017 Dear You project in Kontula is supported by the Museum of Impossible Forms.

Monkeys make magic

2017, 5 years old, 6 years old, Australia, FinlandArlene TuckerComment
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The Monkeys are very excited to have new friends from Australia!  We looked on the map to see where Australia is in relation to Finland. It's a looong ways away.  They already had a sense of that because one of their teachers is from Australia.  They are looking forward to making more friends from there!

We started off by talking about what it means to make a self-portrait.  We looked at one other and tried to be eachother's mirrors. As we were investigating ourselves, we were thinking about what part of us would we like to share and tell our new friends.

This was the first time using carbon transfers and they all did a great job! As they were understanding how the technique works, they were coming up with their own ways of drawing. At that time, the Monkeys were learning about space so a lot of the artists incorporated the moon and stars into their self-portrait.

Everybody got a chance to talk about their self-portrait.  Rafael said, "I have shabby hair and eyes."  Miro said, "I am playing a game on my tablet."  Adripto included a pictures of himself and his sister.  Alia said, "It's me and my little brother. We are looking at the shooting stars and there is the flag of Somalia."  Do these sound familiar to you?

We are very curious about you all and where you live!  The Monkeys would like to know, what do you see in Australia?

Looking forward to hearing from you!

My best,
Arlene & The Monkeys

The Monkeys from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with K1HT class from Bulli Public School in Bulli, Australia. All artists are 5-6 years old.

The Tigers are great storytellers!

2017, 4 years old, 5 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, USAArlene TuckerComment
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The Tigers are super welcoming with their big smiles and good creative energy!  Today was extra special as I got to tell them that we have new friends from Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia. Immediately the questions started buzzing and they tried to make connections.  They started sharing stories of who they know in the USA and if they have ever visited the country.

This was the first time the Tigers had ever made carbon transfers.  I am so proud that they all took their time to cover their paper with graphite.  The magic started when they began to draw.  That's when they got extra excited and thought it was magic at first!  Some got frustrated when the marks didn't go through, but they persevered and got it to work for them!

When we were finished we all sat down together to look at each other's artwork.  The pictures are so descriptive of who the artists of, where they live, and what they like.  Erik said, "I am on a bus. I am riding the bus to my home. This is big me and little me."  Mikelus said, "I am walking outside and stop in the forest for the postman."  Vanessa decided to make a family portrait.  Leevi said that this picture is of a happy person.  I love the positive image Leevi has about himself!  Reno said, "a tiny baby superman is playing basketball with me."  Who wouldn't want to play with you?!

Can you find the portrait of the carpetman?
Which pictures are of a happy person?
Which picture has somebody walking through an apple orchard?

We are so happy to make a collective book with our Moonstone friends!

With love,
Arlene & The Tigers

The Tigers from Your School Espoo, Finland are making and sharing with the Full Moons from Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia, USA. Both groups are 4-5 years old.

Dear You: A Live Act at Ilmifestivaali

2017, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Dear You Workshop Leader, Events, Finland, HelsinkiArlene TuckerComment
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(English below)

Pe 13.10. klo 9.30–11.30 työpaja esikoululaisille ja koululaisille
La 14.10. klo 12–16, avoin nonstop-työpaja
Su 15.10. klo 14–15 performanssi, avoin kaikille 

Vapaa pääsy! 

Kuvitellut tilat heräävät eloon Dear You –ryhmän A Live Act – työpajassa. Työpajassa tutkitaan ja toteutetaan unelmien maailmoita installaation ja performanssin keinoin. 

Lauantaina perheille avoimissa työpajoissa tutkimme multimediatekniikoita sekä veistoksellisia muotoja ja teemme niistä osallistavan installaation. 

Sunnuntaina on kaikille avoin tanssiperformanssi teatteritilassa, jonka osallistujat ovat itse luoneet. 

Jakaa sinun unelmasi! Paina tässä lisää infoa.

Kenelle: Yli 3-vuotiaille, koululaisille ja perheille
Kielet: suomi, englanti, venäjä 
Työpajojen ohjaajat: Arlene Tucker, Anastasia Artemeva
Sunnuntain performanssi: Arlene Tucker, Anastasia Artemeva sekä tanssitaitelija Vera Lapitskaya ja muusikko Mayim Alpert. 

