My Oulu: Creative Cities collaboration opens international opportunities for artists – Anni Kinnunen at Slovakian Art & Tech Festival

Anni Kinnunen’s international career has steadily grown over the past two decades. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in countries such as Japan, China, Russia, Germany, and the USA. This week, her impressive portfolio expands to include Slovakia.

“For an artist from Oulu, international exhibitions are essential. Taking your work where there is interest is, in my opinion, part of the artist’s profession”, Kinnunen explains.

“This project in Košice is an exciting opportunity, and often these collaborations lead to new projects or partnerships”, she continues.

Despite her packed schedule, Kinnunen embraced the opportunity to work with Slovak artist Jakub Pišek. Their residency, conducted remotely, was guided by mentor Boris Vaitovic.

“I’ve never worked like this before, where you work together with another artist – it’s interesting. The content of the exhibition is mine, while the technical implementation is more Jakub’s domain, as he knows the gallery from his previous exhibitions. It’s a complementary partnership”, Kinnunen says.

“The exhibition space in Košice is vast, and our work, featuring large-scale projections, takes over the entire hall. I’m thrilled to see it in person, even with my demanding schedule for the Turku Art Museum exhibition right afterward”, she says.

But how did we get to this point, where the exhibition is opening this week in Košice, and an artist from Oulu is involved in the project? Kinnunen herself doesn’t know exactly either, but she suggests asking Hanna Jakku, the Unesco Creative Cities coordinator for the City of Oulu.

Cooperation between cities

It’s no surprise that Oulu’s first city-to-city collaboration is with Košice, the very city that played a pivotal role in Oulu’s journey to becoming a Unesco Creative City.

“Košice was the European Capital of Culture in 2013. As part of their legacy work during that year, they became a member of Unesco’s Creative Cities network in the field of media art. They also suggested the opportunity to Oulu2026 producer Henri Turunen, which initiated Oulu’s application process. Now, we’re proud to be part of the network,” explains Hanna Jakku, coordinator of Oulu’s Unesco Creative Cities membership.

”City-to-city projects have been carried out in the media art city network, and they were presented to us last summer when we first participated in a meeting of Unesco’s Creative Cities network. At our first meeting in Portugal, Košice quickly proposed a collaboration for the Art & Tech Days festival”, Jakku recounts.

“They wanted an artist from Oulu to work with a local artist, and after reviewing the Oulu Artists’ Association portfolio, they chose Anni Kinnunen.”

Digital residency work in Slovakia is just one example of what cooperation between media art cities can be like. What kind of opportunities does Jakku see for Oulu and artists in Oulu that Unesco’s network work will create?

“We need networks and international cooperation when we launch legacy work for the European Capital of Culture year in 2026. I hope that Unesco’s Creative Cities network will give us new opportunities to participate in international projects outside the EU, new tools and mobility – not just for one artist, but for many artists. For us, the network is truly a resource that we need”, Jakku assures.

And what can Oulu offer to the other cities in the network?

“Our northern location feels interesting in the media art network. Oulu has a lot to offer in terms of technology, we have come a long way in it compared to many other cities”, she explanes.

In the future, artists working with media art will have more opportunities to work around the world and, correspondingly, Oulu will have the opportunity to see interesting media art works and artists more often.

Art & Tech Days festival exhibition City to City: Periphery – Jakub Pišek (SK) x Anni Kinnunen (FI) will open on November 21, 2024 in the Alfa Gallery in Kasárne/Kulturpark, Košice.