The Aalto University Student Union celebrates the Student Union’s Year of Arts in 2018. AYY Board member in charge of art, Julius Luukkanen, and Student Advocacy Specialist for ARTS students and Executive Manager for TOKYO Tero Uuttana tell us what you can expect in the future.
” The Year of Arts is both a theme and a project to the Student Union,” Luukkanen says.
” Through the theme of the Year of Arts, AYY wants to show the artistic side of the community and the different ways members have in expressing their creativity. The project itself is seen through AYY organizing various kinds of Year of Arts events throughout the year.”
The choice of theme comes from the move of the ARTS School of Art and Design to Otaniemi.
” We wish to give the ARTS students a warm welcome to Otaniemi and organize hopefully enjoyable activities with the entire community. We wish to make it seen that ARTS students are a strong part of the Aalto community,” Luukkanen said.
During the year there are a lot of events. The Year of Arts comes to a finale during the fall semester.
” The spearhead of the events coordinated by AYY will be the Otaniemen yö (Otaniemi Night) event upcoming in the fall. The event will be a cross-artistic city event, consisting of small events throughout the campus area. The main spotlight will be on the content created by our students,” Tero Uuttana says.
” Everyone is welcome. Students, staff, alumni; every resident of Espoo.”
The Year of Art events are already taking place. AYY is collaborating with the Ateneum art museum, so all AYY members can go and see the Ateneum exhibits for free on the 28th of March at the Taidetta meille (Art for us) event.
AYY also organizes the Wall Art for Väre contest in cooperation with the University, which searches for a piece of wall art for the 70-meter supporting wall rising next to the Väre building. Also, the design calendar by AYY and TOKYO for the year 2018-19 will be created based on the design that won the calendar contest at the start of the year.
There are also plans to continue building the AYY art collection, started up in 2017. The collection’s first pieces are up for viewing at the hallway leading to the U-wing of the Bachelor center building.
” The word of the year is cross-artistic,” Julius Luukkanen sums up.” The aim is to bring art to suit various tastes into the spotlight in numerous ways. Every one of us is creative.”
” Art advances well-being,” Tero Uuttana adds.” It can help students to enjoy themselves and to cope with stress.”
Working group brainstorms the Year of Arts
A call for applications went out in March for the AYY Year of Arts working group. The workgroup, together with the AYY staff and section representatives will plan and implement different kinds of Year of Arts projects.
The following people were chosen for the working group:
Erno Laakso (Department of Architecture)
Heidi Kulmala (Department of Design)
Jussi Impiö (Department of Computer Science)
Verna Kovanen (Department of Art, Visual Culture and Contemporary Art)
Representatives of Aava and Campus Section:
Aaro Timonen (Campus Section)
Anni Niemelä (Aava)
Representatives of AYY (Community Committee of Aalto):
Tero Uuttana
Julius Luukkanen