ÄÄREEN – Documentary in Animation Masterclasses

Ääreen-project introduces four outstanding, international new media art professionals. These experts artists push technological boundaries to create deeply meaningful, immersive art works. Join the masterclasses in January:

Mon 18.1. at 13-15 Hanna Haaslahti: Immersive Art
Wed 20.1. at 13-15 Jaakko Kemppainen: Games Reflecting Reality 
Mon 25.1. at 14.15-16 Ramsey Nasser (USA): Masterclass
Tue 26.1. at 9-10:30 Uri Kranot (Denmark): Anidox Masterclass

Each masterclass is limited for 50 persons. Register here.

Masterclasses are in English. The length of the talks are 90 minutes, followed with 15-30 minutes of Q&A.

Hanna Haaslahti

Hanna Haaslahti is media artist/director working with image and interaction. Her central tool is computer vision and interactive storytelling and she is interested in how machines shape social relations. Her artworks generate new narrative interactions between people, in which she explores the possibilities of human-machine-human collaboration. Scientific research on perception, vision and machine learning/artificial intelligence inspire her, as well as everyday observations about human life in the age of machines.
www.hannahaaslahti.net/

Jaakko Kemppainen

Games are often seen as entertainment, pastime and escapist entertainment. But like other forms of art, games can be used as a medium for societal commentary. They can tell us about the conflicts and issues in the world, but also sweet and bitter personal stories.

Jaakko Kemppainen is a veteran game designer, who currently works as the regional artist of games as art. He explores the fringes of gameplay and game industry, deeper meanings of playing ang games, and internal struggles of game developers.
www.taike.fi

Ramsey Nasser (USA)

Ramsey Nasser’s masterclass talk concentrates on experimental creative uses of 3D game engines for artistic expression, beyond video games. Related creative concepts and novel approaches will be discussed, touching on interaction design, immersion, social matters, code as art, realtime coding in virtual worlds and unique a variety of aesthetic methods, unorthodox data flows, plugins, processes, and more.

The talk offers new perspectives into the rich spectrum of creative possibilities offered by non-standard use of game engines. Ramsey presents examples of his own work as well other approaches in this context. 

Ramsey Nasser is a computer scientist, game designer, and educator who loves to make things that are fun, challenging, and useful. His work includes games, applications, hardware, programming languages, data visualizations, websites, and more. Nasser has B.S. in Computer Science from the American University of Beirut, an M.F.A. in Design and Technology from Parsons The New School for Design, an Eyebeam Fellowship and over a decade of professional experience. 
nas.sr

Uri Kranot (DK)

Uri Kranot is the main tutor of Danish ANIDOX forum. A film director and artist, he teaches at The Animation Workshop/VIA University College. With his partner, Michelle Kranot, he co-founded the research and development studio TinDrum. 

Michelle and Uri Kranot’s work has expanded beyond traditional animation, fusing painting, drawing, and new technologies into contemporary experiences. Their work is frequently characteriz ed by a poetic sensibility and fragmented narratives exploring past and present, fact and fiction. They enjoy collaborative projects and experimentation.

The films and VR installations of the Kranots have gained a wide public and won many awards. The Kranots first gained recognition with films such as Black Tape, Hollow Land, How Long, Not Long and the VR installations Nothing Happens and Songbird. They have been honoured with top industry awards for their work, including the FIPRESCI Prize at the Annecy International A nimation Film Festival, a place on the Academy Awards^® Shortlist, and the Danish Arts Foundat tion award for the performing arts. Their latest VR work The Hangman at Home won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice VR Expanded biennale.
tindrum.dk

Ääreen project presentation

Ääreen is an art project that combines documentary with immersive animation. It will be conducted at Oodi Central Library in Helsinki 2021. The purpose of the project is to support and encourage artists interested in documentary animation, and to create new media presentation practices in the library context. 

The project is a joint effort by Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Oodi Central Library, Artists’ Association MUU, Finnish Animation Guild, Turku Animated Film Festival, Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture (AVEK), Aalto University, National Audiovisual Institute KAVI, and Danish ANIDOX forum. 

More info

Annika Dahlsten 
Regional artist, Arts Promotion Centre Finland 
annika.dahlsten@taike.fi, tel. 02 9533 0907

Sanna Huttunen 
Special librarian, Oodi Central Library 
sanna.m.huttunen@hel.fi, tel. 040 186 3042 

Image: Michelle and Uri Kranot, Songbird, 2019