SOCIAL ART

Life in the Roma camp

2011-08-28T23:07:00.003+03:00

"In Finland I eat three times in a day, in Romania one or two."

See the Photo Report with voice in the webpage of Suomen Kuvalehti magazine published in 25th of August 2011.

EXHIBITION: Movable home

2011-05-30T14:32:00.005+03:00

The Museum of Cultures // Movable Home // 2.3. - 7.8.2011

A home is the place where people live, but it does not necessarily remain in one place. A home can be a house or an apartment, but also a tent, a yurt, a caravan, a car, a boat or a hut. People throughout the world live in movable homes, either as part of their way of life or livelihood, others also by force of circumstances.

Kukka Ranta has photographed the life of Roma beggars in Helsinki between 2009 and 2011, and her exhibition of photographs has been included as part of the Movable home exhibition.

The Museum of Cultures
Tennispalatsi, Eteläinen Rautatiekatu 8 / Salomonkatu 15, Helsinki

Opening hours
Tue. 11 am – 8 pm
Wed.–Sun. 11 am – 6 pm
Mon. closed

Free admission!

In the News!

Helsingin Sanomat 2.3.2011

Töölöläinen Nro 7 / 2011

Kaleva 29.5.2011

Eurocultured Street Festival in Titanik-gallery

2011-05-18T23:03:00.018+03:00

Turku, Finland 17.-22.5.2011
VIDEO: Private security violence and impunity (2011) by Kukka Ranta & Henri Salonen

Galleria Titanik
Itäinen Rantakatu 8
20700 Turku
Finland
p. +358 2 233 8372
Tue - Fri 12-18
Sat - Sun 12-16

Eurocultured Turku 21–22 May: River Aura banks, free admission!

Controlling the Urban Space Seminar in the Museum of Contemporary Art KIASMA

2011-01-15T11:26:00.021+02:00

Video work presentation: Private security violence and impunity by Kukka Ranta & Henri Salonen in Kiasma Theater, Museum of Contemporary Art.
(Video in Finnish. Trying to get subtitles later!)

The seminar explores the new restrictions encountered by visual and graffiti artists, skateboarders and immigrants when they wish to use a public space.

While consultants talk about the ‘Creative City’, it is getting increasingly difficult to define the boundary between the free and public spheres and the commercial and private spheres of the urban space. This seminar explores the new restrictions encountered by visual and graffiti artists, skateboarders and immigrants when they wish to use a public space. The issues are considered from the perspective of urban studies as well as art.

Opening speech by Eetu Viren and Kukka Ranta.

The seminar is jointly organised by Kiasma Theatre, the Department of Art and Media Pori and the Department of Art of the Aalto University School of Art and Design, and the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (YTK) at Aalto University.

Seminar language is Finnish.

CARICATURE: The year 2010

2010-12-16T14:45:00.011+02:00

Click image to view larger size

Silvio Berlusconi, Nicolas Sarkozy, and on the right the mayor of City of Helsinki Jussi Pajunen (National Coalition Party) being busy...
Money talks, and that's how the Roma are being extorted out of European Metropolises while ethnical fingerprint records are growing. ”The Roma expert” Jarmo Räihä from the Social Services Department of Helsinki is just satisfied with one more beer. Angela Merkel in turn is considering should Germany deport 12 000 Roma back to Kosovo, half of them are children born in Germany.
This is the year of 2010.

Published in Voima Magazine 10/2010.

EXHIBITION // Political Art from Aalto University

2010-12-02T13:58:00.006+02:00

27.11.2010 – 22.1.2011
RSProjectspace Fichtestrasse 3, BERLIN GERMANY

Open: Thu, Fri, Sat 12 - 6pm
Closed for Holiday: December 18th - Jan 6th

ANTIDOTE is an exhibition of political paintings, drawings, photos and videos from MA students, Ph.D. candidates and professors at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland.

Curated by: Teemu Mäki (Aalto)
Artists: Timo Bredenberg, Tristan Chijinyman, Simo Haanpää, Henna Inkinen, Katariina Katla, Tirza Ben Porat & Laura Ukkonen, Lisa Erdman, Tristan Hamel, Sampsa Indrén, Ellen Kress, Minna Havukainen, Miina Hujala, Jan Ijäs, Henna Inkinen, Anna-Liisa Kanchanalak & Katariina Katla, Jonna Karanka, Jaana Kokko, Tommi Lehtovirta, Maija Ojanen, Kukka Ranta, Laura Ukkonen & Teemu Mäki w/ Perkele Collective

For More Information:
www.rsprojects.org

Street Art: Surviving is not a Crime

2010-11-08T16:59:00.046+02:00

Surviving is not a Crime :: by Kukka Ranta & Laura Lehtinen

Men's Week street Art action organized by Multicoloured Dreams

Open street gallery in Helsinki Senate Square starting from 8.11.2010->

Click image to view larger size

Sketches:

After Romania and Bulgaria joined to the European Union in 2007 many Roma started to use their right for the free movement and residence in other EU Member States in search of better conditions of life. Even though they haven't been able to leave the discrimination behind. It seems to follow them where ever they go.

