Hiljaisuus / Silence

Silence organisation advances artistic opportunities in Lapland by organising performances, art events, networking and providing a framework for artistic work and building new multidisciplinary partnerships. The organization's backbone, Taiteilijayhdistys Hiljaisuus ry, was founded in 2012 and currently operates year-round as a regionally and nationally significant platform for artistic work, events and projects. In less than ten years, the association has evolved from a festival background organisation into a broad and diverse platform for the production and development of art and artistic work. At the heart of the association's activities are the annual multi-artistic Silence Festival in early June, the Silence Residency, which supports the realisation of new works in the performing arts, and year-round performance and concert activities, the main events of which are the Hiljaisuuden vieraana ("Guest of Silence") concert series and visits by circus companies to Kittilä. In addition, the association acts as a regionally significant art expert in Lapland, as a voice for Finnish art professionals outside the capital region in art and cultural policy-making, and as an expert in networking at regional, national and international level.