Arlene Tucker (USA/Taiwan/Finland) is an artist based in Joutsa, Finland. She has been artist in residence at Skaftfell in September 2021 and March 2022, supported by the Nordic Baltic Mobility Programme (Nordic Culture Point).
Since her first residency in September, Arlene has been working with groups of children at the Seyðisfjörður School (both primary school and kindergarten level), connecting them with school classes in the Ukraine, Greenland, Czech Republic, and the USA through her Dear You art exchange project. Throughout the past months the children have been exchanging artworks by post, and have been meeting and interacting online, following a set of questions or pointers developed by Arlene. The local art teachers Lilai Licata and Tess Rivarola have been guiding the children through the adventure of getting to know each other and developing pen-friendships through art. The Dear You project will continue at Seyðisfjörður School until May 2022. Results of the project can be found on the school’s website https://seydisfjardarskoli.sfk.is/is/frettir/dear-you and on the Dear You website: https://www.dearyouartproject.com/happenings
Arlene’s socially engaged work utilizes Translation Studies, Semiotics, and Feminist Practices.
“As an artist, educator, and diversity agent, I realize my art through installation and dialogical practices. Always a co-creation with the public, my work allows us to share perspectives about identity and belonging through different mediums and approaches such as memories, hair, and letter writing. My work (i.e., Story Data, Translation Is Dialogue, Knots) and facilitation brings people together worldwide through a process-based artistic practice and strives to make all voices heard.”