Because of the lack of job opportunities many Roma have been contending for the most precarious works with immigrants without papers and are mostly earning their living by begging money, selling flowers or collecting bottles on the streets of European cities, as well as in Helsinki.
According to the definition of the Ministry of the Interior of Finland playing music, selling flowers or looking at people is being called aggressive begging.

”I dream of one day being able to settle down somewhere with my family. Rent a flat, find a job and put my children to school. To live and be treated like a normal person,” said a Roma man living in a caravan in Helsinki.

More info:
mcdreams.wordpress.com

facebook.com/multicoloured-dreams

In the News!
www.hbl.fi/ 11.11.2010

Protest Art: The Other Mexico exhibition in Turku

2010-11-06T12:55:00.010+02:00

Toinen Meksiko exhibition // 5. - 28.11.2010 Estelle, Turku Finland.
The murder of Jyri Jaakkola and indigenous people in Oaxaca
in collaboration with Oaxaca! Activist Art course from Academy of Fine Arts.

How many Indigenous People have to die? Before we get Rights? Who is next Jyri?

Toinen Meksiko exhibition is open Mon-Fri 16-18, Sat-Sun 12-16 in Turku.

More information about the exhibition in Finnish:
Uusi Tuuli ry / Toinen Meksiko
and about Uusi Tuuli and Estelle in English:
www.estelle.fi/en

EXODUS ANONYMOUS

2010-09-06T22:00:00.042+03:00

by Kukka Ranta & Julia Wiraeus
4/9 - 29/10/2010 Kungstensgatan 27, Stockholm

Exodus Anonymous questions growing European boundraries and immigration control. We also tell the story of recently deported Hameed Abdulhameed.

A visitor listening audio story of recently deported Hameed Abdulhameed who we tried to visit in a immigration prison in Flen outside of Stockholm, but he got deported just before in the very same morning. We bring out his interrogation (in swedish). We collected fingerprints from all our opening's guests as performing the growing European boundraries and immigration controls, which after all affect us all, and we included those in our exhibition:

Website of the Gallery:
http://www.kungstensgatan27.blogspot.com/

AHNE’10 art festival

2010-09-06T21:59:00.015+03:00

23.8.-11.9.2010, Suvilahti, Helsinki.
Organised by the students of Aalto University School of Art and Design.

FalseDemocracy. Part 1. NorthCaucasus by KUKKA RANTA

The President of Dagestan Mukhu Aliyev (until 2010)

Who has the Power in Russia?

The President of Chechenya Ramzan Kadyrov

the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev

Tortured Chechen Bear. Still at present bears are being used for ice-skating in Russian Circus, at the same time torture is used against Chechenian civilians.

Livepainting @ Island in the Sun festival 2010

2010-07-19T11:00:00.018+03:00

Kukka Ranta & Laura Lehtinen at Island in the Sun festival 2010. The wall was 8 meters long and 2,5 meters high!

Surviving is not a crime.

We can do it!

Photgraphy Research: Precarious living of immigrants

2010-05-26T00:27:00.038+03:00

Upcoming series of photography "Precarious living of immigrants".
I was investigating how are the working conditions of immigrants without papers working on the streets and beaches of Barcelona and how economic crisis is affecting to the live of the most precarious ones.

Fatima and her friend Mamá works walking back and forth on the beach of Barcelona everyday 8 hours under burning sun. If they are lucky they earn some 40 € per day which they split between each others. Fatima has her five children in Senegal, the youngest is 5 months old and is taken care by her oldest one. It is really hard to work because of the ecnomomic crisis people don't by hairpieces they are selling. She misses her children too much and would like to return but she can't afford it.

Mamadou is a 19-years-old immigrant from Senegal, working on the beach of Barcelona by selling sunglasses.

Khalifaxa aka el Clandestino is immigrant from Senegal and he is living by rapping in different clubs and bars, and also in many demonstrations organized by different social movements around Spain. He is singing about the hazard boat trip from Senegal to Canarian Island, Immigrant prisons and about the life without papers.

This pakistani earns his living by selling coco. He walks 8 hours a day around beach in Barcelona hiding from police which is watching all the time from their beach office by binoculars. He earns about 10 euros in a day.

Immigrants living and working without papers are glancing nervously around them all the time and are being alerted if police come. When they see a cop coming they pull strings and RUN. The man in this picture use to be a car mechanic in Senegal. Now he is selling bags in the streets and parks of Barcelona.

