LiLa 2018

Summer school combined methods of art, humanism and science in Komi village landscapes in Russia

Living in the Landscape: Environmental Humanities, Arts and Education for Sustainability in the North (LiLa) summer school was organized under the ASAD network, where researchers, students and doctoral students from various fields surveyed and analyzed the landscapes and people’s everyday lives in the Komi villages of Kozlovka, Onezhia and Otla located along the Vym River. The landscapes were approached through methods of humanism, science and anthropology and the theoretical concepts were combined with art-based research.
 
The summer school program included lectures from different perspectives of the disciplines and field work for exploring the local life and culture of the villages. The key theme was the encounters of tradition and the present in the villages that are in transformation. The log buildings in the villages where the participants lived and worked were originating from the end of the 19th century. The interiors and objects reflected the time of the beginning of the last century, but also marks from the Soviet era and its dissolution were visible.

The aim of the summer school was not only the multidisciplinary study of villages and the life there, but also to develop educational models and methods that could sensitively approach the socio-cultural situations of the northern and arctic regions. The task of the participants was also to gather materials that can be analyzed to find sustainable solutions to the challenges of the environment, population, economy and culture in the region.
 
According to Professor Timo Jokela, Director of the summer school, the most important principles of action are in cultural and social sustainability.
– The international training model has been built on the network’s multidisciplinary know-how in the areas of arts, humanities, science, ecology, anthropology and sustainable development. In addition, the aim of the development of the summer school model is to combine university research and teaching with the expertise of local museums, research and development institutions, says Jokela.
 
The partners of the summer school along the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Lapland, were Syktyvkar State University, UiT Arctic University of Norway, Uppsala University, Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and National Library of the Komi Republic. Funding for the summer school is provided by the Nordic-Russian Cooperation Program in Education and Research.

Images: Antti Stöckell, 2018.

The Living in the Landscape exhibition was opened on 31 May at the Syktyvkar State University’s gallery in Komi Republic, Russia. The exhibition presents the results of an international Summer School’s field trip to Komi villages that are located along the River Vym. The Summer School is coordinated by the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland (UoL).

During the field trip, the environment, landscapes and people’s everyday life in the villages were studied through multidisciplinary methods and theoretical approaches of natural science, anthropology and art. The exhibition was built using art-based methods and combining the different perspectives and research results as a whole that at the same time present these Komi villages and also the multidisciplinary collaboration.

14 students and 8 scholars / artists participated in the exhibition. In addition to the Faculty of Art and Design (UoL), the exhibition included the Syktyvkar State University, The Arctic University of Norway, Uppsala University, Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. From the University of Lapland, Professor Timo Jokela, Professor Mirja Hiltunen, Postgraduate Students, University Lecturer Elina Härkönen and University Teacher Antti Stöckell, and Emilia Mustajärvi, Enni Kinnunen and Tanya Kravtsov took part in the exhibition. The funder is the Nordic-Russia Cooperation –programme in Education and Research,

Syktyvkar State University News:
https://www.syktsu.ru/news/24079/

Local Newspaper:
https://7×7-journal.ru/item/107767

More information:
Timo.Jokela(at)ulapland.fi
Mirja.Hiltunen(at)ulapland.fi