The R-Bus art installation picks up passengers in Kalasatama for a journey into the unknown. Launching on the Night of the Arts on August 17, the artwork encourages us to reflect on our relationship with the environment and invites us to enjoy the soundscape created inside the bus.
Artist Laura Beloff and the team R-Bus will be traveling through the Kalasatama area for just over two weeks starting on the Night of the Arts. The work is part of the A Stream among Streams environmental art project, which will be installed in the area over the course of this decade.
The bus follows a daily schedule and stops at four different stops in Kalasatama. The bus uses algorithms to determine its route, and artist Laura Beloffis particularly interested in how our daily lives are guided by many hidden algorithms and smart technologies that we must rely on to function, as stated in HAM’s press release.
Among other things, the work explores the relationship between humanity and the urban and natural environments. Its soundscape combines the sounds of Kalasatama itself with sounds generated by artificial intelligence, utilizing devices placed throughout the area. The soundscape reflects Kalasatama’s rapidly developing urban environment: people occupying this new space produce sounds to which living organisms adapt, for example, by adjusting the frequency of their own voices.
“Kalasatama is a new, developing neighborhood, and the area’s construction makes use of new urban planning tools and technology.”
— Taru Tappola, Head of Public Art at HAM
Environmental Art in Kalasatama
A Stream among Streams is a public art project designed for Kalasatama that will unfold in the urban landscape over the course of this decade. The works explore technological or virtual applications through artistic and research methods as part of urban planning.
Four artists have been invited to participate in the project: Laura Beloff, Flis Holland, Josefina Nelimarkka and Jenna Sutela. In their works, each artist explores themes such as sensor-based data and the intersections of humanity and technology in a digitized society.
The curatorial concept is based, among other things, on the Smart Kalasatama project launched by the City of Helsinki in 2013. As part of the project (2013–2021) Kalasatama was developed into a model area for smart urban development, and innovation and experimentation were promoted, along with solutions that support a smooth daily life and climate goals, in collaboration with Forum Virium Helsinki.
“Kalasatama is a new, developing neighborhood, and the area’s construction makes use of new urban planning tools and technology. The works in the ‘A Stream among Streams’ collection address issues of the smart city and sustainable development through art, proposing new perspectives on the future,” says Taru Tappola, Head of Public Art at HAM .
The environmental art project is based on the City of Helsinki’s “percentage for art” principle, meaning it is funded by a fee levied on local developers based on square footage. HAM Helsinki Art Museum serves as the art expert for the city’s “percentage art” projects. A Stream among Streams —Once completed, these works will be incorporated into the City of Helsinki’s art collection, which is managed and curated by HAM.
The temporary R-Bus art installation will be on the move in Kalasatama during the Night of the Arts on August 17 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m., and during the Helsinki Festival from August 18 to September 3, daily except Mondays, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The ride is free and takes 10–15 minutes. Bus schedules and stop information can be found at www.r-bus.fi.