Kalle Hamm and Dzamil Kamanger

A work of art was commissioned from us for the VASTAAN+OTTO /RECEPTION triennial of the community arts, to be organised in May 2016. The idea came up of a community art project called Gaykätkö (Gaycache), which deals with locations in the Turku region that are significant to sexual minorities. Gaykätkö derives its shape and structure from geocaching, which has become a popular pastime for many. The work of art will be created during our residence period in March–April 2016.

In Gaykätkö, you use the GPS satellite positioning system to look for caches telling stories about sites, experiences and events of significance to the local LGBT community and hidden in various interesting locations. Gaykätkö offers varying degrees of opportunities for active participation, from the design of content to anonymous searching for and finding caches. For the execution of this work, we convened a steering group made up of prominent figures on the Turku LGBT scene.

We will send out an open invitation to the workshop – which will plan the locations of the actual caches and their contents – at the beginning of March. The workshop welcomes all residents of the Turku region for whom LGBT issues are of personal importance.  Workshop participants will act as experts on their own city and its history. The work of art will be published during the community art triennial, giving everyone the opportunity to participate in the search for caches.

Gaykätkö focusses on micro-history, the experiences of individuals, and how a specific geographical location has become relevant to the person or whole community in question. It also exposes new audiences to the arts and is a tribute to the local and universal right to participate in writing one’s own history.

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