Kutsu yhteisen installaation tekemiseen löytyy Teatteri ILMI Ö:n kotisivuilta: https://www.teatteri-ilmio.fi/tapahtuma/ilmifestivaali/ 

Taiteiljat: 
Anastasia Artemeva on Venäjällä syntynyt, Irlannissa kasvanut, nykyään Helsingissä toimiva visuaali- ja yhteistötaiteilija. Hänen teoksensa muototutuvat monivaiheisissa prosesseissa ammentaen inspiraatiota installaatiotaiteesta, taidekasvatuksesta ja ihmisoikeustutkimuksista. Temaattisia lähteitä ovat sosiaalisten normit ja hyväksytyt totuudet, yhteiskunnallisen läpinäkyvyyden ja eksklusiivisuuden kyseenalaistaminen sekä niihin vaikuttavat sosio-poliittiset, kulttuurilliset ja henkilökohtaiset rajoitteet sekä kommunikaatiokeinot. 

Arlene Tucker on taiwanilais-amerikkalainen taiteilja ja kasvattaja, jonka alaa ovat interaktiiviset installaatiot ja arjen värittäminen leikillä taiteen keinoin. Inspiroituneena kielitieteistä, eläimistä ja luonnosta hän löytää tapoja yhdistellä ja etsiä merkityksiä jaetuista ympäristöistämme. Usein hänen teoksensa rakentavat tiloja dialogin avaamiselle ja julkistamiselle, kannustaen näin tulkintoja ja yllätyksiä kukoistamaan. Arlene loi Dear Youn vuonna 2013, jotta koululaiset, koulut ja taiteilijat ympäri maailman voisivat kerääntyä yhteen taidekirjeenvaihdon kautta. Hän on esittänyt töitään taiteilijana ja taidekasvattajana Euroopassa, Pohjois-Amerikassa ja Aasiassa. 

Vera Lapitskaya on Helsingissä toimiva tanssitaitelija ja kasvattaja. Vuodesta 2009 alkaen hän on sekä työskennellyt itsenäisenä sooloartistina että tehnyt yhteistyötä muiden taiteiljoiden kanssa, niin Suomessa kuin kansainvälisestikin. Hän lähestyy taidetta monialaisesta näkökulmasta, joka suo tanssille tilaa kohdata musiikin, maalaustaiteen, runouden ja kaikki muut taiteenmuodot. Opetuksessaan hän suhtautuu ihmiskehoon inspiraation lähteenä ja rohkaisee oppilaitaan, ikään katsomatta, ilmaisemaan itseään liikkeellä sekä löytämään oman kehonkielensä. 

Mayim Alpert on muusikko, säveltäjä, soitinrakentaja ja äänisuunnittelija, varttunut Arkansasissa ja kotiutunut Helsinkiin. Vuosia hän on rakentanut kitaroita jms., soittanut bändeissä, ja tehnyt musiikkia teattereille ja kaikenlaisiin tapahtumiin.

+++++

Friday, 13.10. 9.30–11.30 workshop with school children
Saturday, 14.10. 12–16, open non-stop workshop
Sunday, 15.10. 14–15 performance, open to the public

Free entrance!

Imagined spaces come creatively alive in Dear You’s A Live Act for Ilmi Festival. We will explore and realize our dream worlds through installation and performance. In the workshop open for families we will explore multimedia techniques and sculptural forms to build the set for the participatory installation. On Sunday, there will be a dance performance in the theatre space created by you!

Share your dream! Click here for more info.

For: children over 3 years old, school children and families
Language: Finnish, English, Russian
Workshop facilitators: Arlene Tucker, Anastasia Artemeva
Sunday performance: Arlene Tucker, Anastasia Artemeva with dance artist Vera Lapitskaya and musician Mayim Alpert

For more information about the festival: https://www.teatteri-ilmio.fi/tapahtuma/ilmifestivaali/ 

Artists:
Anastasia Artemeva is a visual and relational artist, born in Russia, raised in Ireland, and currently based in Helsinki, Finland. Her work is developed through a process-oriented artistic practice, drawn from installation art, art education, and research in human rights. Conceptually, it draws from the codes of social norms and accepted truths, questioning transparency and exclusivity affected by socio–political, cultural and personal restrictions and means of communication.

