Photo: Milla Moilanen

Between February 6 and 10, 2002, Markus Renvall’s five-day art event Rohto – Art for Young Men will take over the Helsinki City Art Museum’s Tennis Palace galleries. Conceived and brought together by Renvall, the event will provide visitors with an opportunity to see, experience and discuss, and to join in by themselves or together with others. In addition to watching video art, paintings, photographs and performances, the visitors may wrestle, solve problems, make videos, try their hands at creating soundscapes, play badminton within a surround soundscape, listen to bands, take some time to mourn or maybe even discuss whatever topic with a middle–aged man. Art for Young Men is an exploration, the ultimate content of which is up to its visitors; the project is based on spontaneity and the visitors’ own making.

The exhibitions especially targets 16 to 24 year-old men, who are on the verge of becoming adults – people that seldom appear at art exhibitions. They – and everyone else of course – are invited to experience and make art, by themselves and together. Finnish and Scandinavian artists whose works deal with boys, men and growing up to be a man have been invited to take part in the project. The ages from 16 to 24 are often a very difficult time in a youngster’s life – members of the age group often seek out danger and are more prone to suicide than others. The aim of Art for Young Men is to use art and togetherness to find a more positive and fruitful way of life and outlook. Renvall has called the project “straight-on-medicine art”: straightforward and direct, open and forward-looking art that has a direct and concrete effect intended to remedy and encourage.

The artist Markus Renvall is known for his strong social and communal or contextual emphasis. His approach is unusually rich and unelitist. It shuts nothing out and seeks to open doors in all directions to offer viewers and participants new perspectives and solutions to life’s problems. Earlier, Markus Renvall, in collaboration with his brother Seppo Renvall, has enchanted the art world with for example the Pallo (ball) show in Venice during the Biennale. It is Renvall’s intention to take Art for Young Men to other countries, to be realized partly locally, partly using the material produced in the Tennis Palace “mother event”. The event’s participants include NIFCA (Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art) as the producer of the videos. The exhibition has received support from Apple, AV-arkki, Pinnacle Systems, Pro AV Saarikko Oy and Studiotec Oy.

Art Museum Tennis Palace will have extended opening hours during the event from 12 to 22 and there will be no admission charge! The Museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday.

Further information: artist Markus Renvall, tel. +358-9-297 5128, mobile +358-50-570 6395 / Assistant Curator Taru Tappola, tel. +358-9-310 87021, mobile +358-50-341 6524 / Press Secretary Karri Buchert, tel +358-9-310 87004, mobile +358-50-304 6707.

Guided tours: tours free of charge in Finnish on Wednesday at 18.00 and on Saturday and Sunday at 14.00 and in Swedish on Sunday at 13.00.