Mosaiikkii Urban Culture Center- May 17th, 2025
The fourth edition of the One-Day Stand series takes place on May 17th at 17:00 at the Mosaiikki Urban Culture Center! This special event features performances by participants of Sidewalk: 1st Edition 2024: François Bernier, Alan P. L. Fung, Paula Haapalahti, Milla Hutri, Heidi Lähtevänoja, Miikka Poutiainen, Dmitry Tayya, and Irma Optimisti—who also contributed as one of the guest lecturers of the project.
Appropriately, the event will be held in the same venue where Sidewalk’s workshops usually take place, and it follows directly after one of the workshop sessions of the project’s second edition in 2025.
Sidewalk is a community-driven project that blends collaborative creativity with everyday life, offering a unique platform for video performances. Designed to engage both local residents and wider audiences—regardless of prior artistic experience—Sidewalk fosters meaningful connections through performance art. At its core, the project embraces the idea that everyone has a story to tell, encouraging participants to explore their personal narratives through artistic expression.
Structured as an eight-session workshop, the Sidewalk project guides participants through the fundamentals of performance art, from conceptualization to realization. Through hands-on exploration, they experiment with different approaches, refine their ideas, and develop their performances. The final works are documented, edited, and presented in a public exhibition, showcasing the diverse perspectives and creative voices that emerge from the process.
Program:
17:00 – Welcoming words
17:10 – François Bernier
17:30 – Paula Haapalahti
17:50 – Heidi Lähtevänoja
18:20 – Miikka Poutiainen
18:45 – Dmitry Tayya
19:10–19:40 – Dinner break
19:40 – Irma Optimisti
20:15 – Milla Hutri
20:35 – Alan P. L. Fung
21:00 – Event ends – Gratitude and thanks
Poster Design: Parsa Kamehkhosh
One-Day Stand No.4
Irma Optimisti
Ilze Mazpane is a performance artist from Riga, Latvia, with a background in philosophy, experimental theatre, visual communication, art education, and creative writing. In her work, Ilze seeks freedom from the tyranny of clock time and therefore explores pure duration (A. Bergson), kairos or the right moment, the right balance (Aristotle), and the concept of flow (M. Csikszentmihalyi).
Alan P.L. Fung
Alan, an interdisciplinary artist and a researcher in atmospheric science, bridges the worlds of science and art, using performance art and data art to explore environmental systems. In 2022, his co-authored artwork was featured at the Data Art for Climate Action Conference in Graz, Austria, turning sea level data into soundscapes illustrating climate change. In 2024, his performance My Planetary Boundary was curated in Vantaa, Finland, exploring human and non-human interactions involving his personal issues and the planetary crisis.
Artists & Documentation of Their Performances
Francois Bernier
Born and brought up in France. I have lived and worked in many corners of the world, and now in Finland. Mostly gregarious and forever curious.
Paula Haapalahti
I love to observe my surroundings by taking photos randomly in nature and urban cities. I would like to show the world through my eyes. I want so share the feeling, the touch, the smell and the joy of everyday life. As a personal journey I want to learn from my experiences and to see beyond the surface. I try to connect my inner thoughts visually into my work and to catch the things as they are in the moment. No more, no less.
Miikka Poutiainen
Poutiainen is a media artist and a filmmaker who is interested on experimenting and mixing different visual, audiovisual and performative art forms in his works. Many of his works has a documentary feel to it and they deal with the current societal issues and/or digitalization in a “welfare” state. Poutiainen MA has graduated from the University of Arts and Design, Helsinki.
Heidi Lähtevanoja
I am a 43-year-old visual artist from Vantaa, brought to life by dancing, painting, writing, and photography. Art allows me to be seen and offers versatile opportunities to connect with people. With a background in poetry, visual arts, and movement, I strive to transform my inner thoughts and feelings into reality through creativity.
