Artists Martta Tuomaala and Ville Andersson will be working at the Art Quarter Budapest artist residency in Budapest in the autumn 2023. They will start their three-month long residency period on the 20th of September. A quick two-day open call for the residency was organized via FinnAgora’s channels at the start of August.
Art Quarter Budapest (aqb) is an international and independent art centre located in Budafok, South-Budapest. Launched in 2012, aqb functions as an exhibition space for contemporary art, a studio space as well as an artist-in-residence programme in a unique renovated factory building, the former Haggenmacher brewery. Aqb's artist-in-residence programme is an EU-funded programme that aims to integrate the artist into the local art scene and support their work and career through professional connections. Besides the residency programme, aqb organizes various events, art programmes, concerts and exhibitions.
In early August, the Finnish Institute in Hungary opened a quick open call for Finnish artists and artists working in Finland to apply for the residency. In less than two days, the Institute received 10 applications and dozens of inquiries. Among the applicants, the curators of aqb chose two Finnish artists, Martta Tuomaala and Ville Andersson, for the residency.
"The wonderful amount of applications and inquiries shows us that a residency opportunity in Central Europe is a really interesting possibility for artists working in Finland. We are currently planning a long-term residency collaboration with Art Quarter Budapest, which will hopefully allow us to organize an open call in March of next year," says Heljä Franssila, FinnAgora’s director.
About the artists
Ville Andersson (b. 1986) is a multidisciplinary artist working in Helsinki. Andersson works in a variety of styles, themes and mediums, including photography, drawings, paintings, texts, installations and 3D modelling. Andersson's work explores, among other things, the concept of emptiness, silence and the possibilities created by silence. Andersson describes his plans for the aqb-residency in Budapest: "I am working on a new series of works that will be shown in Helsinki in April 2024. I also want to get to know the local art scene".
Martta Tuomaala (b. 1983) is a Helsinki-based visual artist working with a wide range of different forms of moving image. Tuomaala’s work explores themes such as workers' rights and everyday life, the struggles of different individuals and communities, and the abuse of power. Her work features various forms of film, video and installation, in which she herself acts as director, scriptwriter and occasionally as performer. “During the residence period, I will be working on two separate audiovisual works that touch upon the themes of work, unionizing and privacy”, Tuomaala says.