The TelepArt Mobility Support programme supports performers in the early and mid stages of their careers and enables them to expand their work internationally. The TelepArt mobility grant is intended to support the travel costs of performances between Finland and Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Romania.

We opened the TelepArt call in January, and this year we granted mobility support to a total of 15 performing arts projects. Through the mobility grant, the Institute enabled the realisation of performances across a wide range of art forms - such as circus arts, puppetry, electronic music and jazz music projects.

The institute supported the following projects through the TelepArt Mobility Support programme:

  • Puppet theatre artists Aksu Filiz and Minka Laukniemi participated in the traditional Czech wire marionette sculpture workshop "Puppets in Prague", which culminated in a puppet theatre performance at the international Letni Letna festival of contemporary circus and theatre in Prague.
  • Helsinki-based DJ and musician OLSKEE performed an hour-long electronic music set in Budapest at Tilos Radio's annual fundraising event in June.
  • The Finnish-South African all-female circus trio, Wise Fools, performed at the Cirkul'art festival of contemporary and modern circus in Slovakia, and at the Cirkulum international festival of new circus and street theatre in the Czech Republic.
  • Czech artist Kristýna Ilek performed an autobiographical performance exploring mental health with local artists at the Myymälä2 gallery in Helsinki.
  • Finnish musician Harri Sjöström, who specialises in soprano saxophone, performed at the international improvised and creative music festival Impromonday, organised by the Croatian arts organisation CARGO. 
  • Euphoria Brass Sextet, a Finland-based brass band, performed at the VGBrass music festival in Croatia in May.
  • Finnish singer-songwriter and storyteller Erik Sjøholm performed in Croatia at the international STORYING storytelling festival.
  • With the help of the mobility programme, the Institute supported the realisation of an installation performance by Vincent Roumagnac, a Finnish-based artist who combines elements of theatre, stage design and visual arts, at the Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space in Prague.
  • Hungarian jazz trio Gyárfás Trio performed at the Liszt Institute, the Hungarian Cultural Centre, in Helsinki in February.
  • The Hungarian string trio Haydn Barytontrio Budapest performed in Finland at the Sastamala Gregoriana Festival in July.
  • The Finnish string quartet Kamus Quartet performed at the House of Music in March. On the occasion of the concert, Kamus Quartet launched a virtual reality project called "Inside the Quartet" in collaboration with Aalto Acoustics Lab, Aalto Media Lab and Meidän Festivaali. 
  • The Finnish contemporary circus group Race Horse Company performed at the Trafo Contemporary Art Centre in Budapest in April. 
  • The Hungarian band Pásztorhóra performed at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival and several other venues and festivals in the Baltic region. During their tour of Finland and the Baltics, the group also held instrument workshops and dance soirées in addition to concerts. 
  • In November, members of Valtteri Alanen & Co will travel from the Czech Republic to Finland to perform a piece combining performance theatre and sound art at the Turku International Puppetry Festival.

The TelepArt Mobility Support programme will open again in January 2024. Next year, a new support programme will also be launched in cooperation with the Finnish Institutes called pARTir. Read more about pARTir here: https://instituutit.fi/en/partir-project-launches/