The call for artworks for the summer season of 2015 is now open.
Grey Cube Galleries are situated on the Korkeasaari Island on the premises of the Helsinki Zoo, which has 430,000 to 500,000 visitors annually. The island is an artificial biodiversity hotspot, and it has been a part of Helsinki culture and a popular place to spend time for 125 years. The old castle-like bear enclosures were first taken over by art in the summer of 2014 with the Paikan tuntu (�Sense of Place�) project by the Union for Rural Education and Culture.
The focus of Grey Cube Galleries is on site-specific and interactive art. For galleries 2 and 3 we are looking for artwork that ponders on the cultural history of the zoo, the twists of evolution, interspecies interaction, or the human relationship to nature in the 2010s.
Our partner, Helsinki Zoo, has chosen the effect of climate change on arctic organisms as its theme for the year 2015. The zoo�s climate change awareness campaign, Pole to Pole, draws attention to the unique Arctic species facing an uncertain future. We are looking for works of art that are in accordance with this theme for Grey Cube Gallery 1, situated near the ferry pier.
The artwork proposals for Grey Cube Galleries can be from the fields of visual arts, environmental art, performing arts, sound, light and video art, music, dance or circus, or a mix of these. The exhibition and Festival programme will be compiled from the chosen works of art.
Performance artworks will be carried out during the two or three Festival days in the summer season. The pieces can spread out from the bear enclosures further out in the zoo area, for example on the bridge to the Mustikkamaa Island. If needed, and depending on their possibilities, the zoo staff can assist in the artistic processes of the chosen artworks, e.g. by giving expert advice.
The galleries are situated in the former bear enclosures, �Bear Castles�, which presents certain limitations to the pieces: they should withstand all kinds of weather, and they will not be supervised. Visitors will be able to see and experience the pieces during the opening hours of the zoo.
The Grey Cube production team will provide the basic infrastructure of the galleries (electricity, lighting, media, opening day). Piece-specific production grants for the artists may be possible, depending on the approval of grant applications � the information will be available in early 2015.
Please attach to the artwork proposal:
� A short description of the piece
� Preferred time (month � April, May, June, July, August or September � and the duration of the piece)
� The construction of the piece, materials, size, specific needs, and a location suggestion
� Concept images or sketches, if applicable
� The CV, biography or home page of the applicant/team.
Send the proposal, including attachments, by January 9, 2015 to: greycubegalleriat (at) msl.fi
Additional information: greycubegalleriat (at) msl.fi
+358 50 4138213 / Kristiina Ljokkoi
Paikan tuntu / Sense of Place is the lead project of
the Union for Rural Education and Culture in 2014 to 2016
