Project update: Minor problems after a storm, and rye field approved by the rye master himself

The rye still grows like crazy and the field was now checked by the "rye master" of the region. He is happy with what he saw (uff, what a relief) and we are so looking forward to see the field ourselves in 4 weeks. Our hut in the middle of the field had to be stabilised after a storm, as soon as we are back it will be extended and fixed even better.

[Our project deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in Finland-Sweden.]

Fotos: Dorothee Schulte-Basta

#art #conceptualart #participartoryart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #partizipartorischekunst #finland #finnland #finlandsweden #finlandschweden #ostrobothnia #österbotten #ragensrike #rye #grainfarming #scheibeundgüntzel #scheibeundguentzel #vöradagarna2025 #ryefield #grainfarming #abramsgarden #preserved #vöyri #granary #hut #storm

Project update: the rye and the cats are growing!

The hosts of our project in Finland keep us updated when we are not there. Things are looking good, the rye is growing and the cats too. We all think that KAJ can be proud that they ended up in the forth place at ESC and we are looking forward to use the sauna that was send to Basel to support them. Because that particular mobile sauna will go back to Vörå and can be used there (we will update on that once we are back).

We will be back for Vörådagarna 2025 which will take place in the first week of July. More to come!

[Our project deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands #granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in Finland-Sweden.

Fotos: Dorothee Schulte-Basta

#art #conceptualart #participartoryart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #partizipartorischekunst #finland #finnland #finlandsweden #finlandschweden #ostrobothnia #österbotten #ragensrike #rye #grainfarming #scheibeundgüntzel #scheibeundguentzel #esc #sauna #bastu #kaj #barabadabastu #vöradagarna2025 #ryefield #grainfarming #cats #catsofpixelfed #abramsgarden #preserved #vöyri

Vörå goes Basel or When the village brings the sauna to ESC
Special issue

I am just telling this story because it is so much fun. As mentioned in my previous posts Jan Philip Scheibe and I are currently realizing a long term project in the small Finnish-Swedish community Vörå in Ostrobothnia (Finland). The project deals with the importance of rye for the Finnish identity and we are cooperating with the people of the village to make the project happen. The last time we were in Vörå, the entire village had been upside down for weeks because a local band from Vörå had just won the Swedish Melodfestivalen to be send to the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel 2025. The name of the band is KAJ and they call themselves humorgruppen" (comedy band). They usually sing about tractors, the village life and how to spend your Saturday evening in the country side. And now they represent Sweden with a song about the Finnish sauna culture interpreted in their local dialect. On top of that the hosts of our project, Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge (Abramsgården) came up with the idea to bring a mobile sauna to Basel to support the band. An idea which then came to life with the help of Vörå kommun, the city of Tampere, Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH (gemeinnützig) and many others. With stops in Stockholm, Kopenhagen and Berlin they made it to Basel and are now in town supporting KAJ. Two days ago the band won the semifinals and made it to the finals. We keep our fingers crossed for more!

Yksi kaksi kolme sauna
Bara bada bastu

Fotos: Abramsgården

#esc #eurovisionsongcontest #basel2025 #basel #schweiz #switzerland #kaj #humogruppen #barabadabastu #vörå #vöråkommun #tampere #sweden #finlandsweden #finland #österbotten #ostrobothnia #abramsgården #finnlandinstitut #stockholm #copenhagen #berlin #nordicembassys #sauna #bastu #saunaculture #mobilesauna

Mämmi Mämmi Mämmi
About yesterday

We were lucky and the rain didn´t fall while we were performing. And we were lucky to have a photographer because the one that we usually work with (Erik Åhman) turns out to be the brother of one of the singers of the band KAJ who will represent Sweden at the ESC. And understandably he is very busy at the moment travelling with them. Funny enough the whole band is from the area and the whole area is going nuts about it. We found replacement in Kim Blåfield who will send us the official performance documentation next week, so for now its just the afterwards mämmi feast. It was great that so many people came. Stay tuned for more.

And thank you @[email protected] for the lemon and orange slices. That was a great addition to the mämmi/memma.

Fotos: Scheibe & Güntzel and Dorothee Schulte-Basta

The project is hosted by #Abramsgården in Vörå, supported by #Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #Finnlines #finnlandinstitut #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #contemporaryart #conceptualart #participartoryart #finland #finnland #zeitgenössischekunst #konzeptkunst #partizipativekunst #ostrobothnia #österbotten #Vörå #Abramsgården #rågensrike #rye #performanceart #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #farming #grainfarming #finlandsweden #participartoryart #sowing #sowingseeds #spring #easter #mämmi #memma #malt #ostern #erikåhman #esc #kimblåfield #soundperformance #performance #kaj

Preparing for tomorrow

Today we went to Vasa to buy mämmi. A traditional Finnish pudding made of rye malt. We will serve it tomorrow after our sound performance. The performance will deal with the term "mämmi". In Swedish and in Finnish (since we are in Finland-Sweden). Dorothee, our host also prepared her legendary eggnog. It will be wild.

