Coffee and discussions online with Anna-Maija Virta. The diptych is a result of an assignment to search for connections between old album photographs and the present moment. "There has always been a tree behind my window. For me a tree is a sign of beauty and serenity." explains Virta her choice of images.During the spring 2020 the community art project Vuosaari 21 organized online discussions and creative activities with local people of the Vuosaari area in Helsinki. The activities were made possible through video calls and they were continuation of home visits done earlier the same year. The activities included half an hour meetings with the participants once a week during May 2020. During the meetings the participants were given a list of small assignments for each day of the following week and the results of the assignments from the previous week were looked through and discussed together. The assignments were writing and photography exercises connected to the themes of home, everyday life, memories and future.
The aim of the assignments was to document together in a performative way the effect the Covid-19 measures in Finland had on the lives of elderly people of Vuosaari. Online workshops also grew as a way to explore the virtual possibilities of community art and creative engagement. Below some examples of the material produced by the participants during the project.
