Trained as a historian, Ruth Timmermans started as a researcher at the University of Leuven in Belgium, studying gender, trade unions and colonialism. However, her passion for music, art, literature and film soon surfaced, and in 2000, she started writing for Gonzo, an independent magazine on music and culture. She has been involved as a curator and producer in various cultural projects both in her home country and abroad through, for example, the Tandem exchange programme. She has also worked for an experimental film production company. Timmermans has conducted research into the representation of women in electronic music and arts. During her stay at KulttuuriKauppila, she continued this research, combining her work in the cultural field and her research background.
Ruth Timmermans (NED), 1/2017
See also
Lisa Juntunen Roos (SWE) 7-8/2024
“I find myself in a state of constant storytelling, re-entering time capsules from my childhood and being present at the same time – past, present and future stories entangling into one and other.”
Ilpo Jauhiainen 7-8/2024
Composer and sound artist Ilpo Jauhiainen is working on a long term music and sound art project that deals with forests.
ALINA SAKKO & ELISA SAKKO 6/2025
phase along by ALINA SAKKO / ELISA SAKKO was produced for the Art Ii Biennial
Harri Pälviranta 5/2024
Harri Pälvirantas residency was part of the Art Ii Biennial.
Andrew Melchior (UK) 3/2024
"Ii is a utopia for artists - a place to calm down and concentrate on your creative process. "
Salla Valle 2 / 2024
“My practise is like an exploration into joy, consolation, learning and making connections.”
Laura Soisalon-Soininen 11-12/2023 (FIN)
“The places I have stayed, create layers of presence and ultimately a kind of layered space that then gets condensed into thinking and knowledge.”
Satu Kalliokuusi (FIN) 10/2023 Artist-in-environment
“I identify as a sort of activist. I wish to draw attention to circumstances that are not entirely equal and issues that need to be addressed. Nature needs our attention and it needs to our advocacy.”
Hannaleena Markkanen (FIN) & Martina Jordan (SWE) 10/2023
In practice body music can be anything from creating different sounds – including singing – to anything that creates rhythm.
Gaëlle Pelachaud (FR) 9/2023
“As a child I loved the stories of Nils Holgersson and his travels with the geese. Birds have always represented both strength and vulnerability for me.”
Anniina Lehtinen (FIN) 8/2023
Anniina Lehtinen approaches the interconnectedness of humans and water and the wellbeing of the planet through performance and sound art.
Eda Öz Celikbas (TR) 7/2023
“For me Art Therapy means inspecting your imagination, your feelings and growing self-knowledge and self-compassion. By searching your inner self and expressing your creativity, we all can become more whole as humans.”
Mari-Leen Kiipli (EST) 6/2023
In Ii Mari-Leen will continue her research on the paraller existence of nature and human constructions. She will study the power plants in river Ii and also the industrial institutions in the wider area.
Maryna Sokolenko (UA) 6/2023
When Maryna came to Ii, the news of the destruction of the Kahovka dam reached her. “These two rivers, the Dnepr and the River Ii, can be seen as parallel environments, the other in a peaceful corner in Europe the other in a war zone.”
Anlok and KatsiaKaya (BLR) 5/2023
"Caring human interaction can have the power to change people’s lives and it can help fight violence and repression.”
Mia Makela (FIN) 4/2023
“People tend to feel better when there are trees around.”
Johanna Lonka (FIN) 4/2023
Artist-in-Environment deals with our changing scenery.
Tiina Vehkaperä (FIN) 2/2023
February artist-in-residence is sculptor Tiina Vehkaperä from Oulu.
Aki-Pekka Sinikoski "Peki" (FIN) 01/2023
Time, stories and light in Ii
Romit Raj (IN) 12/22
The first participant of KKAiE the environmental residency programme in KulttuuriKauppila Art Center is Romit Raj from Bangalore, India.
Hanna Husberg (SWE) & Agata Marzecova (EST) 6/22
Hanna Husberg and Agata Marzecova conceptualize air and our relationship with it in their multidisciplinary project Towards Atmospheric Care as part of the Art Ii Biennial 2022.
Maria Ferreira & Rita Isaac (POR) 10/22
KulttuuriKauppilas residency artists in October are Portuguese visual artists Maria Ferreira and Rita Isaac. Ferreira and Isaac have previously worked together in residencies, e.g. the Co-net residency in Spain.
Juyon Lee (USA) 8/22
KulttuuriKauppila's residency guest in August is Juyon Lee, who is a South Korea-born artist. She lives and works in Boston, USA.
Jane Higginbottom (UK) 8/22
Jane Higginbottom (UK) works with elements from the nature and in dialog with her surroundings.
Kotoaki Asano (JAP) 6/22
Kotoaki Asano is a Japanese architect, artist, designer and poet.
Joana Quiroga (BRA) 6/22
Joana Quiroga is a Brazilian artist who combines science and art in her working.
Oriol Mora (SPA) 7/22
Oriol Mora is a Catalan contemporary artist, who lives and works in Barcelona. Mora is devoted to painting, meanwhile he gets his inspiration from literature and nature. His paintings are often colourful and ironic.
Zeynep Kaynar (TUR) 3/22
Zeynep Kaynar is a multidisciplinary artist working with photography, painting, drawings, and installations.
Yunjia Liu (CHI) 2/22
Yunjia Liu is a Chinese artist and musician.
