Editor’s letter
This time, ICE HOLE is done in collaboration with the TONIGHT event.
TONIGHT was a series of performance art events, held at an intense pace between April 2014–December 2015. What was very special for TONIGHT was that each event started at midnight and went on until the morning hours. The home venue for the event was the Gallery Augusta in Suomenlinna, an island next to Helsinki, Finland.
TONIGHT started from our curiosity and passion for performance art. During the short history of TONIGHT, we exhibited 84 artists from 19 different countries in 11 events. In this issue, you will get a short overview of some those activities.
TONIGHT is about performance art. Its focus is on the media giving total freedom for the artists to present whatever they consider relevant. An important part of the concept is also the suggestion that form and content are inseparable and that artists who choose to work in the field of performance and live art share some approaches regarding the idea of artistic practise. Another common denominator would be the freedom given to the artists, but also the extreme restrictions imposed by the circumstances.
We believe that the only way to experience performance art is to witness it live. No documentation can ever convey anything else than traces of what happened. TONIGHT was designed to show performance art at its best. One of its goals was to seize the space and time for each work of art, to give them all the attention they deserve. TONIGHT was about engaging people with each piece of art, but also about the engagement between the artist and the audience. Due to the shared sacrifice, all attendants were placed in the same position – sharing the same exhaustion but also the experience that would not have been possible in any other time or place.
During its short and intense history, TONIGHT managed to create several one-night communities, and hopefully even more long-term connections.
Liina Kuittinen
Tomasz Szrama
Artists and organisers of the TONIGHT event
TONIGHT was organised in collaboration with HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme.