Saari Residence’s Ecologically Sustainable Residency Programme

This year, an ecologically sustainable residency programme will be launched at the Saari Residence and, over the coming years, it will be further developed with the help of a coordinator of ecological residency activities. The focus in developing the programme lies in promoting sustainability thinking in residency activities: in other words, to develop environmentally sustainable activities on a long-term basis by testing and learning. 

Residency activities will be developed via insight, participation and positivity that lead to learning together. Acting in an ecological way will not be used as a criterion when selecting artists; instead, the ecological focus will be created within the residence, through its activities.  

The residence’s activities will be developed, for example, in study groups, debates and workshops, so that, through positive insights, the people working at the residence will have the opportunity to internalise ecological ways of thinking and working and make them part of their practice, and also to reflect on ecological activities both during their residency and afterwards. Ecological activities will be extended to cover also the neighbouring area of the Saari Residence, and activities will be planned locally too at various open expert lectures, workshops and study groups. 

Among other things, Saari Residence will support slow travel while taking into account the considerations and challenges of accessibility. We will also consider ways of updating the everyday solutions applied at the Saari Residence so that they will support modern perspectives. 

The milieu of the historic Saari manor includes some fields and pasture land, as well as forest. The Saari fields are currently leased according to the principles of eco-friendliness, economy, ethicality, aesthetics and being a forerunner. We are also creating more ecologically sustainable thinking in our management and care of the manor surroundings and are reflecting on the points of view of biodiversity and carbon sinks.