LIFT announces Finnish Visiting Artist Paola Fernanda Guzmán Figueroa
Photo by Renata Mohamed
LIFT ANNOUNCES FINNISH VISITING ARTIST
PAOLA FERNANDA GUZMÁN FIGUEROA
Toronto, November 7, 2024—The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is pleased to announce that Colombian-Finnish artist Paola Fernanda Guzmán Figueroa has joined us from Helsinki, Finland as a visiting artist from October 15, 2024 to February 15, 2025. She is the fifth resident in the residency program for alumni of the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki. This residency, which started in 2019 as a partnership between the Academy and the Saastamoinen Foundation, is designed to provide international opportunities for alumni in the form of residency grants to prestigious residencies in New York, Maastricht, London and Toronto.
Guzmán Figueroa will be using the time and resources at LIFT to create an analogue film work that is intertwined with her Colombian family background and her life in Finland. Materially, the film will be literally entangled, as she explores the process of producing photograms on analogue film using her own hair. These abstract explorations will be intercut with performance documentation that she shot with four generations of women in her family as well as with filmed elements of Lake Ontario and other local waterways. The lake will exist as a connecting element between the filmed performances and allude to the way water and oceans have played a part in her family’s travels and migrations. LIFT’s robust analogue post-production facilities will allow her to weave these elements into a final film project.
“Analogue filmmaking has inspired my practice deeply. The use of analogue film and its method, requiring liquids and circular movements, has naturally enabled me to undertake deeper analysis and explorations over elements that I have used in my artistic work including an aquarium and my hair. LIFT residency will contribute to the development of my skills and knowledge in analogue film processing and experimentation. This residency will also provide me with the tools and opportunities to connect and learn from other inspiring artists with different academic and cultural backgrounds. I look forward to exhibiting the works produced during this time at LIFT.”
—Paola Fernanda Guzmán Figueroa
Paola Fernanda Guzmán Figueroa is a visual artist and filmmaker. Her work is often based on the narratives and the lived realities of her family members and the geographical distance among them. Paola’s art dissolves frontiers and connects the past with the present by evoking situations, stories, and elements that are placed in constant motion and in dialogue with each other. She has a BA and MA degree from The University of the Arts Helsinki and a BA in Visual Arts from Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia. Her work has been exhibited in numerous venues such as Governors Island, New York City (2023), CICA Museum, South Korea (2022), Doclisboa International Film Festival (2023), Cultural Centre Gabriel García Márquez, Bogotá (2022) and Oodi Helsinki Central Library (2023). Paola has recently participated in residencies at Saari Residence, Finland, and Residency Unlimited, New York, supported by The Finnish Cultural Institute. https://www.paolafernanda.com
An in-person event with Guzmán Figueroa will be announced in the coming months
Guzmán Figueroa’s visit is made possible by the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki in partnership with the Saastamoinen Foundation.
Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki is Finland’s only university-level educational institution in its field. They lead the way in contemporary art education, while fostering the dialogue between teaching in fine arts and the international art community. They train artists and professionals of fine arts who learn their own strengths and expression methods in a world where artists take on multi-faceted roles and profiles. The Academy of Fine Arts has offered artistic education since 1848, and it is at the vanguard of artistic research. They have approximately 280 students and 15 professors.
https://www.uniarts.fi/en/units/academy-of-fine-arts
Saastamoinen Foundation is a global partner to Art and Science, supporting artists and researchers on a long-term basis and promote their networks around the world. The foundation holds one of the most notable collections of modern art in Finland, which is displayed in EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. The Foundation is also active in other fields, strongly supporting projects aimed at Finnish youth, such as the Yrityskylä societal learning environment and peace-building programme Gutsy Go. Long-term collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland and Aalto university on the ensure the foundation’s positive impact on research. The foundation has a close relationship with Uniarts Helsinki and supports their internationalisation programme and art pedagogy research in Fine Arts.
https://saastamoinenfoundation.fi/en
The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) is Canada’s foremost artist-run production and education organization dedicated to celebrating excellence in the moving image. LIFT exists to provide support and encouragement for independent filmmakers and artists through affordable access to production, post-production and exhibition equipment; professional and creative development; workshops and courses; commissioning and exhibitions; artist residencies; and a variety of other services. LIFT is supported by its membership, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Foundation, the Government of Ontario and the Toronto Arts Council.
http://lift.ca
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For additional information please see http://lift.ca or e-mail Executive Director Chris Kennedy at director@lift.ca
Tuesday 15 October 2024 – Saturday 15 February 2025
Non-members:
Members:
Location:
Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT)
1137 Dupont Street
Toronto Ontario Canada