Friday 28 August (10)

Yesterday the Suomenlinna Treasure Hunt - a project devised by Anna Colin (curator-in-residence of HIAP/FRAME) and Veronika Spierenburg (HIAP artist-in-residence) - took place. The Treasure Hunt was a curatorial project involving the participation of artists from Helsinki and Suomenlinna, and took the form of a one-off guided tour around eight art works placed or performed on various sites in Suomenlinna. Each stop on the tour revealed an artwork – ranging from film and performance, to participatory projects – in corners and buildings of the island normally hidden from public view. The works responded in various ways to the local historical, socio-political or geographic context, and provided an insight into the civic life of Suomenlinna as perceived by the island’s short-term artist-in-residence inhabitants.

Artists: Noah Angell, Davina and Daniel, Ben Fain, Eric Hynymen, Pekcka and Lea Kantonen, Jaako Karhunen, Patrick mcGoohan (in The Prisoner), Carrie Schneider, and Veronika Spierenburg..

The tour was followed by refreshments at Restaurant Yläkerho.

One of the inmates from the Open Prison, who Davina and Daniel had been working with, was unable to participate in the Treasure Hunt, and so had written a postcard to us. During the Tour, I read the card out aloud, his fellow inmates all joined in shouting out the phrase -

WE ARE THE WINNERS !

Boxer Tov, Davina and Daniel - Me and Davina met yesterday at the harbour when I came back to the island. I told Davina that I cannot come tomorrow, and I'm really sorry for that. I have to go to the dentists at 3 o'clock. but I am with you in my mind, and also because I'm so happy because I got to make work with our art team !

We are the Winners !

Well, have a nice day !!

At the final destination on the tour, the treasure box was dug up by the youngest member of the tour. At the Restaurant Yläkerho, the treasure box was opened to reveal the three different tourist postcards made by the group from the Open Prison.