Our project in Finland is now officially over.
We wish you all a wonderful and peaceful December!

The Christmas tree motif depicts the structural formula of xylose, a sugar that forms a major component of dietary fibre in rye.

[The card is part of our project PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024–25, the project explores the role of rye as a crop with identity-creating significance for Finland, particularly in Ostrobothnia, a region often referred to as the Realm of Rye. The project was hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri), Finland.]

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #rye #grainfarming #ragensrike #vöra #vöyri #finland #finnland #österbotten #ostrobothnia #christmas #Weihnachten #Dezember #december #scheibeundgüntzel #preserved

Art meets Finnish grainfarming or It takes a village to plant a rye field.
The Grand Finale (Part 2): Beer at the fire (burning the hut).

On the very last day of our project we gathered the people from the village to collectively burn the hut construction we had built as a place to meet on the rye field. The autumn storms had already knocked over one wall and now the old beams and other parts were piled up and then burned down while we all drank Finnish beer (#Sahti) made of our own rye. (The beer had been brewed by the Westphalian experimental beer brewer Ludger Schweer who has helped us in many previous projects).

Almost exactly 3 years ago we visited #Abramsgården for the first time. That visit was followed by several research stays and in August 2024 the field had been sown. And since then we returned regularly to perform, cook, bake and learn. We can´t thank the village enough, especially Per Johan Grannas and his wife Annika Grannas from #GrannasLandbruk - our farming consultant and the biggest support we could have wished for - for the tremendous backing during all the stages of the project, Sanna and Tommy Antill for the tractor, the help, the tools and for being such great neighbours, Abbe Berglund for his great harrowing job. All the other neighbours and villagers for teaching us so much about the Ostrobothnian culture and rye and especially for the participation in the project itself and our performances. We thank our hosts Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge for the great trust they have placed in us. It was a wild ride!

The wood that has not burned will be used next year at the same spot for the Easter fire. Then the whole village will come together again.

LE FIN!


With the support of:
#Finnland-Institut
#Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse

#art #participartoryart #preserved #contemporaryart #finland #beer #ostrobothnia #rye #grainfarming #sahti #andkil #vöra #vöyri #scheibeundgüntzel #finnland #österbotten

It's on again.
We are on our way to Finland for the last chapter of our project PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024/25. After one year of learning about rye, sowing rye, watching it grow, and harvesting it we will now come to a closure. Rolling into Helsinki. From there we will head towards Vörå. Stay tuned, more to come soon.

#art #paricipartoryart #rye #finland #ostrobothnia #vörå #abramsgården #vöyri #grainfarming #finnlines #helsinki

Website finally out!
Our project is now represented on the website of our host Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) Finland!

Check it out: https://www.abrams.fi/projekt/preserved/

If you want to be part of the grand finale of the project join us in November:

November 19th, 2025, 7-8.30 p.m. ARTIST TALK (Abramsgården)
November 22nd, 2025, 6-8 p.m. BYN BAKAR (Andkil byastuga på Torrkulla)
November 23rd, 2025, ATT BRÄNNA (Abramsgården/Plaza del Råg)


[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 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 the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut Berlin
Mikko Fritze
Finnlines

#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #participartoryart #contemporaryart #rye #grainfarming #vörå #vöyri #finnland #finland #österbotten #ostrobothnia #roggen #granary #baking #finissage #preserved #abramsgården #harvest #performanceart #andkil #winter #bread #backen #artisttalk #scheibeundgüntzel #grandfinale #rågensrike #plazadelråg #finnlines

From now on, autumn will settle over our field.

The fields have been harvested. We have ground the first grain, baked with it, made offerings to the grain spirit and appeased it. Now autumn is settling over the land. And we are taking rye flakes to brewers, flour to bakers and continue to think about what to do with the remaining 500 kg of rye that was harvested.

We will return once more in November. For the last time in this project, which has now been running for over a year. Then, together with the village, without which none of this would have been possible, we will consume what the field has given us all.

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 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 the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

Drone image: Scheibe & Güntzel

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut Berlin
Mikko Fritze
Finnlines

#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#rye #grainfarming #finland #harvest #participartoryart #finnlines #finnlandinstitut #finnland #österbotten #ostrobothnia #partizipativekunst #autumn #herbst #abramsgarden #ragensrike #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #nebel #fog #summerisover #grainspirit #cornspirit #drone #vöry #vöyri

Art meets Finnish grainfarming or It takes a village to plant a rye field.
Finnish-Rhenish crossover (part 3 of a bread trilogy).

The third part of our Rye Bread Trilogy turned to the “Onjeschwedde” – a harvest bread from our host Peter’s hometown of Mönchengladbach.

