Saari Residence

saari@koneensaatio.fi

Residency Director Leena Kela
leena.kela@koneensaatio.fi

The Saari Residence is located in a tranquil rural setting surrounded by nature, situated on the shore of Mynälahti, 30 km north of Turku. The diverse workspaces and peaceful countryside surroundings provide a productive setting for focusing on one’s work.

The Saari Residence is not intended for networking within the field of art or for hosting exhibitions or performances. No exhibition or performance is required at the end of the residency period.

The workspaces for artists at the residency are situated in the old stone barn, which also houses a dance studio, three different-sized studios intended mainly for visual artists, a sewing machine and a woodworking shop. The spaces for literary work are located with the accommodations. Each artist or collective is allotted a private workspace for the duration of their residency. Some of the manor’s outbuildings can also be used as workspaces during summer.

The residence does not have a darkroom, media room or equipment for printing, pottery, graphics or textile work. Artists may also apply for a residency for the planning stage of their work.

The Saari Residence apartments have a kitchen or kitchenette with basic amenities, and one of the buildings has a shared kitchen. arger apartments are intended for literary artists, researchers and artists with families. Each resident has an apartment to themselves, including an en suite shower and toilet.

Groups stay in more compact accommodations and often share apartments.

One of our apartments has been renovated to be entirely handicap accessible. It includes a kitchen, handicap accessible toilet and three rooms. The spacious apartment is on the first floor and can be accessed with a ramp.

The workspaces in the manor barn are also  accessible (there is a ramp to the dance studio, for example, and the shower room and toilet are also accessible by wheelchair).

The manor house is has a lift to the main floor.

Each workspace and apartment has an internet connection (ethernet, optical fibre). The Saari Residence does not have a Wi-Fi network.

Read more about the accommodation and workspaces

The Saari Residence is an international artist in residence in Mynämäki, Southwest Finland, run by Kone Foundation. Located in a culturally and historically significant countryside setting, the Saari Residence offers an excellent and inspiring working environment supporting artistic development and creativity. Residence participants are encouraged to delve into their artistic work and to develop potential new directions for it side by side with the other residents. The Saari Residence also provides a unique platform for artists to meet each other and share their ideas.

The Saari Residence, which has been operating since 2008, brings together professional artists and artistic workgroups from all disciplines. The residency also hosts Saari Invited Artists working on ecological themes and researchers working on grants from Kone Founda

Residency programmes

Professional artists and artistic working groups from all fields of art can apply for a residency to carry out a project proposed in advance.

Individual residency can be applied for with a work partner in a joint application. During the two-month individual residencies, residency organises joint meetings, such as a weekly lunch, presentation and feedback sessions focusing on positive feedback on the residents’ work, and discussions on ecology and sustainability. In addition, artists selected for individual residencies can utilize the mentoring programme. Individual residencies cannot be applied for during the summer months.

Group residencies are suitable for working together on projects or brainstorming in working groups. Summer group residencies are shorter (2-4 weeks) and allow working groups to focus on their work or project.

The minimum group size is 3 people, and the maximum group size is 18 people

tion. Every year, the Saari Residence provides work facilities for around 50 individual artists, researchers or working groups.

The Saari Residence is an excellent place to focus on artistic work. The main purpose of the residency is not to network within the field of art or to host exhibitions or performances. No exhibition or performance is required at the end of the residency period. Read more about working at the Saari Residence

The residence’s long-term activities and thinking are underpinned by an ecological approach, which also covers social and psychological sustainability. Its keywords are slowness, insight and change. When selecting artists for the residence, whether they work with ecological topics is not one of our selection criteria; instead, our focus on ecology lies in the residence’s overall activities. Read more about the ecologically sustainable residency

We are improving the accessibility of the residence. Currently, one of our apartments is accessible. For more detailed information about the accessibility of the residence, please contact saari@koneensaatio.fi. Read more about the accessibility in residency activities

Every year, the Saari Residence provides work facilities for around 50 individual artists, researchers or working groups. During its history, the residency has hosted around 750 artists and researchers from more than 50 countries.

Last year, 1,064 individual artists and working groups from 86 countries applied for residency. A residency for 2024 was granted to 3.3 per cent of the applicants.

Read more about applying to the Saari Residence

Application period for residencies begins on 1 March and ends on 27 March 16.00 Finnish time (Eastern European Time, GMT + 2).

The open call for residencies is always for residency positions occurring the following year.

Submit your proposal through the online grant service. Applications cannot be sent via email or outside the online service. Please read our guidelines carefully before applying.

The applications are reviewed by peers. The reviewers are experts in the field or sub-discipline under which the application has been collocated, and they have the necessary experience to assess applications. The reviewers of Kone Foundation applications generally vary from year to year.