Anne Nimell

Being present and active in different places and communities influences the kinds of relationships and positions I end up in as an artist. Through this experience, I also find the words towards creating my works and concepts. That’s why it’s so important for me to gravitate to different places, and these spaces often have a direct impact on my work as well. I enjoy working in a group, and to be able to brainstorm together. For example, I’m interested in the duration of a multitude of things. Working with them gives you the opportunity to question what you’ve come to accept as normal. I’m inspired by the feeling of being on the cusp of something new, by quirkiness and playfulness.

In my residency work, I explore defiance. I am looking for ways to express different experiences of defiance and I am combining them with a performance-based approach. I draw and write, reaching toward sensitivity in understanding the way everything is layered. I plan scenes without dialogue and draw events without dialogue. I also write verbal scenes that are poems, images and movements. My dream is that one day this work will take the form of two parts: a version you can flip through while holding it on your lap and a live performance, of which at least one would be aimed at audiences of all ages.

I am a performing artist based in Helsinki and Myrskylä. I mainly write scripts and lyrics for performances, but I’m also exploring other genres of writing. As an illustrator, I mostly draw comics. As a curator, I have worked, among other things, in SLURPS – Contemporary Art Stage. As a director and performer, I have worked in theatres and with various groups throughout Finland. When working with sound, I’m perhaps at my most sensitive. For example, I serve as a listener and discussion partner for music creators during their creative process. I am originally from Kokkola; I earned a master’s degree from the directing program at the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy and attended the day program at Art School Maa. I first discovered the arts through dance, which has influenced my way of thinking.