The third Digital Leap learning module will kick off in early October. Before the module begins, we want to introduce the amazing selected artists, who will spend five days full of learning and networking in Terrassa and Manresa, Catalunya. Now it’s time to introduce the four participants from Finland!
Eikka Alatalo is a circus artist and musician from Finland. Integrating the latest technology in music making with 1980’s absurd Heavy-Metal-Steampunk style and contemporary circus he both entertains and provokes action with his loud and stark art combining acrobatics and physical comedy, guitars and equilibristics. This Master of Circus from Turku Arts Academy tours internationally and is also the artistic director of the annual Salo Circus Festival.
Digitalization in itself doesn’t hold any intrinsic value to Eikka, but he feels that digital tools could be useful for artists: “Actually most of the time I feel sick using digital platforms. But we need to learn how to utilize these instruments to get back to the important stuff. Connecting with the audience – and this is why I am taking a Digital Leap! I feel that circus and music are the most effective ways for transferring energy wirelessly. Technology can help performing art creatives charge one’s batteries conveniently or complexly. I hope we land in a good spot.”
Meri Salmela is a freelance dance artist based in Finland with a Master’s degree in dance. Meri has worked as a dancer both in Finland and internationally. Currently she is focused on creating her own work and working in collaboration with other freelance artists in the field of performing arts. Meri has founded a collective called Omiaruhje together with her childhood friend, circus artist Milla Kurronen, where she works as a dance artist and a performer.
Meri is motivated to explore ways to claim space for performance art in the digital realm: “I want to find ways to extend the lifespan of an individual dance performance by utilizing the digital realm efficiently and by finding more ways to reach international audiences through streaming and digital distribution in sustainable ways.”
Vilhelmiina Sinervo is a contemporary circus and slack rope artist from Finland. She graduated from Academie Fratellini in 2017 and has worked in Finland and internationally since. She established Vilus.art in 2018 to create and show her own artistic work. She is also a member of Agit-Cirk, a circus and music association from Finland. Vilhelmiina’s first solo piece Life After premiered in May 2022. It is a contemporary circus show for theatre space.
Vilhelmiina has participated already in the first two learning modules in the spring 2022 and is ready to expand her digital skills further: “I have several ideas of how to broaden my work in the digital world, more in video world than in other forms at the moment. Understanding how it could be distributed and finding audiences for it is a great challenge”.
Iina Taijonlahti is a choreographer who works in the field of dance and interactive art. She explores the relationship between technology, humanity and corporeality in the era of posthumanism. Iina is a founding member of Ekho Collective, a group of artists, designers and technology professionals.
Iina is intrigued by the artistic opportunities and the accessibility that digital tools enable, and she is looking forward to discussing digitalization also from an ethical point of view: “Ethics is important for me when operating in the digital environment. For me, ethics is about power and agency, who can make choices, influence the outcome, and on whose terms digital is implemented.”