Its name means “not sweated” – once baked with freshly milled rye, still rich with its own moisture. Made from half rye sourdough and half wheat yeast dough, blended with currants and gentle spices, it carries the taste of the Rhineland harvest tradition. For this baking, our own super freshly milled (by #grannaslantbruk) flour from Iivo found its place in the loaves. This time Peter himself baked four breads – adding his own roots to the trilogy, and binding the fields of Vörå to the memory of his place.

The name Onjeschwedde (ungeschwitzt) refers to the fact that the bread is baked with flour made from freshly harvested rye. The flour is then moister than when it is ground from stored grain, which has already lost most of its moisture. It is therefore usually baked in late summer after the harvest and is only available for a period of five to six weeks. Typical toppings for Onjeschwedde are liver sausage, apple puree, sugar beet syrup, cheese or just butter. (Wikipedia)

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut Berlin, Mikko Fritze, Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #participartorayart #preserved #rye #harvest #baking #onjeschwedde #rheinland #rhineland #finnland #finland #österbotten #ostrobothnia #finnlines #finlandinstitut #abramsgarden #ernte #sauerteig #sourdough #vöra #vöyri #backen #grainfarming #mehl #ryeflour #roggenmehl

Art meets Finnish grainfarming or It takes a village to plant a rye field.
The first bread belongs to the corn spirit.

For various reasons, the harvest of our rye field had to take place without us. So we were all the happier when we arrived in Vörå and were handed the first few kilos of flour, ground from the rye grown on our very project field. Philip, who always carries all kinds of ovens with him, set up his mobile baking oven and, together with Peter, our host, they baked traditional rye bread, which will later be hung up to dry. We offered the first loaf to the corn spirit*. For a good harvest in the coming year. It is now hanging on a pole in the field and we are waiting for the spirit to come and take it.

* see also: Sir James George Frazer: The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (1890)

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 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 the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

Fotos: Scheibe & Güntzel

With the support of: Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH, Mikko Fritze, Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #participartoryart #contemporaryart #performance #cornspirit #abramsgarden #österbotten #ostrobothnia #finnland #finland #rye #grainfarming #granary #harvest #ernte #harvesttradition #korngeist #thegoldenbough #dergoldenezweig #erntetradition #brauchtum #backofen #roggenbrot #backen #roggen #preserved #vöra #vöyri
#finnlines

Of corn spirits and other creatures

In our last performance as part of our project in Vörå (Vöyri), we explored the significance of the so-called corn spirit (or: grain spirit) in harvest traditions. In both Central and Northern Europe, people were afraid of upsetting the corn spirit and thus risking poor harvests. After the harvest, sacrifices were made to appease the spirit.

No one had ever seen it, but people were certain that it roamed the fields in various animal forms. We reinterpreted these images and made the corn spirit friendly.

Also see:
Sir James George Frazer: The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (1890)

Fotos: Kim Blåfield

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 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 the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH, Mikko Fritze, Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #participartoryart #contemporaryart #grainfarming #rye #roggen #ernte #harvest #harvesttraditions #jamesfrazer #thegoldenbough #cornspirit #dergoldenezweig #brauchtum #traditions #customs #finland #finnland #vörå #vöyri #animals #masks #abramsgarden #kimblafield #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #österbotten #ostrobothnia #stoppelfeld #korngeist #grainspirit

Out next performance at Abramsgården:

Scheibe & Güntzel
PRESERVED // Rågens rike / att blidka
August 23rd 2025
4 p.m.

Abramsgården, Vörå (Vöyri), Finland

More information:
https://www.abrams.fi/event/preserved-ragens-rike-att-blidka/

#art #paticipartoryart #performance #grainspirit #korngeist #rye #roggen #harvest #grainfarming #finnland #finland #rooster #erntehahn #ryefield #roggenfeld #abramsgården #vörå #vöyri

Nordic heat waves, a rushed harvest and a harvester from Westphalia

We didn´t make it back on time to Finland. Due to the recent heat wave in the north, our rye ripened so fast that it was ready before the originally calculated date and had to be harvested as soon as possible. Fortunately, the village and our hosts were there and the harvest already took place on Wednesday. Our agricultural advisor arrived with his brand new (!) combine harvester, which had just been delivered to him from Westphalia, and our photographer Kim was available to document everything for us which was a great relief.
We were connected live via video. At least that was something.

The rye was so dry that it no longer needed to be taken to the drying facility.
We now have 700 kg of rye.

Next week we will also be back.

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 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 the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

Thank you, Kim Blåfield, for the great images!

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH Mikko Fritze
Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #conceptualart #participartoryart #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #vörå #vöyri #rye #grainfarming #claas #harvester #grainfarming #finnlines #finnlandinstitut #mikkofritze #kimblåfield #finland #finnland #heatwave #westfalen #westphalia #abramsgården #ostrobothnia #österbotten #roggen #roggenfeld #ernte #erntezeit #climatecrisis