Since 2006 there has been cero tolerance system "Ordenanza civica" against many street actions in Barcelona. It is for example illegal to skateboard, paint graffiti, drink in a public space, sell stuff on the streets or beg money. It is also illegal to buy and sell sex, but most of the fines are going to the female prostitutes, who many times are immigrants without papers, and also many times victims of trafficking of women, like slaves. White customers, most of them turist and also many spanish husbands etc, police leaves in peace. Most precarious of these prostitute workers gets about 20 euros per action.

Published in Voima Magazine 7/2010 & 23.08.2010.

Spraycan Art attack!

2010-05-17T20:36:00.018+03:00

Barcelona 2010. This is Capitalism.

Barcelona 2010. Don't give U'R papers!

They wanna buff us all..
Barcelona 2010.
Sketch for city control painting, disco baboon says: "leave the city there is no space for us..."

Plans for upcoming series of paintings "False Democracy"

2010-03-16T22:19:00.025+02:00

Plans for upcoming series of paintings "False Democracy":
Part / White power of Global South.
Drawing ink, Autumn 2009.

Illustration about Freedom of speech

2010-02-11T11:29:00.007+02:00

Published in Libero 2/2010.

THE PRECARIOUSNESS OF BEING ROMANIAN ROMA IN HELSINKI

2010-02-11T11:28:00.018+02:00

a project for the living spaces of the Roma community in Helsinki by Kukka Ranta

Romania became a member of European Union on 1st of January in 2007 and soon there after several different roma families and groups have been looking for livinhood by begging, selling flowers or collecting bottles on the streets of Helsinki. Since the collapse of communism Romanian Roma lost their place of employment. “During the socialism everybody had work”, told a roma man living in Finland. They lack education and health care, and face structural racist segregation which makes many Roma feel to not belong to the society. After the accession of Central and Eastern European countries to the European Union many Roma started to use their right for the free movement and residence in other EU Member States in search of better conditions of life.
City of Helsinki has not been offering any shelter or social help for Romanian Roma; on the contrary, there are questions about the need of the criminalization of begging. On 27th October in 2009, officials from the City of Helsinki evicted a community of Romanian Roma families, who had been living near the Metro Station Kalasatama. With nowhere to go, the families huddled under the bridge of the Metro Station, while the Real Estate Department ordered the Public Works Deprartment to destroy the huts that the Roma families had built to protect themselves against the upcoming winter cold. Metallic stoves were left smoking along the tracks of the metro line as the chainsaws and crowbars tore down the makeshift homes.

With my photography poject I want to ask: What are the values we cultivate to build our surrounding environment? Who has a right to live in a city? Who has a right to be a member of the Municipality and Human Society? Only those with money?

More pictures & details: www.flickr.com/photos/kukkaranta/

Collective Art @ Social Center Satama

2010-02-11T11:27:00.024+02:00

Helsinki, Social Center Satama 2009. Latex paint. There were 20 artist participating in this collective art project.

This painting has been many times in news, and documentaries, like this one in YLE.

Squat the World :: No Borders :: No Nations

Collective Art @ Amnesty Action

2010-02-11T11:26:00.006+02:00

Helsinki / Amnesty 2009.
Latex paint, aerosol paint.

Helsinki / Amnesty 2009.

Protest Art :: More benefits!

2010-02-11T11:11:00.005+02:00

Latex paint.

Serious from news, they are taking our lands

2010-02-11T11:09:00.003+02:00

Watercolor.

Pachamama :: Mother Earth of shanty towns

2010-02-11T11:08:00.004+02:00

Watercolor.

Protest Art :: Oaxaca, Mexico!

2010-02-11T11:07:00.013+02:00

Freedom for political Prisoners. Oaxaca Mexico 2008.

Sketch for stencil.

Oaxaca Mexico 2008. In a demonstration together with local art collective ASARO.

More information of the struggle of Oaxaca and street art: Street is shouting in Oaxaca by Multitunes.

Street Art @ Lima, Perú

2010-02-11T10:55:00.007+02:00

Lima 2008.

Lima 2008.
Kukka, Wes & Jade.

Mural Art @ Lima, Perú

2010-02-11T10:53:00.010+02:00

Lima 2008.

Lima 2008.
Kukka & Wes.

Street Art @ Madrid, Spain

2010-02-11T10:50:00.005+02:00

Madrid 2005.

2010-02-11T10:48:00.003+02:00

Drawing ink & colored pencils.

2010-02-11T10:47:00.006+02:00

Colored pencils & drawing ink.

2010-02-11T10:47:00.005+02:00

Colored pencils & drawing ink.

2010-02-11T10:46:00.002+02:00

Rosa Parks. Drawing ink.

2010-02-11T10:42:00.003+02:00

Watercolour.
For Johanna Sumuvuori's article "Man's best friend".

2010-02-11T10:38:00.006+02:00

Drawing pen.

2010-02-11T10:31:00.003+02:00

Drawing pen.