“‘Throwing words into the air’ — this is what O’odham says about talking, storytelling, praying, singing — all of which make up the genre of oral tradition. The words are thrown into the air in the form of spoken word, song, oration, or invocation. Words, like other things that can be carried by the air, are at the mercy of the winds. The listener who happens to be on the receiving end of these words is also at the mercy of the winds.” Ofelia Zepeda
Helsinki Open Waves (HOW) is a translingual, non-profit, community-driven platform that encapsulates a network of trans-local radio and audio practices. In addition, HOW offers its participants a rent-free sound studio located at Culture Center CAISA, all the necessary technical assistance, and tools for them to actualize their own content with complete artistic independence and represent themselves with their own languages and cultures, helping to create a more diverse society in Finland, and hopefully elsewhere. The goal is to create a multi- voiced shared space that is supported by contributors’ participation. Within this platform, we explore and reimagine fresh strategies for a translingual society to oppose the hegemony of monolingualism.
Helsinki Open Waves (HOW) is open for experiments with Radio Art, Sound Art, Transmission Art, and other artistic projects which can be broadcasted and transmitted with airwaves.
Helsinki Open Waves (HOW) collaborates with existing radios that have FM broadcasting. They give free slots to HOW’s translingual content with the aim to convey it to a wider audience.
“Humanity today is facing a massive extinction: languages are disappearing at an unprecedented pace. And when that happens, a unique vision of the world is lost. With every language that dies we lose an enormous cultural heritage; the understanding of how humans relate to the world around us; scientific, medical, and botanical knowledge; and most importantly, we lose the expression of communities’ humor, love, and life. In short, we lose the testimony of centuries of life.” Endangered Languages Project
Helsinki Open Waves (HOW) provides:
- Rent-free sound studio at Culture Center CAISA
- Technical assistance and creative tools
- Broadcasting and streaming opportunities
- Support for artistic and translingual audio projects
- A diverse and independent platform for all voices and languages
Helsinki Open Waves (HOW) does not broadcast any content that is sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, or contains any other form of othering towards oppressed communities or languages. We do not support any content that uses propaganda tools to promote a religion or a political party.
Initiated in February 2019 by Erol Mintaş in Saari Residency. Helsinki Open Waves (HOW)’s performance & recording room is supported and located at the Cultural Center CAISA.
Team
Mintaş
Deligiannaki
Polkinghorne
Website
Contact
If you have any suggestions or want to discuss potential collaborations with Helsinki Open Waves (HOW), please contact us: helsinkiopenwaves@gmail.com