The project is hosted by #Abramsgården in Vörå, supported by #Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #Finnlines #finnlandinstitut #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #contemporaryart #conceptualart #participartoryart #finland #finnland #zeitgenössischekunst #konzeptkunst #partizipativekunst #ostrobothnia #österbotten #Vörå #Abramsgården #rågensrike #rye #performanceart #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #farming #grainfarming #finlandsweden #participartoryart #sowing #sowingseeds #catsofpixelfed #spring #easter #eggnog #mämmi #memma #malt #ostern #eierlikör

The hut in the middle of the rye field..
... is progressing. Philip used more wood shingles and finished for now. The space will be used tomorrow for our upcoming sound performance and has been used in the last months already as a meeting point. We are only using material that the neighbours provided or that we found. The next part will be build when we are back in July. We called the space "Plaza del Råg" and the small path that leads to it "Råg Boulevard".

The project is hosted by #Abramsgården in Vörå, supported by #Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #Finnlines #finnlandinstitut #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #contemporaryart #conceptualart #participartoryart #finland #finnland #zeitgenössischekunst #konzeptkunst #partizipativekunst #ostrobothnia #österbotten #Vörå #Abramsgården #rågensrike #rye #performanceart #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #farming #grainfarming #finlandsweden #participartoryart #sowing #sowingseeds #spring #shingles #schindeln #plazadelråg

About today

We made it and arrived in Vörå at Abramsgården. Spring is here and our rye field is slowly awaking. We are now continuing to build the meeting point in the middle of the field (which we startet calling "Plaza del Råg") using material that we get from the neighbours. Today shingles. The cats are still tiny.

The project is hosted by #Abramsgården in Vörå, supported by #Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #Finnlines #finnlandinstitut #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #contemporaryart #conceptualart #participartoryart #finland #finnland #zeitgenössischekunst #konzeptkunst #partizipativekunst #ostrobothnia #österbotten #Vörå #Abramsgården #rågensrike #rye #performanceart #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #farming #grainfarming #finlandsweden #participartoryart #sowing #sowingseeds #catsofpixelfed #spring #shingles #schindeln

PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finnland 2024/25
sowing

In our current project in Vörå/Finland we planted a rye field in August 2024 and developed a series of interventions, cooking events and performances related to the importance of rye for Finland. The whole project is a participartory project carried out with the cooparetion and help of the whole village. We will now go back to Finland for Easter for the next event and are so excited to see how the rye has grown. Stay tuned.

Foto: Peter Lüttge

The project is hosted by #Abramsgården in Vörå, supported by #Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #Finnlines #finnlandinstitut #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #contemporaryart #conceptualart #participartoryart #finland #finnland #zeitgenössischekunst #konzeptkunst #partizipativekunst #ostrobothnia #österbotten #Vörå #Abramsgården #rågensrike #rye #performanceart #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #farming #grainfarming #finlandsweden #participartoryart #sowing #sowingseeds

HIMMELI II

In the frame of our project PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finnland 204/25 we dealt with the traditional himmeli objects that are made of rye straw and are now used as a traditional Christmas decoration. In the former days they would be used to ask for a good harvest. In our winter chapter (November 2024) we asked the people of the area where our project is taking place (Vörå in Finland-Sweden) to join us to create a detail of a huge himmeli by using light tubes. The village came and in joint forces the ephermeral himmeli installation was created.

The whole project is carried out with the help of the village.

Our next stay will take place soon, stay tuned.


Fotos: Erik Åhman

The project is hosted by #Abramsgården in Vörå, supported by #Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #Finnlines #finnlandinstitut #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #contemporaryart #conceptualart #participartoryart #finland #finnland #zeitgenössischekunst #konzeptkunst #partizipativekunst #ostrobothnia #österbotten #Vörå #Abramsgården #rågensrike #rye #performanceart #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #farming #grainfarming #finlandsweden #himmeli #eijakoski #lightart #illumination #winter #erikahman #lichtkunst #lichtinstallation #lightinstallation #light #winter #snow #participartoryart

PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Himmeli, 2024

Our current project in Finland will probably go on for a whole year. We started with the preparation of the rye field in August 2024 and came back in November for the winter session.

In the winter chapter we worked with the so called "himmelis", traditional objects made of rye straw, orginally applied to ask for a good harvest, today mainly used as Christmas decoration. We projected the structure of a classic himmeli onto the facade of a grain dryer and examined the abstract pattern. This particular himmeli is a work of the famous himmeli artist Eija Koski whom we had the honour to meet.

The dryers belong to our cooperation partners in Vörå.
Thank you @Katrin-Bethge for your great overhead projector!

With the support of: #Finnlandinstitut, #Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #Finnlines #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #contemporaryart #conceptualart #participartoryart #finland #finnland #zeitgenössischekunst #konzeptkunst #partizipativekunst #ostrobothnia #österbotten #Vörå #Abramsgården #grannaslantbruk #rågensrike #rye #performanceart #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #farming #grainfarming #finlandsweden #himmeli #eijakoski #lightart #illumination #graindryer #winter