Harvest Party at the Saari Residence on 24 August 2018

It was a summer evening in August and the Saari Residence was buzzing with people who had gathered for the Harvest Party to celebrate its tenth anniversary. At the same time, the jubilee book “Saari näkyvissä! Saaren kartanon taiteilija- ja tutkijaresidenssi 10 vuotta – Saari Ahoy! Saari Residence 10 years” was issued.

The Harvest Party is held at the end of August every year for the Saari Residence’s alumni. This time there was special festivity in the air: a toast was raised for the residence’s ten years of activities and the publication of the brand new jubilee book, Saari Ahoy! Saari Residence 10 years.

The 2018 Harvest Party began with the announcement of the book Saari Ahoy!. The book consists of essays, interviews and other texts that mirror the Saari Residence’s activities and the work of the residents through the themes of the spirit of the manor, peaceful working environment and the Well.

After the book announcement, the twilight summer night continued with good friends, art, food, wine and music. The art collective Videokaffe – which attended the Saari Residence group residencies in 2014 – had built an exhibition in the manor’s yard area that filled the outbuildings with kinetic sculptures and art made from recycled equipment.

Alpo Aaltokoski Company was in group residency in 2016. At the Harverst Party, its choreographer and dance artist Alpo Aaltokoski performed a work created together with the Iraqi master of the lute, Ali Alawad. This work called Ali & Alpo highlights the human experience and perspective of the consequences of a stricter asylum policy. Two weeks before the premiere, Ali Alawad was forced to flee from Finland to avoid forcible return to Iraq. However, he participated in the performance via video projection.

Before the last acts of the evening, it was time for a break, to eat dinner, enjoy the summer evening and perhaps look back over the past decade.

The Harvest Party culminated in the musical performances curated by the Turku-based ILMIÖ music festival. The party guests found their way to the dance floor when the space rock band Rättö ja Lehtisalo and the Estonian talharpa duo Puulup stepped on the stage. The music and soundscape of the Saari Residence alumna Lau Nau conjured up a more ethereal atmosphere in between dancing.

We want to send a huge thanks to all our guests, performers and everyone involved with the party arrangements! The Saari Residence’s 2018 Harvest Party was a truly beautiful and atmospheric way to celebrate the 10-year-old residence and the end of the summer.