Artwork at Otkantti Square next to the joint terminal through a portfolio search
Port of Turku opens a portfolio search to find an artist or a working group to create a permanent artwork at Otkantti Square next to the new joint terminal. The portfolio search seeks a professional artist or working group to execute an artwork to be placed at the square next to the terminal. The square is one of the central hubs in the area, through which up to 3.0 million passengers will pass annually once the terminal is operational.
The portfolio application is open from January 20, 2025, to February 23, 2025, and is open to all professional artists and working groups working in Finland, with at least one member being a professional artist. The selection of the artist will be decided in March.
The total budget for the project is €150,000 (excluding VAT). The Arts Promotion Centre Finland has granted the project funding based on the principle of one percent for art.
The operations of Turku passenger port will move in the coming years from its current location to the northern side of Linnaniemi, where a new joint terminal for passenger traffic, designed by PES-Architects, will be built. The construction of the new terminal will begin in January 2025 and will be completed in early 2027.
Linnanniemi area will develop into Turku’s first art district in the future. An art program has been developed for the area, according to the goals and principles of which the art in the joint terminal will also be implemented. The thematic starting points for the art in the area have been highlighted in the art program as proximity to the sea – especially the archipelago and the Baltic Sea, internationalism, the cultural history of the area, as well as themes of the environment and ecology. The artwork at the terminal is expected to express some of these themes in an inventive and imaginative way and to be artistically and technically high-quality. The art project for the joint terminal particularly takes into account the aspects of ecological sustainability.
Port of Turku Ltd is the organizer of the portfolio searxh and the commissioner of the artwork. The project is carried out in cooperation with the City of Turku as part of the implementation of the art program for Linnanniemi. The portfolio search follows the guidelines of the Finnish Artists’ Association.
The art program for Slottsudden is coordinated by the City of Turku, and the artworks are realized together with the area’s developers.