Outsider Art Festival brings a colourful selection of outsider literature and performing arts to the House of Text in August. The House of Text is a new literary community in Sörnäinen, Helsinki, that brings together several text and literature organizations under one roof. The House of Text is home to a number of cultural organisations and hosts a wide range of cultural events.
Laura Serkosalo, Director of the House of Text, says that the margins of literature and culture are at the heart of the House of Text’s activities. “We think that the margins are the most interesting area of culture, the area where new impulses and phenomena are born. The House of Text is a place that enables a wide range of artists and forms of making to come together and explore new things,” says Serkosalo.
“I am thrilled to be working with Outsider Art Festival. It’s great to be able to facilitate this kind of activity in our space. I believe that OAF will bring a lot of new energy and ideas to the house, and I’m looking forward to the festival!”
On the Night of the Arts on 15 August, the House of Text’s Permantosali will host a joint OAF Poetry Stage by poets from OAF, Poetry Moon and WSOY, offering literature outside of literature, precise observations from the outside and performances exploring the visual possibilities of poetry. The OAF Literary Program will feature artists Milo Ruut, Isaque Sanches, Minni Välipakka, Mikael Diedrich Gripentrog, Tom Runeberg, Kristiina Murola, Collins Ngiesi. The programme is curated by literary critic and teacher Aleksis Salusjärvi and poet and disability activist Sanni Purhonen.
OAF, together with Nihil Interit, will organise a workshop on asemic poetry in the Permantosali at the House of Text on Saturday 17 August. The workshop will explore the physical gesture of writing and the visuality of text, rather than the meaning of words. There will also be an exhibition of the “Hei muuten” comic book series, showcasing the work of eight comic book artists who have special needs. Riina Noro and Joannis Clementides, who are involved in the project, will give a live drawing performance on Tuesday 20 August in the Permantosali. During the festival, you can also listen to the texts of the OAF Literature Programme artists on Radio Helsinki’s Pertin Valinnat program!
The festival’s performing arts programme is organised in collaboration with Mad House Helsinki. Performances by artists Noora Juppi, Fri Nilas Lindell, Pure and Harold Hejazi will be shown both in the Parvisali on the 6th floor of the House of Text and in the Cultural Centre Caisa.
Pure will perform a freestyle rap show in the Caisa hall on the Night of the Arts on 15 August in connection with the OAF Opening event. Parvisali will host Harold Hejazi’s participatory live video game performance Adventures of Harriharri – Episode III (16 August), Fri Nilas Lindell’s installation Research Station Nunatak (17 August) and pole dancer Noora Juppi’s Lovely (18 August), which explores the intersections of pole dance and meditation practice.
For Fri Nilas Lindell, outsider art is above all about diversity and richness. What he expects most from the festival is to get to see new art forms that are not part of mainstream and to get to know other outsider artists. Lindell is motivated to make her own art by the possibility of influencing people’s thoughts and ways of being in the world: “With my own performance, I hope to help the audience to make their own inner journey to different spaces, to think about how they can actively influence the creation of space and create a space where it is good to be. In the current political climate, it is important to recognise that everyone can make a difference in creating a safe space for themselves and others,” says Lindell.
Some of the events at House of Text are free, some have tickets. You can buy tickets here.
Read more: OAF literature program 2024, OAF performance art program 2024, OAF literature mentoring program, The House of Text, WSOY, Runokuu, Mad House Helsinki
