While working as an ambassador at NPT Biennale I designed two audience workshops; one for upper secondary schoolers and one for young adults. I planned the experiences and chose which performances to visit based on topics that I thought would resonate with them.
I didn’t know from the start of our training that I would like to work with teenagers or young adults, but by the end of May that was pretty clear to me, and I used that information while crafting my first proposals for the Biennale. What themes are interesting or meaningful for people of that age? What performances are appropriate? What activities will they like and how will I get them to take part in discussions? This is how the processes went.
Investigating human connection
Originally I wanted to have two groups of upper secondary schoolers, preferably classes that were doing an art course. I emailed nearly all visual art, performing arts and Finnish language teachers in the schools in Turku. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many responses and in the end I was only able to reach one. I managed to contact the art teacher directly with the help of Maria Laitila, who knew her personally. I had sent her an email to invite her class, but by getting her phone number and calling her I was able to properly ‘sell’ my idea to join me at the Biennale. The teacher was really excited; she asked students in her contemporary art class to come, confirmed, and showed up with seven of her fifteen students. The workshop took place on two different days during which we saw biennale works and did activities afterwards.
With this first group, I wanted to explore how we develop connections with others and to our surroundings, so we visited Parsa Kamehkhosh’s Calling Piece installation, and attended Gaëtan Rusquet’s performance The river’s chasing us; two works that seemed to fit well with this theme. I chose them also because they were both performances where sound played a large role, allowing me to plan several sound-based activities for the group. I thought it would be a nice way to bring cohesion into the process.
Half of the group was really shy and the other half was more extroverted and open. A few people were friends with each other, but the group was not really united. I tried to encourage those who needed more support to engage, and made sure that during pair discussions everyone was working with someone they didn’t know well. I also tried to give enough room for activities so that those more slow to open up could take their time. It seemed to work out quite well. Of course, I can’t know how everyone felt, but in the feedback from the group they said they enjoyed the time we spent together and learned something new about performance art, which were my goals.
For most of the group performance art was a totally new thing so attending the performances was exciting. I gave a short brief of the works before we experienced them together and also gave them a few guiding questions. For the Calling Piece installation, a super minimalistic sound piece where different mothers said their children’s names at a tranquil pace, I read the introduction from NPT’s website and asked the group things like: “What kind of sound is silence?” “What does it feel like to wait for something to happen?” and “What could be the stories behind the names you hear?”. Then we went inside to listen. Discussion afterwards revealed that some of them were bored but some really felt it was like a nice break, a chance to do nothing and just be. I also gave the group a task to write a letter to a parental figure or someone else important to them. These letters were written in the installation space and stayed private.
The river’s chasing us was proposed as a body movement exploration of several dancers, but the work surprised me and my group with the nudity of bodies. It wasn’t something I knew would happen, so I felt a little out of depth while I tried to see if it bothered anyone. Thankfully, it wasn’t that big of a deal for the students and afterwards we were able to have a good discussion about nonsexual nudity and also the power imbalance (four semi naked female bodies versus one clothed male body) we saw. It was pointed out that we only saw part of the performance at the beginning and the performance was heading to a direction where everyone would lose their clothes; that maybe the gender and sex didn’t matter to the performers and the order of undressing wasn’t a conscious decision, as they seemed quite comfortable with each other. Still, on the side of the audience we noticed that imbalance because it is, unfortunately, something that often happens in real life. We also discussed the fact that nudity wasn’t portrayed as anything sexual, just intimate. And because of that intimacy, sitting in the audience was a bit uncomfortable for some, as if they weren’t supposed to be there witnessing it.
The theme of connection was embedded in my activities. I feared that the group would need a lot of coaxing to participate in the activities I planned, but I was proven wrong. They were really diligent and did everything I asked them to do, even if a little cautiously. We went to a dance studio and did a group listening exercise, where everyone is walking around the space and the whole group stops when one stops. And then the group starts walking again together as one. I also added different rules to this base exercise as we went on. Other activities included playing a game called fruit salad, where we tried to learn about each other’s likes and dislikes. We also created little soundscapes together by listening to the sounds others made and adding our own input when needed. The group was having fun, and as I asked them to describe the whole experience in one word at our last meeting, some of the words said were: enlightened, good, fascinating and different.
Hope and participation
With my second group I wanted to explore the theme of hope and how the experience of being an active participant can empower people to change personally and also implement change in the world. I built my strategy around Jelili Atiku’s Ọfẹrẹ’gẹ̀gẹ̀, Let Peace Awake performance tapping on its theme and for its participatory nature, where the audience of NPT was invited to join a peaceful procession by the Aura river.
I had been quite optimistic about my chances of getting people to join also in this case. We had the Audience Ambassador training in May and we submitted our engagement proposals in the beginning of June. But shortly after, when the work in the Biennale was confirmed, the schools had already shut their doors for the summer. I could only start reaching out in August after the holidays and by then the teachers had their hands full of work and I guess replying to my email wasn’t the priority. I think I would have had more success by reaching teachers during the spring, but I didn’t yet know which groups I would choose then.
