The artists and their mentors
The project Making space for artistry has offered eight artists the opportunity to work with an experienced mentor artist in the fall of 2023. We proudly present the artists and their mentors!
Mika “Cepa” Leminen and Linda-Maria “Mercedes” Raninen
Mika:
“I’m Mika Leminen and I rap with the name MC Cepa. I have a rap project Cepan maailma (Cepas’ world) where others rap my lyrics. That’s the way to go round my speech defect and make sure that people understand my lyrics. My raps have points about society but I don’t think I’m making political rap. For me good choruses and tuff attitude is important in rap. My goal is to be professional in a few years. I have also started to make pop songs for others. Linda-Maria’s mentoring has helped me to focus on the right things and make future plans.”
Linda-Maria:
“I am Linda-Maria Raninen and my artist name is Mercedes. My third album Luumupuu was published in October 2023. I have also written three books and I’m writing columns for Kirkko ja kaupunki (The church and the city) magazine. My love of the Finnish language is one reason why I started to mentor Mika. Mika is one of the most gifted lyric writers of his generation and I want to support him to reach the appreciation he earns.”
Tara Kotkas and Loa Carlslund
“My name is Tara, I’m 22 years old and I live in Copenhagen. I have danced almost all my life, mostly ballet and contemporary dance. I like dancing because I feel good in my body, I can express my feelings and be creative. In recent years, I have realized that it would be wonderful to dance every day, and therefore my dream is to become a professional dancer. I have already received a place for a three-year contemporary dance training, and the plan is to start it next summer.”
Tara’s mentor is Loa Carlslund:
“My name is Loa Carlslund, I’m a dancer and dancemaker based in Copenhagen. I’ve also been artistic director of Teater Minsk and have, under this name, created performances that have toured extensively both in Europe, Asia and Africa. In my work with Tara we focus on developing her artistic voice. Together we search for what inspires and ignites her. We explore how to give ideas body and physicality.”
Kati Aartoila and Saara Sihvonen
Kati Aartoila is one of Finland’s first disabled models and has an international modeling contract. “Working as a model allows me to feel seen and heard, break stereotypes about disabled people and reduce stigma. I want to be a role model for other disabled people, especially the Erb’s Palsy community. I love to travel and I always have a suitcase ready to go.”
Kati is mentored by Saara Sihvonen:
Saara Sihvonen is an internationally successful top model. During her career, she has worked in the fashion shows of top names such as Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Chanel and Zadig & Voltaire. She has appeared in various parts of the world in several fashion magazines and on their covers. These include, among others, Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire and Glamor Iceland. Today, Saara, who is active in Singapore, has trained in, among other things, the field of positive psychology. Hes own company WITHSAARA focuses on mental well-being coaching.
Joose Ojala and Johanna Juhola
“I’m Joose Ojala, a jazz accordionist, composer and versatile musician from Helsinki. I received invaluable expert help from my mentor Johanna in making grant applications. In December, I received a grant of 65,000 euros from the Kone Foundation, which enables me to make e.g. two full-length albums for my band Kaiunsäde and artistic work with my new band Joose Ojala Trio. I am extremely grateful to the Kone Foundation and the project Making space for artistry that this mentoring program enabled this for me.” You can listen to Joose in Spotify (Spotify.com).
Joose was mentored by Johanna Juhola:
Johanna Juhola has been praised as an undisciplined innovator of tango, a world music icon and a significant innovator of accordion music. Johanna’s original production and collaboration with top names in classical music, jazz and electronic music as well as contemporary dance and circus artists have sealed her reputation as a visionary who transcends genres. Johanna has created her own style of music called fantasy tango, which she performs with her bands Johanna Juhola Reaktori, Johanna Juhola Trio and Johanna Juhola & Imaginary Friends. Juhola has released five solo albums. In 2022, he won the Nordic composer’s prize, the NPU prize, for his composition work.
Elisa Syväoja and Johanna Mattila
Elisa Syväoja is a student of performing arts and audiovisual arts. Elisa has worked in theater in many roles such as visual designer, director, producer and actor. She studies at Aalto University at the Department of Cinematography to become a film producer. She is writing her first screenplay.
Elisa’s mentor is Johanna Mattila:
“I have worked in many roles in the performing arts for 20 years, as a director, actor, screenwriter, composer and producer, focusing on training and accessibility issues in the theater. I am the first blind university-educated theater professional in Finland and I hope I won’t be the last. Along with mentoring, I am currently working in the productions of various festivals and performances.”
Anniina Ala-Soini and Hanna-Riikka Kuisma
“I am Anniina Ala-Soini, a 37-year-old autistic person from Helsinki. I communicate by talking, but expressing myself through different arts has always seemed easier. I am writing a long prose text, which I hope will one day become a novel. My main character is a young female autist who does not fit the stereotypical image of autism. Getting involved in mentoring has been a real stroke of luck, because in group writing courses it is not possible to get feedback on one’s own manuscript as in-depth. Conversations with a mentor have helped to maintain endurance and motivation to write in the midst of everyday life.”
Anniina’s mentor is Hanna-Riikka Kuisma:
Writer Hanna-Riikka Kuisma (b. 1978) graduated as a visual artist in 2001, but soon she chose professional writing. He has published seven works of fiction, one collection of short stories and six novels. She has also worked as both a columnist and an art critic and has written a wide variety of texts, from essays to short stories, for various magazines and anthologies. Kuisma has worked in several review service projects and in 2022 she was Chief judge in J. H. Erkko’s short story competition. Kuisma’s novel Kerrostalo was considered for the 2019 Finlandia nomination. In the same year, he received the Satakunta art prize and the 2021 Nortamo prize.
Heidi Torn and Ninni Wetterstrand
Heidi Torn aka Kehrä:
“I am Kehrä. I’m taking the first steps of my artist career. My songs are written and sung in Finnish. They have hints of fantasy genre or they are surprising in other ways. I have published three songs on my own, and I was happy to get a mentor just before publishing my fourth song. I have had new points of view for publishing and I believe with mentoring I can make music more and more professionally.”
Kehrä’s fourth single Keinumaan was published on 10.10.2023 and it can be listened in all music platforms. Listen to Kehrä in Spotify (link takes you to Spotify).
Kehrä’s mentor was Ninni Wetterstrand:
“I am Ninni Wetterstrand. I work for Playground Music which is the biggest independent record company of Nordic countries. I work both with promotion and as A&R, that is production manager. My artists include The Rasmus, Uniklubi, JP Leppäluoto and Eva Louhivuori. In my free time, I spend a lot of time with my rescue dog Sauli.”
Susanne Ekroth and Leena Virtanen
Susanne:
“I’m from Satakunta, and for years I had a dream to write a script for a television series that would include the harsh sound of the speech of my home region. Not a detective story or a love story, but a story about a family. I jumped at the offer to be mentored on the script, and I haven’t regretted it. although the obstacle has sometimes been my own disbelief and my fear of throwing myself into something new or getting excited. Now it seems that my text is closer to the script than ever before. A great opportunity indeed, I am speechless.”
Susanne is mentored by Leena Virtanen:
“I have been working in drama since 1986, the first twenty years mostly as a freelancer in both theater and TV drama. In the 1990s, I taught scriptwriting at several educational institutions. I completed my Licentiate of Arts degree in 1998. In 2006, I started working as a dramaturg at Yle Draama. In addition to my work as a dramaturg, I have written scripts for both television and audio drama series. In the 2010s, I scripted two feature films: Vähän kunnioitusta 2010 and Tulen morsian, 2016.”