Arlene Tucker, is a Taiwanese and American interactive installation artist and educator interested in adding play elements to daily life through her art. Inspired by translation studies, animals and nature, she finds ways to connect and make meaning in our shared environments. Often her artworks create spaces for dialogue to be opened and to be divulged, making way for interpretations and surprises to flourish. Arlene created Dear You in 2013 as a means for school children, schools, and artists from all over the world to come together through mail art exchange. Over her career she has presented her work as an artist and art educator in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Vera Lapitskaya is a dance artists and educator based in Helsinki. Since 2009, she’s been working as an independent solo performer and in collaborations with other artists in Finland and internationally. In her artistic work she is looking for a multidisciplinary approach which gives space for dance to meet music, paintings, poetry and other art forms. In her teaching she approaches human body as a source of inspiration and encourages students, regardless age, to express themselves through physical movement and to find their own body language.

Mayim Alpert is a musician, composer, luthier and sound designer, raised in Arkansas and based in Helsinki. For many years he has been building guitars etc., playing in bands, and making music for theatre and many kinds of happenings.

K1 makes creative connections!

2016, 4 years old, 5 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Dear You Workshop Leader, Finland, MexicoArlene TuckerComment

We have been getting to know ourselves and the world through making art.  Now let's put all the pieces together and make a collective piece of art which shows different ways to get to our friends in Mexico!

As we were using recycled materials, the artists realized that this was also a sensorial experience! They smelled the empty coffee bags and thought that this could help with the travels :).  Some K1ers said that Mommy likes to drink coffee.

Submarines, flying helicopters, jets, and more!

Thank you!

Our best,
K1 and Arlene Tucker

The 4-5 year olds in K1 at International School of Helsinki in Helsinki, Finland are making and sharing art with the 4-5 year olds in K2B class from San Patricio Colegio in Monterrey, Mexico.

Here's a panoramic view of K1's world!

Here's a panoramic view of K1's world!

Dear You at InDialogue Symposium December 1 & 2, 2016!

United Kingdom, Events, PresentationArlene TuckerComment

Presenters: Jessica Bradley and Louise Atkinson, Rachael Colley and Nuala Clooney, Linda Duvall, Tom Estes, Sarah Green, John Hammersley,  Frank Heather, Caroline Horton and Jacqueline Taylor, Daniel Hunt, Petra Johnson, Garrett Lynch, matthews and allen, Francesco Mazzarella and Gavin Rogers,  Ella McCartney, Sam Metz and Abigail Parsons, Tychonas Michailidis and Balandino Di Donato, Jake Moore and Jade Williams, Sally Morfill and Ana Cavic, Katarina Rankovic, Zoe Robertson, Natalie Garrett Brown and Amy Voris, Susanne Palzer, Zoe Petersen, Gaby Saldanha, Dan Scott, Joanna Sperryn-Jones and Craig Newsome, Dani Tagen, Arlene Tucker and Anastasia Artemeva, Gemma-Rose Turnbull and Anthony Luvera

Guest Speakers: Dom Breadmore, Elena Cologni, Luigi Galimberti, Saskia Holmkvist, Bo Olawoye, Helen Varley Jamieson and Rachelle Viader Knowles, and Katherine Wimpenny.

Keynote: Professor Grant Kester (University of California)

Chair: Professor Steve Swindells (University of Huddersfield)

Performers: InDialogue resident artists Chloé Déchery and Jane McKernan, Sally Doughty, Rachel Krische and Lisa Kendall, Vida Midgelow and Jane Bacon, and Michael Pinchbeck. 

Curated and convened by: founders of InDialogue Heather Connelly and Rhiannon Jones

Supported by: Nottingham Contemporary, New Art Exchange, Dance4, Nottingham City Council and Birmingham City University. Dear You's interactive presentation is supported by
Taiteen edistämiskeskus (Taike).

For up to date information on the programme, artists bios and abstracts please visit: 
http://www.indialogue.uk.com

To register for the event, click here.

