Art and Change

A new string of words appeared in the work papers of Kiasma during the ARS exhibition: "art renewing the welfare society." The words seem grandiose enough by themselves, joined with the others they sound almost embarrassingly pompous. That art would have an impact on society, and be able to reform the welfare state? Just like that? Has Kiasma been smitten with the eighth deadly sin, pomposity?

Let's think about this for a moment. It is not unheard of that museums justify themselves with noble aspirations that are notoriously difficult to prove. For instance, museums have already for some time declared themselves to support the spiritual and ethical growth of citizens or the strengthening of their identity. However, Kiasma's idea of reforming the welfare state avoids the run-of-the-mill memory organisation rhetoric about the preservation of artistic and cultural heritage for future generations. The memory function Kiasma has set for itself is to actively remember and to use art to remind the public of the diversity of the world and alternatives, while avoiding any purely valuative or moralistic attitude.

But what exactly is this power of art that is capable of producing welfare? After all, the history of contemporary art is very much characterised by a certain reductionism. All the things that used to be considered solid and sound markers of art have little by little been whittled away. You know: works of art are no longer necessarily even made by the artist, any found or industrially produced objects can be served up as art. Nor does art have to have a tangible form these days: the wildest variety of processes or events can be classified as art. Even the immediate or continuous presence of the artist has been abandoned as a criterion for art, not to mention the institutional framework offered by art museums and galleries.

After all this pruning, what is left? If art can by definition be almost anything, almost anywhere or for anybody, what is interesting is no longer what art looks like, but what kind of relationships and situations it creates. The central thing in the art of situations is exchange: art brings different types of people together to share and exchange their thoughts, time and feelings. At the same time art also inevitably reveals the inherent diversity of things. Differences lose their dogmatic importance and function together to create a new kind of community spirit and tolerance; in other worlds, welfare.

Built upon the ideals of equality and justice, the Finnish welfare state has primarily aimed at safeguarding the satisfaction of basic needs for all. Everyone has a recognised and equal right to food, shelter or cleanliness, for example. Yet the welfare society has not been able to put its ideals into practice, it has been unable to stop the vicious circle of disadvantaganess. When the workplace saps your strength, when the phantom of efficiency breathes down your neck, or your self is simply lost for some reason, inclusion in art may open up a channel for seeing things differently, and for making a change. Into a world of normative and egalitarian routines, art can introduce a spontaneous disorder, unpredictability and playful experimentation.

The union of art and the welfare state signals a move away from the exceptionality of art towards ordinary moments and things. The position of art at the very spearhead of the avant-garde is exchanged for a distilled presence in the here and now, in what already exists. Art does not seek, find or aspire to new things, more clearly than before it serves as a tool for change that arises from everyday life. To take an example, the Villa Nova project run by Kiasma, where the Forest Camp group spends time with homeless alcoholics, remodelling log furniture with them and having barbecues, it certainly seems very ordinary. The boundaries of art and life become blurred.

Of course art cannot solve everything, even though the effects of art promoting health and wellbeing have scientifically been shown to be real. In the charity of art, the blind may remain blind, the drunks drunk and the poor poor. Participatory art – just like life itself – rests upon many uncertain and unpredictable factors whose end result cannot be fixed or decided in advance.

Thus the purpose of art is not to reach for some utopian or basically fictitious social systems, but simply to be, as lifestyles and as examples of how to do things. Its foundation is the right of all people to their own creativity. In keeping with this, the Art renewing the welfare society programme wants to question strict sectoral boundaries and to reclaim art as an active force in all areas of life. It is this kind of small and everyday union of art and the welfare society that Kiasma wants to promote.

Riikka Haapalainen
Head of Education

Art renewing the welfare society is a co-operation network launched on the initiative of the Finnish National Gallery/Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in autumn 2005. In its initial stage the project partners have included the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health STAKES, the Culture and Health network, the Finnish Ministry of Labour, the University of Art and Design Helsinki, the Theatre Academy, the Academy of Fine Arts, and the City of Helsinki Cultural Office.