The purpose of us being in Helsinki was to contribute to the Pixelache2016 festival by presenting our ongoing project and leading a workshop. Early that morning, before we prepared for these, we took a walk along the Ruoholahti Canal at the back of our apartment building to visit the Cable Factory.
The Cable Factory is the largest cultural centre in Finland. It houses 3 museums, 12 galleries, dance theatres, art schools and a host of artists, bands and companies. We explored the gallery spaces located around its five floors and got to see some art currently being produced in the city.
After lunch it was time to get to the hospital and set up for our presentation and workshop.
Jake led a presentation with images and discussion introducing the workshop group to the background behind the ideas of our workshop Silent Bird Song. After this the group set to making small birds using found plant material, which would then be placed out in the park with messages for the public.
It was an important part of the workshop that each participant made their intervention into the park as a solitary experience, so we asked the group to take a photo of their bird where they had left it. The workshop ended with us regrouping and sharing the photos and ideas we had.
Image credit: Jake Harries, Monika Dutta and workshop participants