Kolibrí 2022 –  Open Call for artists that are POC or have disabilities 

Published | By Adriana Minhoto

Submit your proposal by 15.6 

Kulttuurikeskus Ninho invites artists, researchers and other professionals with disabilities or people of color (POC), in the fields of education, arts and culture, of different origins and experiences, residing in Helsinki, to send their proposals for activities to be part of the program of Kolibrí Festivaali 2022.  

Kolibrí is the meeting place of arts, science, languages, creativity, visibility and childhood. Kolibrí will take place on 22.09.-01.10.2022 in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa. Every Spring, Kolibrí Festivaali selects artists through an open call. We strive to have a program that is diverse and representative of contemporary childhood. This year, we didn’t have enough artistic proposals from POC or people with disabilities, and we wanted to offer artists from these groups a specific call. 

The theme for Kolibrí – 11th edition:  

Ode to Bewilderment 

Let us celebrate the right to bewilderment, uncertainty, unease and hesitation and the enthusiasm these awaken. Let us praise bewilderment as a guide to childhood times, as a link to nature, science, culture and to the years of learning, teaching and unlearning in order to return to the state of curious bewilderment.  

Let us celebrate bewilderment as linked to the living organism that is our cultural, natural and scientific patrimony. Let us cheer for the time of attempts and the collective space where visions and dialogs are amplified, where the arts, creativity and information meet, where curiosity and community flourish since the beginning of time. 

We are looking for proposals which stimulate the understanding of the reality with its diverse, pluralistic and uncertain perspectives. Proposals highlighting the strong bonds with the lively and less lively communities to which we belong in this world that is our home.  

The application period ends on June 15 2022, 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 2022 theme. We will select proposals destined to plurilingual and diverse children and their families.  

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 art, visual arts, design, architecture, music, dance, theater, circus, science, culinary culture, among others. 

 The format can be:  

  • Short workshop (60 min)  
  • Non-stop workshop (180 min) 
  • Performances (60 min): storytelling, theatre pieces, concerts, etc. 

Compensation 

Kulttuurikeskus Ninho covers the compensation of those selected as follows:  

  • Workshops: 70€/h per artist (including social security costs) max. 2 artists per workshop. 
  • Performance: 200€ per artist (including social security costs) max. 3 artists per performance. 
  • Concerts: 200€ per artist (including social security costs) max. 4 artists 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 the requirements are. 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. Reasonable accommodation will be provided. 
  • 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? 

Diversity means that differences relating to people’s identities and abilities are respected in a safe and positive atmosphere. In a society, diversity requires consideration and acknowledgement of all groups, as well as respect for, and learning from, our differences. The differences can be based on, for example, gender, sexuality, social and economic status, age, physical appearance, disability, appearance, religion, language, cultural distinctions, ethnicity, political views or different ideologies and beliefs. (Culture for All, 2019). 

 Audience 

  • Families, in all their variants of love, coming from different realities, backgrounds and using different heritage languages.  
  • Children, from 3 months to 10 years of age (all children are always accompanied by an adult). 
  • Since 2018, members of the Kolibrí audience have identified over 10 different heritage languages being spoken in the public in addition to Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish and English. 

Criteria 

The proposals will be selected in accordance with availability of funds and depending on how well they meet the following criteria:  

  • Wakening the capacity for wonder, creation, enjoyment, experimentation and teamwork in children. 
  • Promoting values such as mutual respect, dialog and the richness of diversity. 
  • Linked with the 2022 theme. 
  • Favoring the active participation of family twosomes at the following ages: 
  • babies from 3 to 12 months or non-walking ones. 
  • from 1 to 4 years, toddlers. 
  • from 4 to 7 years, preschoolers. 
  • over 7 years, school-goers. 
  • Promoting an atmosphere of plurilingual participation: in Spanish and/or Portuguese, English, and/or Finnish and/or Swedish or combinations thereof. Other languages are also welcome. Even though Kolibrí is a festival with Iberoamerican roots, proposals of artists and artistic expressions from other parts of the world are equally welcome. 
  • In the areas of literature and music, our focus will be on Spanish and Portuguese. 
  • Favoring sustainability, as related to a budget with reasonable and realistic costs, usage of either recycled or low-ecological-impact and low-cost materials.  

We’ll grant special consideration to proposals promoting:  

  • the active participation of differently-abled children, of fathers as facilitators of program activities, of seniors together with toddlers as well as with children over 10 years.  
  • the participation of talent from the 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).  

Submission 

  • Until June 15, 2022 at midnight, send in the completed 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 June 20, 2022, the list of the selected proposals will be published on our website www.kolibrifestivaali.org. Please, pay attention to the information sent by: [email protected] 
  • The results of the selection are definitive and indisputable.  

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] 

Don’t hesitate to contact Andréa Santos Brito, our Inclusion and Accessibility Coordinator, at [email protected], in case you need more information or any accommodations regarding the application process. Feel free to contact Andréa as well if you have any other concerns about accessibility.