Femicomix political statement 13.3. 2024 on working conditions of artists in Incomplete Together group exhibition at Gallery Neurotitan 10.-18.5. 2024 and Comics Invasion Berlin 11.-12.5. 2024

By Nina Mutik, Susi Nousiainen, Johanna Rojola and Shambhavi Singh. This curatorial group was formed by an open call in Femicomix Facebook group and Discord channel. 

There is no funding for this exhibition except partial recompensation for the travels. We have asked for further funding for total 6000 euros to cover the travel and lodging expenses as well as transporting the artworks and books. We will have results on these applications during March. (EDIT: we received additional 1200 € from FRAME Finland to be shared between all the finnish participants of the festival, 11 people.)

What we noticed is that It is easier to get funding for traveling and sending the art works than making the actual art work and the necessary supporting work to make the exhibition happen.

We would prefer to not work in these conditions. Artists and other cultural workers should be paid for their work. Next time we should say no to a project like this and only agree to a schedule that makes it possible to have enough time to at least apply for necessary funding. 

We would like to pay the exhibited artists an exhibition fee along the guidelines of Finnish Artists’ Association. This was not possible by any of the grants that were applicable in the time frame between the invitation to make the exhibition and the actual start of the work. This is unfortunate but we accepted it for this exhibition.

The reasons why the working group can afford to do this without pay vary. One of us is paid for their travel expenses; one has a monthly grant for another project; one is using their holiday; one is already in town funded by another project. 

By admitting to work without pay we enforce the idea that cultural work is not work. This eventually creates an environment where working in the culture field can only be afforded by people who already have an income or come from a wealthy background. This will further narrow the variety of the art and the stories we get to see. In this project Femicomix partially goes against their own values, knowingly and with transparency. 

If you want to join us and take part in organizing our events in the future, please follow and contact us via: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FeministinenSarjakuvatoiminta

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/femicomix_finland/

Discord: Ask for a link to the server via email or in Facebook or Instagram

Join us!

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re: afterword by roju, 12.7. 2024

The aim of this statement was not to blame any actor in cultural field (we’re in this scarcity together!) but to make visible what kind of structures and distress about resources affect the ways we work and what we can do in comics and art field. This was written in scarcity of ressources: namely time and money, which, in capitalism, are pretty much the same thing as we all know.

There are of course other resources than money. Everyone has something to bring to the common table when we are producing knowledge and testing new horizontal practices together. It is valuable to have a possibility to try out ways of working together without competition, respecting the limits of one’s own resources and abilities. This way of working makes visible and challenges the hierarchical power structures and gate keeping in our field. But we still live in capitalist reality. It is important to acknowledge that.

In our forthcoming projects we will continue to address and try to solve these problems. There will also be a lot of projects that we can not do because of the lack of resources. Comics and art, right to be creative belongs to everyone and should be accessible also financially.

Ilmoittautuminen Feministiseen sarjakuvaresidenssiin 2020 on nyt auki!
Enrollment for feminist comics residency 2020 is now open! Application form below!

APPLY HERE

DL 6.12. 2019

Tänä vuonna keskitymme kirjaprojekteihin. Jos työskentelet pitkän sarjakuvatarinan parissa, tämä on sinulle! Etusijalla ovat naiset ja sukupuolivähemmistöjen edustajat. Mikäli ilmoittautuneita tulee enemmän kuin tilaan mahtuu, etusijalla ovat aikaisemmin / edellisenä vuonna residenssiin osallistumattomat hakijat. Loput paikat arvotaan.

This year we are focusing on book projects. If you are working on a longer comics story right now, this is for you!
Women and gender minorities have priority.
If there are more applicants than we have space for, we will prioritize those who have not been to Villa Salin before / the previous year. We will draw lots for the rest of the places.

APPLY HERE

image: Myfanwy Tristram 

MORE INFO:

*scroll down for english*

Feministinen sarjakuvaresidenssi 6.-9.4. 2020 tarjoaa osallistujille mahdollisuuden tavata muita feministisiä sarjakuvaihmisiä, osallistua erilaisiin työpajoihin sekä esitellä omia töitään ja saada niistä palautetta. 2020 residenssi on pääsiäisviikolla. Jos olet kiinnostunut viipymään Helsingissä pitempään, voimme auttaa majapaikan etsimisessä. Lauantaina 11.4. FEMSKT järjestää klubi-illan Loukossa. Ohjelmaehdotukset tervetulleita!

Tänä vuonna keskitymme kirjaprojekteihin. Jos työskentelet pitkän sarjakuvatarinan parissa, tämä on sinulle!

