Call for selection of proposals for Kolibrí 2023 

Published | By Adriana Minhoto

Submit your proposal by 6.3.2023 

Kulttuurikeskus Ninho invites artists, researchers and other professionals in the fields of education, arts and culture, of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and disabilities, residing in Finland, to send their proposals for activities to be part of the program of Kolibrí Festivaali 2023. 

Kolibrí is the meeting place of arts, science, languages, creativity and childhood. Kolibrí will take place from 16.-30.9.2023 in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa.  

The theme for Kolibrí 12th edition is The Art of Hospitality. 

The Art of Hospitality is the virtue of simple gestures to make those who need, who are different, who are unknown, feel at home, celebrating the joy of being together. The art of hospitality is a human experience to be learned from the earliest years. 

We will celebrate Art as Hospitality, as a metaphor which refers to bringing our diverse communities together, where we find solidarity, consolation, joy, a safe and reliable place where we can grow, enjoy, honor, and engage with our communities, creating a common and dignified present. 

This year’s theme is a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first Chilean refugee families in Finland and the solidarity of the Finnish community that welcomed them, making these families feel at home. 

The application period ends on March 6th 2023, at midnight. Even though the form is in English, it may be filled out in English, Spanish or Portuguese. 

Proposals 

We are looking for proposals in line with the objectives and methodology of our festival that respond to the 2023 theme. We will select proposals targeted to plurilingual and diverse children and their families. 

Audiences 

– Families, in all their variants of love, coming from different realities, backgrounds, abilities and disabilities, and using different heritage languages. 

– Children, with or without disabilities, from 3 months to 10 years of age. 

Since 2018, members of the Kolibrí audience have identified over 10 different heritage languages being spoken during the festival,  in addition to Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish and English. 

The Kolibrí program combines a number of activities, ranging from ancestral, artistic and cultural expressions to the most recent advances in technology and sciences. Therefore, we accept proposals from the following disciplines and combinations thereof: literature, graphic arts, visual arts, design, architecture, music, dance, theater, circus, science, culinary culture, among others. 

Choices of format include: 

  • Short workshop (60 min) 
  • Non-stop workshop (180 min) 
  • Storytime (30min for babies and 60 min for other ages) 
  • Performances (60 min):   theater pieces, concerts, etc. 

Compensation 

Kulttuurikeskus Ninho covers the compensation of those selected as follows: 

  • Workshops/Storytime: 70€/h per artist (including social security costs) max. 2 artist per workshop. 
  • Non-stop: 210€/h per artist (including social security costs) max. 2 artist per worksop. 
  • Performance: 200€ per artist (including social security costs) max. 3 artist per performance. 
  • *Concerts: 200€ per artist (including social security costs) max. 4 artist per performance. 

Moreover, we offer financial support for the cost of materials (within reason), and we’ll cover the space as well as both equipment and technicians of sound and light.  

 Unfortunately, we don’t have the necessary means to cover travel costs to Helsinki, nor the rental of any kind of equipment. 

* After reading all the application forms, we would like to schedule an online meeting with at least one of the members of the group to understand better how the presentation works and what are the requirements. Please, pay attention to the information sent by: [email protected] 

IMPORTANT 

Kolibrí Festivaali is a new way to experience and to create children’s culture with the diversity in Finland as the starting point. The purpose of the Festivaali is to offer a safe and positive space for enjoying quality time with family, for learning about the arts, science and culture, and where dialog, mutual respect and understanding exist from the earliest childhood. 

Methodological pillars of the Kolibrí program 

  • Intergenerationality: children enjoy and learn together with adults and seniors. 
  • Plurilingualism: heritage languages are not a secret; they are a cultural asset for learning. 
  • Accessibility: all are welcome and respected as they are; all can participate in, and enjoy the activities without fear of discrimination. We strive to make accommodations to allow the participation of people with disabilities and we expect our artists and their proposals to do the same. 
  • Diversity: the children, together with their families and the facilitators, participate in a program of activities that values the very characteristics that make them unique and special. 

What do we mean by diversity? 

Different is beautiful: we live in a multicultural society that is full of contrasts. We are different in gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, abilities and disabilities, occupation, nationality, and much more.Celebrating diversity is embracing our differences, learning from one another, and appreciating the beauty of building something new together. (Ninho’s Diversity Statement, 2022) 

Criteria 

The proposals will be selected in accordance with the availability of funds and depending on how well they meet the criteria listed below. Proposals should: 

  • awaken the capacity for wonder, creation, enjoyment, experimentation and teamwork in children. 
  • Promote values such as mutual respect, dialog and the richness of diversity. 
  • Connect to the 2023 theme. 
  • Favor the active participation of a child accompanied by an adult. Ages we cater to: 
  • Babies from 3 to 12 months or non-walking. 
  • Toddlers from 1 to 4 years-old. 
  • Preschoolers from 4 to 7 years-old. 
  • School-aged children from 7 years-old. 
  • Promoting an atmosphere of plurilingual participation: in Spanish,  Portuguese, English,  Finnish or Swedish or combinations thereof. Other languages are also welcome. Activities that use multiple languages are favored. 
  • In areas of literature and music, our focus will be on these languages. 
  • Favoring sustainability, when it comes to the budget. We focus on reasonable and realistic costs, usage of either recycled or low-environmental impact and low-cost materials. 

We’ll grant special consideration to proposals promoting: 

  • the active participation of disabled children, of fathers as facilitators of program activities, of seniors together with toddlers, and of children over 10 years. 
  • the participation of talent from Kulttuurikeskus Ninho ry or other similar associations that can propose a plan of mutual cooperation. 
  • the capacity to recruit volunteers for the activity (NB: multilingual persons who assist in the activities as volunteers can receive a certificate of participation in areas such as art, sciences and translation). 
  • even if Kolibrí is a festival with Iberoamerican roots, proposals of artists and artistic expressions from other parts of the world are equally welcome. 

Submission 

  • Till the 6th of March, 2023, at midnight, complete the Application Form. 
  • The form is in English but can be filled out in English, Spanish or Portuguese. 
  • For the performances, please send pictures and links to your videos of previous gigs, if available. 

Results 

  • On March 31st, 2023, a preliminary list of the selected proposals will be published in our website, www.kolibrifestivaali.org. Please, pay attention to the information sent by: [email protected] 
  • As soon as the financing has been confirmed, the final list of the selected proposals will be published. 
  • The results of the selection are definitive and indisputable. 
  • All selected artists will participate in training workshops. The training sessions will follow Kolibrí’s methodology, provide tools not only to combat racism, but also to improve the original proposals as well as offer concrete ideas for inclusive actions. The workshops are planned to take place in May/June 2023, online. 

All the information compiled is confidential and for the exclusive use of this selection. The audiovisual material, as well as opinions regarding Kolibrí, will be used in social media for the promotion of the Festival. 

More information: [email protected]