Image credit: Monika Jaeckel: The Touching Moment: Touch as dialogical form – the matter(ing) of response(ability) or being constituted by getting in touch. Integrated paper and performers Katherine Hall, Jack A. G.Britton and Lewis H…

Image credit: Monika Jaeckel: The Touching Moment: Touch as dialogical form – the matter(ing) of response(ability) or being constituted by getting in touch. Integrated paper and performers Katherine Hall, Jack A. G.Britton and Lewis Holt. InDialogue 2014, Nottingham Contemporary. Photograph by Amy Payton Edwards.

For many reasons, we are happy Monkeys!

2016, 5 years old, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, MexicoArlene TuckerComment

The happy Monkeys just got happier!  They were very excited to receive the lovely letter and artworks from K2B class in Mexico.  Every part of the process was exciting- from reading the names of our friends to talking about Elmer the Elephant!  Thank you! Kiitos! Gracias!

We first started talking about what we see when we walk out of the school.  What is the environment like outside of Your School's doorstep?  Monkeys talked about pine trees, birds, bushes, and now we have snow.  Now the grass is covered with white snow.

Then we continued with our characters and where their homes are.  We imagined if we were at our friend's home and stepped outside, what would we find.  How would it look in the daytime and what about at nighttime?  The Monkeys first used wax crayons to accentuate and outline shapes.  When they painted over with watercolor this art technique helped highlight what they were trying to show in their painting.

K2B, we have a couple of questions for you.  Do you have snow in Mexico?  What do you like to do for fun?

We hope you like our artworks and we look forward to hearing from you!

Our best,
Arlene & the Monkeys

The 5-6 year old Monkeys from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with the 5-6 year olds from Colegio Bosques de las Cumbres in Monterrey, Mexico.

 

Tigers are grateful for their gifts from Mexico. And then make more art!

2016, 4 years old, 5 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, MexicoArlene TuckerComment

The Tigers were so very happy to receive artworks from their friends from Mexico!!  We read their letter and then proudly put their artworks on the classroom wall.  Gracias amigos!

For the Look around project we started off by revisiting where our characters live.  When we stepped out of our character's home, What did we see? What was there? What was the environment like?  Everybody's imagination took them to a different place!  We thought about what this environment looks like in the daytime and at nighttime.  Using wax crayons and watercolors, we made our imagination come to life!  

With love,
Arlene & the Tigers

The Tigers from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with Nursery A from Colegio San Patricio Cumbres in Monterrey, Mexico.  Both groups of artists are 4 years old.

From Inside to Outside, the layers are exposed

2016, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Dear You Workshop Leader, Finland, MexicoArlene TuckerComment

The artistic boys at Espoon kuvataidekoulu (Espoo's Visual Arts School) had fun creating the inside and outside of their character's home using scratch art technique.

When everybody came into the studio, on the tables were their characters they had sculpted out of clay and then painted.  They were so happily surprised to see how their figures changed when fired in the oven!  These were the characters they invented for the first project, Lights, Camera, Action! and have been continued into the following project, Layers of Love.

After some discussion about their characters we moved on to where they live.  Everybody had a unique response.  We first created what their home looks like on the inside.  The colors they chose also help convey the feeling of the place.  The artists were a bit wary of painting over the oil pastel drawings, but once they understood how scratch art technique worked, they got very involved with drawing the outside of their home.

Each one is unique and tells their own story!  We hope our friends in Mexico like these artworks!

With love,
Arlene

The 6 year old artists from Espoon kuvataidekoulu in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with Prepri A, the group of 6 year old artists from San Patricio Colegio in Monterrey, Mexico.

Espoon kuvataidekoulu creates with their new friends!

2016, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, Mexico, Pre-School, TeachingArlene TuckerComment

The 6 year old artist at Espoon kuvataidekoulu were very excited to find out that they have friends in Mexico!  We looked on the map where Mexico is and when we looked at pictures we saw that it seems very hot and dry climate. We already have so many questions!

What language do you speak?
Is it fun in Mexico?
What about the houses and buildings in Monterrey? What are they like?

Our artworks continued from character drawings we have been creating.  We have characters that are self-portraits, from Pikachu, and from our imagination.

Thank you and we look forward to meeting you!

With love,
Arlene, Eliisa, and artists from Espoo Visual Arts School

The 6 year old artists from Espoon kuvataidekoulu in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with Prepri A, the group of 6 year old artists from San Patricio Colegio in Monterrey, Mexico.