Pia Sirén, Mirella Pendolin & Ilona Valkonen (FI): Plant Based Stories
Plant Based Stories by Pia Sirén, Mirella Pendolin and Ilona Valkonen (FI) is a project spanning several years that also involves discovering our relationship with nature. In the first phase of the project, an oasis open to everyone appears in Kuopio city centre. Anyone can go to the oasis to create and dress up plant sculptures and share stories inspired by the plant kingdom during the activity.
Pia Sirén (she/her, hon/henne)
Pia Sirén (born in 1982) is a visual artist who builds large-scale, temporary works of installation art out of construction materials and works on sculptural, performative and varied collaborative projects. Sirén creates her artwork both in public outdoor spaces and in exhibition spaces. Her works form entities that engage audiences in their material and space, allowing the viewer to step into the installation and become a part of it. In 2012, Sirén graduated with a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts. Her work has been exhibited in numerous private and group exhibitions both in Finland and abroad.
Mirella Pendolin (she/her, hon/henne)
Mirella Pendolin (born in 1975) is a Swedish-speaking, half-Finnish and half-Spanish multi-talent in music from Vaasa: a singer, musician, pedagogue, composer and actor. Pendolin trained as a singer at the Trondheim Conservatory of Music in Norway and has since then been performing and publishing her own music as well as participated in several jazz/pop groups, composed music for various artists, theatre performances, and served as a choirmaster and a vocal pedagogue. Recently, she has been releasing her own music in a style that lies somewhere between pop and jazz with electronic and ethnic influences.
Ilona Valkonen (she/her, hon/henne)
Ilona Valkonen (born in 1980) is a visual artist whose working approach involves suggestions for alternative ways to look at and understand the world. Valkonen works with new forms of painting, collegial curation and a performance concept created through collaboration, Vieno Motors. By now, over 60 artists with various backgrounds have already contributed to the different Vieno Motors actions that combine plants with creative methods, and their number is constantly growing. In addition to Finland, the performances have taken place in cities like Reykjavik, Berlin, New York, Graz, Saint Petersburg and London.
Plant Based Stories is part of Kulkue, a joint project between three Finnish art festivals. ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival (Kuopio), Hangö Teaterträff (Hanko), and Baltic Circle (Helsinki) create an exceptionally large-scale series of Finnish co-productions along with related tours. The project’s central goal is to promote the accessibility of the festivals and to prolong the life cycle of the performances. The project is financed by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.