The MoKS summer art symposium known as AVAMAA took place for the second time and again proved to be fertile ground for the exchange of ideas and experiences between all participants. Over 30 people took part in the workshops and projects hosted by the event. Thanks to the dedication of talented and creative workshop leaders like Derek Holzer, Elffriede, Taavi Taatsi, Bruno Humberto and myself, we seemed to exceeded any expectations the volunteers and participants may have had. The contributions of “infrastructure” also cannot be understated, particularly the evening meal coordination by Patrick McGinley and the breakfast by Mari. Other interventions like the breakfast film series by Taavi Tatsi of Worldfilm and spontaneous music and artist talk evenings showed even a high how density of activity can be accommodated within the flexible organizational structure of AVAMAA. Such a structure allows opportunities not always afforded in events of this scale, particularly in that the organizers themselves were able to take part  and even give workshops. We hope this kind of organizational research (in practice) will help to scale MoKS activities in the future as we expand. For us there is a fine balance between keeping an open flexible atmosphere and defining roles that keep clear of institutional hierarchies.

Tero Nauha wrote an excellent essay AVAMAA IN MOOSTE for SIRP cultural weekly.