Aboagora
ABOAGORA is a symposium that brings together various aspects of academia, the arts, and society. This exciting annual event consists of interdisciplinary discussions, performative sessions, and diverse artistic interventions. The event offers a forum for researchers, artists, and the public to establish new dialogues and new forms of collaboration.
Aboagora is a joint effort by the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, the Arts Academy of Turku University of Applied Sciences, and the Donner Institute for Research in Religion and Culture, which is attached to the Åbo Akademi University Foundation. In 2023, the project is supported by the Kone Foundation, The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland (Svenska kulturfonden), the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Konstsamfundet, William Thurings stiftelse and the City of Turku.
The next symposium, “Void”, will be held on 23–25 August 2023 at the Sibelius Museum in Turku. “Void” is the final part of Aboagora’s five-year thematic plan “The Five Rings”.
Tuesday 22.8
20:00–21:00 KICK-OFF CONCERT (FREE ENTRY!)
Void Iteration – If I Close My Eyes, Do I Hear?
Artturi Elovirta (Media Composer), Tuuli Lempa (piano, live electronics), Ulf Långbacka (Composer, electronics), Teemu Mastovaara (cello, live electronics)
Wednesday 23.8.
09:45–10:15 SIGNING IN
10:15–10:45 OPENING CEREMONY
Opening Remarks
Concert: Leere, E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr feat. Lau Nau
10:45–11:15 COFFEE
11:15–12:15 PERFORMATIVE SESSION
Emptiness – Form, Control, Liberation
Annamari Konttinen, Lasse Lehtonen, Tuomas Martikainen, Petteri Silenius
12:15–13:00 PERFORMANCE
Katori Shinto Ryu Demonstration: The Silent Sword – Reflection of Void
Turku Aikikai
13:00–14:00 LUNCH BREAK
14:00–15:30 PERFORMATIVE SESSIONS
Sense and Absence
Elmira Zahra Jahanshah Rad, Camila Rosa, Kari Yli-Annala
Charting the Void
Shruti Jain, Zoë Robertson, Laura M. Saari
15:40–18:35 SENSORY EXCURSION [to Saaronniemi beach, Ruissalo]
Regenerative Void, and What Floats to the Shores
Riikka Armanto, Kirsikka Paakkinen, Kenneth Siren, Heini Uusisilta-Immonen
19:00–20:30 AGORA (FREE ENTRY!)
On Touching the Stranger Within – The Alterity that Therefore I Am
Karen Barad
Thursday 24.8
10:15–11:45 AGORA (FREE ENTRY!)
The Way of the Unexpected – The Poetics of Being and Non-being in Early Greek Philosophy
Hans Ruin
11:45–13:15 LUNCH BREAK
13:15–14:45 PERFORMATIVE SESSION
Edges of Knowing
Aboagora Pre-symposium participants: Taru Elfving, Ida Grönroos, Aditya Jeevannavar, Sanna Lehtinen, Carlos Lesmes, Saara Mildeberg, Sanna Ryynänen, Alizée Ville, Nina Vurdelja
14:45–15:15 COFFEE
15:15–16:45 PERFORMATIVE SESSION
Close the Borders!
Anu Almagro, Volodymyr Andrushchak, Eero Erkamo, Fiikka Forsman, Kari Kallioniemi, Jaana Kurttila, Kimi Kärki, Petri Kuljuntausta, Turku Synth Club Opera Orchestra (TSO)
19:00–20:00 CONCERT [at the Turku Cathedral] FREE ENTRY!
Void
Ensemble MMXX (Marika Kivinen, Mats Lillhannus, Kristoffer Malm, Maikki Säikkä)
Friday 25.8
08:15–10:00 WORKSHOP
The magic of the blank page / Tyhjän paperin lumo / Den tomma sidans förtrollning
Emilia Karjula
10:15–11:45 PERFORMATIVE SESSION
Studying the Void
Timo Lähivaara, Christof Pearce, Anna Törnroos-Remes
11:45–13:15 Lunch break
13:15–14:15 AGORA FREE ENTRY!
Extinction Voids: Visualizing the Relational Holes Created by Species Loss
Dolly Jørgensen
14:30–15:30 PERFORMATIVE SESSION
Creativity in the Era of AI
Jari Björne, Johanna Hautala, Maria Lindeman, Tomi Paijo, Roosa Wingström
15:30–16:00 COFFEE
16:00–17:20 THEATRE
Selfportrait – Dreams of the Life and Art of Ellen Thesleff
Anu Almagro, Johanna Jauhiainen, Jaana Kurttila, Pauli Lyytinen, Janne Teivainen, Hanna-Reetta Schreck
17:30–19:00 CLOSING RECEPTION [outdoors in the garden behind the Museum]