SEE SAW SEEDS EFFECT 2024 – Cultural Kaleidoscope

Videokaffe and Conferrence on Arts and Art Projects (C.A.P.) 

The Art House Turku || Temporary Art Space provided by the City of Turku – The warehouse of the old Tram Hall at Amiraalistonkatu 8 

Art House Turku: 1. – 25.8.2024 

Open for public: 6.8.2024 14.00 PM | Vernissage: 8.8.2024 17-19.00 PM 

Tram Hall: 1. – 30.8.2024 

Finissage: 23.8.2024 

Cultural Kaleidoscope is an international exchange exhibition by art groups from Japan, Finland and USA, that are working for the empowerment of local art. The exhibition title “Cultural Kaleidoscope”, meaning a kaleidoscope of cultures, refers to the ever-changing nature of the various artists and topics brought together to create diverse and dynamic experiences. Through this exhibition, we aim to create a new space for the co-creation of art in the region by discussing the common interests of the countries, such as “place of life,” “linkage to life and culture,” and “linkage to the natural environment”. 

The international exchange program See Saw Seeds started in 2015, in collaboration with local governments, organizations, and citizens in Japan, Germany and Finland. It has produced 13 exhibitions including the See Saw Seeds Effect -exhibitions, over 60 residencies in each country, and 6 bilingual (Japanese/English) publications. 

Japan: C.A.P. – Conferrence on Arts and Art Projects 

Established in 1994 and is a non-profit organization and an artist initiative organization that has been fostering the local art community through a wide range of art activities based on the policy of “connecting art and society and contributing to the vitalization of cultural exchange”. It has also been promoting the local community from a global perspective in order to see the region from a global perspective. In addition, the organization has been cooperating and exchanging with overseas art groups (Germany, Finland, the U.S., and more) that share the same management policy. C.A.P. is one of the oldest non-profit and artist initiative organizations in Japan, and has always approached society from an inclusive perspective. 

Participating artists: ASAYAMA Miyuki, IKEDA Kei, IKEHARA Yuta, MORI Nobuko, NAKAMURA Yukiko, OHTSUKA Naoko, SAKUMA Hana, UEOKA Yuki 

Finland/USA: Videokaffe 

Founded in 2012 and based in Turku, Videokaffe is a collaborative network of ten artists, an artists’ collective, between North America and Europe. We work across a range of disciplines, including sculpture, video, performance and new media art. We believe our mission is to reclaim the values we are in danger of leaving behind and to strengthen them by promoting curiosity, the use of our own hands and the joy of invention. Videokaffe explores the intersection of craft and technology through public art sculptures, exhibitions, residencies and web-based online platforms. Between exhibitions, Videokaffe members meet regularly online, connecting their studios through web technology and video capture devices. In this collaborative way, the Videokaffe collective explores themes such as the future of making, collective action versus individual practice, and the performativity of work and play as a means of exploration and discovery. 

Participating artists: AHO Heini (FIN), ANDREAS Mark (USA), BURTONWOOD Tom (USA), HOLMES Holly (USA), MILD Jenny (FIN), PIKKARAINEN Sami (FIN), PYSTYNEN Erno (FIN), SUORLAHTI Olli (FIN), WESTPHAL Thomas (GER/FIN), ZIEGLER Sebastian (GER/FIN). 

The project is supported by Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation, Finnish Institute in Japan, Pola Art Foundation, Consulate of Germany in Osaka, Kobe City, C.A.P. supporting members, The Art House Turku, Ars Nova Aboa Vetus Contemporary Art Museum, The City of Turku and Fimbul Artist’s Studio Space. 

Cultural Kaleidoscope is part of the pilot of the intermediate cultural space model and is implemented in cooperation with the City of Turku as part of the Culture key project.