Residenssi on avoin kaikille ja osallistujille maksuton. Residenssiin ovat tervetulleita niin sarjakuvan ammattilaiset, aloittelijat ja aiheesta kiinnostuneet kokemattomatkin. Etusijalla ovat naiset ja sukupuolivähemmistöjen edustajat. Tarjolla on rajallinen määrä majapaikkoja ensisijaisesti Helsingin ulkopuolelta saapuville. Residenssissä majoittuvilta peritään pieni panttimaksu, jonka saa takaisin residenssiin saapuessa tai osallistumisen peruuntuessa. Jos asut tai sinulla on majapaikka pääkaupunkiseudulla, voit osallistua residenssin päiväohjelmaan. Ilmottaudu joka tapauksessa, jotta osaamme varautua valmistamalla oikean määrän vegaanista kasvisruokaa.

Mikäli ilmoittautuneita tulee enemmän kuin tilaan mahtuu, etusijalla ovat aikaisemmin / edellisenä vuonna residenssiin osallistumattomat hakijat. Loput paikat arvotaan. Yleensä kaikki päiväkävijät ovat mahtuneet. Voimme myös tarvittaessa auttaa sohvapaikan etsimisessä, mikäli Villa Saliniin majoituspaikat ovat täynnä.

Kerro tuletko koko ajalle vai osaksi aikaa, tarvitsetko majoitusta ja onko sinulla allergioita tai muita ruokarajoituksia. Voit myös kertoa toiveita residenssin suhteen tai ehdottaa ohjelmaa, jos sinulla osaamista jaettavana. Residenssin työkielet ovat osallistujien mukaan suomi, ruotsi ja englanti. Työskentelyaika on noin klo 10-17. Ohjelma suunnitellaan yhdessä.

Ilmottautuminen on auki 8.12. 2019 saakka.

Ilmoittautuneille tulee lisätietoa joulukuun aikana ilmoittautumisen päätyttyä.

Jos olet ilmoittautunut, mutta et pääsekään paikalle, ilmoita asiasta heti, niin osaamme varautua tekemällä oikean määrän ruokaa ja antamalla mahdollisen majoituspaikan eteenpäin.

Residenssissä noudatetaan turvallisemman tilan sääntöjä, joista keskustellaan yhdessä aluksi.

Esteettömyystietoja: Tila ei ole esteetön. Alakertaan, jossa suurin osa yhteisestä ohjelmasta tapahtuu, on etuovesta yksi matalahko porras, johon saatavilla luiska. Alakerrassa on myös vessa, johon mahtuu pyörätuolilla. Yläkertaan on jyrkät portaat.

***

Feminist comics residence 6th to 9th April 2020 is a place to meet feminist comics people, take part in different workshops and to show your artwork and get feedback. 2020 residency takes place on the Easter week, so you might be interested in staying in Helsinki for a little longer. We can try and help you with finding a place to stay. FEMSKT is also organizing a club night at Loukko on Saturday 11 April. Program propositions welcome!

This year we are focusing on book projects. If you are working on a longer comics story right now, this is for you!

The residency is open for everyone and free of charge. Both comics professionals and new beginners, artists as well as readers or people who work with comics are warmly welcome. Women and gender minorities have priority. There is a limited number of beds to stay a priori for those attending from outside of Helsinki. We collect a small deposit fee from those who wish to stay at Villa Salin. The money will be returned upon arrival to the residence or in case of cancellation. If you live or have a place to stay at Helsinki region, you can participate in the residency’s daily program. Fill in the application form anyway, so we know how much vegan food to prepare.

If there are more applicants than we have space for, we will prioritize those who have not been to Villa Salin before / the previous year. We will draw lots for the rest of the places. Usually we have had enough space for all the daily visitors. We can also help you to find a couch to surf, if all the Villa Salin beds are taken.

Please specify if you wish to attend on all of the days or just certain days, if you need a place to stay at the Villa and if you have some food allergies or restrictions. You can also tell your hopes and wishes about the residency and offer to share your knowledge. Working languages are english, finnish and swedish depending on the participants. The working hours are approximately from 10 to 5 p.m. The program will be planned collectively.

Please enroll before 8th December 2019. The applicants will get more information in December after the application time has ended.

If you have applied, but cannot participate the residency, please let us know as soon as you can, so we can consider the right amount of food and possibly forward the accomodation.

At the residency, we follow the principles of a safer space and we discuss the rules together in the beginning.

Accessibility information: Villa Salin is not unobstructed. There is a slope available to pass the step at the main door to access the ground level of the Villa. Downstairs toilet is wheel chair accessible. Steep stairs lead to first floor of the Villa. Most of the activities take place at the ground floor, most of the bedrooms are on the first floor.

Lisätiedot /More info:

sarjakuvafeministit (at) gmail dot com

FB: /FeministinenSarjakuvatoiminta

Twitter: @femicomix

IG: @femicomix_finland

APPLY HERE