Joen kanssa / Tillsammans med älven / Saman við ánni / With the River:
Part 3 – The Collective
A border-crossing collective watery work-of-art in many parts (this part is a work-of-art as an artist collective)
Matilda, Jouko, Jessica, Jón Sonni, Henri, Mari and Alexandra at the border between Sweden-Finland October 2023. Behind the camera Eija. Our first walk together by the Torne river.
With the River Part 3 is a work-of-art and a joint process that studies through collaborative artistic work watery and fluid border-crossings by different watery bodies in the Nordic region. The joint artistic work unfolds both online, remotely and on-site in Sweden, Finland and the Faroe Islands.
In With the River Part 3 or as we, the artist group, have started to call it, the With the River Collective, a group of Nordic artists from different art fields from Sweden, Finland and the Faroe Islands collaborate to build a multidimensional and fluid border-crossing space for a joint artistic work. In this space we work both online and on-site. The collective’s joint artistic work began on-site in HaparandaTornio by the border river Torne (Väylä / Torniojoki / Torneälven) that flows between Sweden and Finland, unfolds further in each Nordic country joint with collective remote work online and further on-site work in the Faroe Islands and in Finland.
The aim is to create a joint artistic process that generate new working possibilities and bonds of collaboration for all participants in the Nordic dimension. The artist collective and its partners work across borders in a multidimensional way both on location in the Nordic region and through virtual spaces sharing and intersecting artistic knowledge and mutual practices.
*
The collective’s joint artistic work began on-site in Fall 2023 by/with the river Torne that flows between Sweden and Finland and in Norrbotten county, Sweden. The Nordic artists invited to work together with Eija Mäkivuoti met for the first time as a group on-site in HaparandaTornio by the Torne river in October 2023. Our on-site work extended from HaparandaTornio along the Torne river (Väylä / Torniojoki / Torneälven) and the Torne Valley (Meänmaa / Tornionlaakso / Tornedalen) reaching the river’s origins Torne lake (Tornionjärvi / Torneträsk) by the Abisko national park in the Swedish Norrbotten.
The participating artists in 2023 on-site in Torne River Valley was: Eija Mäkivuoti (FI/SE), Henri Hiltunen (SE), Jessica Franzén (SE), Jouko Alapartanen (FI), Jón Sonni Jensen (FO), Matilda Löytty (FI), Mari Keski-Korsu (FI) and Alexandra Stroganova (FI/RU).
The collective artistic work unfolded in 2023–2025 with the support by Tjaldur – Friendship Association Finland–Faroe Islands, Nordic Culture Fund / Nordisk kulturfond and partnering with Jala Arts and Crafts Association / Jala konst och hantverk and the Faroese Folk High School (Føroya Fólkaháskúli).
The collective artistic work unfolds further in each Nordic country joint with collective work online, on-site in the Faroe Islands and on-site in Finland during 2024–2026. Furthermore, remote collaborations will continuously be practised throughout all of the remaining timespan. From 2026 the collective’s joint artistic work is supported by the Kone Foundation. Read more about the With the River Collective from their website and Instagram.
The participating artists in With the River Collective 2024–2026 are: Eija Mäkivuoti (FI/SE), Jessica Franzén (SE), Jouko Alapartanen (FI), Jón Sonni Jensen (FO), Dan Helgi í Gong (FO), Matilda Löytty (FI), Mari Keski-Korsu (FI) and Alexandra Stroganova (FI).
*
WITH THE RIVER PT. 3 THE COLLECTIVE 2023–2025 was supported by Nordic Culture Fund, Tjaldur – Friendship Society Finland-Faroe Islands (via The Swedish Culture Fund in Finland) and Kone Foundation.
WITH THE RIVER PT. 3 THE COLLECTIVE 2023–2025 joint artistic work was organised in collaboration with Tjaldur – Friendship Society Finland-Faroe Islands in collaboration with Jala Art Association, the Faroese Folk High School (Føroya Fólkaháskúli) and the artist group itself.
WITH THE RIVER COLLECTIVE 2025–2026 is supported by the Kone Foundation.
WITH THE RIVER COLLECTIVE 2025–2026 joint artistic work is organised in collaboration with local partners and the artist group itself.
With the River Collective: Mari, Dan Helgi, Jessica, Jouko, Alexandra, Jón Sonni, Eija and Matilda in the Faroe Islands in 2025.
On-site work by the Kukkola Rapids on the Swedish side, October 2023.
#withtherivercollective #thinkingwiththeriver #thinkingwithwater