Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo, Helsinki Dance House Association and Finnish Light Art Society FLASH invite Finnish artists and artists permanently living in Finland to take part in the competition to create a permanent light art work at the Dance House Helsinki’s Event Square.

Dance House Helsinki is currently under construction in the north-east end of Cable Factory. The biggest venue dedicated to dance in Finland is scheduled to open in 2022. The new building will have e.g. two performance halls and an Event Square connecting all the premises to each other.

Event Square will be the entrance lobby of Dance House Helsinki, through which visitors enter the building. It also serves as a foyer and a venue for various occasions.

On the lookout for a high-quality light art work

The purpose of the competition is to find an advanced idea for a light art work on Event Square, which is an industrial and robust space.

The competition is on the lookout for a high-quality light art work that reflects the architectural spirit of Dance House Helsinki as well as the bodily experience associated with dance as a form of art. The art work also works as a functional light source that creates a special atmosphere to the space.

- Dance and light have a special relationship. On stage, light makes movements visible and directs the viewer’s attention when needed. Event Square wants to respect this delicate relationship, and to draw people’s attention to the artistic power of light. Hopefully the light art work will bring new dimensions to the space, which will continue the union of movement and light outside the stage, describes Matti Numminen, the director of Dance House Helsinki.

- The light art competition was born out of a desire to promote the percentage principle, which aims at reserving a portion of the funding during the construction of new public buildings for art procurements. With this competition, we want to support new art as part of the construction of Dance House Helsinki, explains Kai Huotari, CEO of Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo.

The competition is open until the beginning of December

The competition is open to Finnish artists and artist permanently living in Finland. Also working groups can apply. The competition follows the competition rules of The Artists’ Association of Finland. However, a candidate does not necessarily have to be a member of any member association of The Artists’ Association.

Entries will be accepted from 17 November to 1 December 2020 from 9 am to 4 pm.

The following prizes will be awarded in the competition: 1st prize 5,500 €, 2nd prize 3,000 €, and 3rd prize 1,500 €. A sum of 75,000 € has been set aside for the art work. The money is intended to cover all the costs required to complete the work.

The prize committee evaluates the match between artistic insight and functionality of the competition entries, as well as the work’s connection with bodily experience and dance. In the evaluation, attention is paid to how well the art work stands the test of time, blends into the functional space with audience involved as well as the surrounding architecture and various events taking place in the space.

More information on the competition program and appendices: www.tanssintalorakentuu.fi/valotaidekilpailu/en

More information:
Chairman Juha Rouhikoski, Finnish Light Art Society FLASH, juha.rouhikoski(at)gmail.com, tel. +358 45 259 1617
Kai Huotari, Managing director, Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo, kai.huotari(at)kaapelitehdas.fi, tel. +358 50 384 1557

Photo: Illustration of Event Square / JKMM Architects