Getting little response at first, I decided to have a more open group where anyone interested in the theme could join. I advertised it in my own social media, the NPT channels, and in different Telegram and WhatsApp groups for events in the Turku region. But the tight schedule made it really hard to get people to sign up. I had five people registered, but in the end a couple excused themselves at the last minute, and only two came. So I really struggled with gathering them, but I feel proud of myself for adapting and looking for solutions relentlessly. And I still prepared to receive them at the Binennale. The day of my workshop I suggested that my group could merge the groups with an ambassador colleague, Carly, because our schedules matched quite well.
As someone who has been a part of many different kinds of processions and protests, I know that the feeling one gets from walking alongside others for a good cause is really powerful. I hoped that this simple yet powerful experience with Jelili’s work would spark something in my participants. We also went to see Miradonna Sirkka’s Nonstop Paradise exhibition.
We began our day with only my small group at Taiteen Talo to see the exhibition. My group was really delighted by one of the videos of Nonstop Paradise and would have liked to stay there much longer discussing it. We then joined Carly’s group to have a picnic at Vartiovuori park and explore the rituals with trees. We got to pick our own special trees, do bark rubbing, draw our tree and introduce it to the rest of the group. After that, we all went to see Jelili’s performance. I held a wrap-up discussion with only my group at the end, where we had a chance to reflect on all of the process and the performances as well. My group enjoyed participating in the procession by the riverside and we all thought that the activities we did with Carly were good preparation for coming together in it. Sharing our own three after carefully choosing and spending time with it had felt a little sacred. A similar feeling arose while watching and participating in Ọfẹrẹ’gẹ̀gẹ̀, Let Peace Awake.
Walking with the others who were there at the procession was great. Normally processions taking place here are a protest, a call for change and a direct answer to a specific conflict or injustice, so sometimes they can be a bit draining. The mood is grave. But this time, maybe because we were walking for peace in a more general sense, the atmosphere really felt more light, more hopeful. And with that came the feeling of actually doing something, being a part of something. That is the power of participation. Afterwards I talked with my group and they shared this feeling of being powerful just from walking with other people beside them and following the performer. One of my participants said: “The feeling of being able to do something gives me hope.”
Walking with the others who were there at the procession was great. Normally processions taking place here are a protest, a call for change and a direct answer to a specific conflict or injustice, so sometimes they can be a bit draining. The mood is grave. But this time, maybe because we were walking for peace in a more general sense, the atmosphere really felt more light, more hopeful. And with that came the feeling of actually doing something, being a part of something. That is the power of participation. Afterwards I talked with my group and they shared this feeling of being powerful just from walking with other people beside them and following the performer. One of my participants said: “The feeling of being able to do something gives me hope.”
Overall, I think my participants really enjoyed the aspect of simply experiencing things together. The atmosphere felt relaxed and the day was spent with good performances and good company. Even though my original plan changed a lot, I count this as a win. That is one of my biggest learning experiences during this whole process: Things don’t always go as planned but that is not necessarily a bad thing or anyone’s fault. It’s just life. What matters more than following pre-made plans to the letter is how well you can adapt to the changes, what you discover in the process, how you support others, and how you keep your spirits up.
The ambassador process
The Audience Ambassador training was very enjoyable and helpful for preparing for the Biennale. I got a lot out of it. For me being an ambassador means being someone who enables experiences and discussion to happen; someone who creates spaces for exploration and invites people in; someone who has the imagination and determination to create new ways to engage. I like the idea of an ambassador being a bridge between art and communities. I think by participating in the activities the groups got a chance to experience things more deeply and look at the performances from a different angle. Through the activities and discussions the participants were able to share their own feelings and thoughts and also learn from others.
I learned many things during this process for which I’m grateful. I learned to communicate more confidently in English. I learned new tricks for audience engagement, sensory-based activities and a visual talking strategy, just to name a few. I learned a lot about the history of performance art, a thing I had nearly no knowledge of before. I learned resilience and furthered my ability to adapt. If I went through the whole ambassador process again, I would do a few things differently. I would definitely start reaching out to communities and possible participants sooner to get a more positive response and reduce stress. I would also pick performances more boldly and would not underestimate upper secondary schoolers’ bravery.
Hope was not lost during this process, even though things were hard at some point. Perseverance was possible because of the people walking this path beside me: other ambassadors cheering me on and the Biennale staff offering their help. I don’t think I could have done it alone, but thankfully I was not alone. And now I have made all these connections with these wonderful people full of inspiring ideas and I can’t help but feel lucky.
Salla Anttonen
Salla Anttonen
Olen äskettäin Turun ammattikorkeakoulun Taideakatemiasta valmistunut teatteri-ilmaisun ohjaaja. Oma taiteellinen taustani on teatterissa ja tanssissa, joiden parissa työskentelen esiintyjänä, ohjaajana, pedagogina, käsikirjoittajana ja koreografina. Viimeisimmät ohjaustyöni ovat käsitelleet leikkiä ja identiteettiä. Omissa luovissa prosesseissani kollaboratiivinen työskentely on minulle tärkeää. Yleisölähettiläänä olen saanut kastaa varpaani ensimmäistä kertaa performanssitaiteen maailmaan, mikä on ollut suuri ilo.