Mirte Bogaert & Menzo Kircz (BEL/NED) 10/21
In Ii Mirte Bogaert and Menzo Kircz continued their shared project Other People.
moï moï collective (FIN) 9/2021
Ella Holappa, Ella Posti and Alina Sakko are part of moï moï collective.
Sallamari Rantala (FIN) 8/2021
Sallamari Rantala is a Finnish visual artist working in North Finland and Lithuania.
Jaakko Autio (FIN) 7/2021
Jaakko Autio is a Helsinki-based sound designer and sound artist.
Tony Sjöman (SWE/USA) 6/2021
During his residence period Manhattan-based Sjöman created a mural to Ii.
Taylor Smith (USA) KKAiR 5/2021
During her residency period in Ii, Smith held series of workshops on alternative photography techniques and presented her works at exhibition ‘’Printing Through the Landscape’’.
Aki-Pekka Sinikoski (FIN) 3-4/2021
During his residency period in Ii, Helsinki-based photographer and author Aki-Pekka Sinikoski worked on a sound installation, photography series and two different book projects.
Chenipe (SRB) 12/2020
Andreja Krstić alias Chenipe is a Serbian artist whose work expands on three different artistic medias: murals/graffiti, canvases and sculptures.
Jaap Klevering & Merja Pennanen (FIN) 11/2020
Jaap Klevering and Merja Pennanen worked together on a communal art project for the local light festival.
Rita Dahl (FIN) 8-9/2020
Rita Dahl is a Finnish journalist, poet and author with wide experience in the field of literature.
Miia Kettunen (FIN) 5-6/2020
Rovaniemi-based artist Miia Kettunen worked on her Landshapes –project in collaboration with the students of the Valtari School.
Victoria Veedell (USA) 3/2020
In her work American visual artist Victoria Veedell explores how colour and light affect space and the physical sense of place.
Outi Koivisto (FIN) 2/2020
The works of Finnish visual artists Outi Koivisto focus on themes of landscape, perception and language.
Lia Schell & Anton Kraftsky (RUS) 1/2020
During their residency period in Ii, the Moscow-based Russian artists Lia Schell and Anton Kraftsky continued the development of their shared project Asteroidea.
Aidan Moesby (GBR) 12/2019
Aidan Moesby is a British artist, curator and writer, whose work is equally likely to be found beyond the gallery as within it.
Yuko Kinouchi (JPN) 11–12/2019
Video performances of Tokio-based artist Yuko Kinouchi focus on the northern country's rural environment and culture.
Defne Tesal ja Murat Yildiz (TUR) 10–11/2019
Turkish artists returned to Ii to create Dream News with the participants of the Lähde! project!
Alejandro Jaqs (ESP) 10/2019
Jaqs's work is born from the debate and the exchange between the action of randomness and the physical manipulation of human reasoning and its aesthetic, intuitive and communicative perception.
Hugo González Aroca (ESP) 9/2019
The visual expression of Spanish painter and photographer Hugo González Aroca arises from the balance between opposites.
Klara Bergman Fröberg (SWE) 8/2019
Klara Bergman Fröberg is a Swedish visual artist, who was Artist-in-Residence at KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre as part of the Lähde! Empowering daily life with art -project and artist exchange arranged in partnership with Konst i Halland.
Émilie Payeur (CAN) 7-8/2019
Canadian multidisciplinary artist Émilie Payeur developed during her residency period a sound performance based on her experience of the influence of weather and other changes in the surrounding forests.
Eduardo de Albar Vera (MEX) 5-6/2019
During his KKAiC residency period, Mexican artist, actor, pantomime master, playwright and director Eduardo de Albar Vera worked with customers of mental health services on project ''Theatre to think''.
George Ridgway (GBR) 6/2019
Scotland-based artist George Ridgway was working at KulttuuriKauppila as part of the North AiR: Expanding Entanglements residency pilot.
Kevin Ling (HKG) 5/2019
The work of Kevin Ling concerns community relationships, connection and a sense of curiosity.
Makiko Nishikaze (JPN) 4-5/2019
During her KulttuuriKauppila Artist-in-Community residency period, Japanese composer and pianist Makiko Nishikaze is working on her project, Listening in Ii in collaboration with the residents of the Startti group home belonging to the Oulunkaari joint authority.
Tuomo Kangasmaa (FIN) 4-5/2019
Through his KulttuuriKauppila Artist-in-Community residency period, Finnish visual and media artist Tuomo Kangasmaa aims to highlight the importance of personal experience, and to create space for multisensory experiencing of the environment.
Min Yoon (USA) 2/2019
Recidency artist of February Min Yoon from USA studied the identities of people from Ii for the performance Inner Mirror.
Anastasia Alekseevna (GER) & Jarkko Räsänen (FIN) 1/2019
Räsänen and Alekseevna will develop an interactive audiovisual installation at KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre!
Miia Kettunen (FIN) 11-12/2018
A big smile greets the customers of the Pudasjärvi library. The smile belongs to Hilma, an artwork created in the KK AIC program by artist Miia Kettunen and the local team!
Jaap Klevering (FIN) 11-12/2018
The Suitcase radio gives voice to the mental health recuperators and the staff working with them. The completely self built Suitcase radio is the outcome of the social art residency (KK AIC) period of the artist Jaap Klevering.
Alberto Pina (ESP) 11-12/2018
Alberto Pina was inspired by the Finnish forest!
Brenda Petays (CAN) 8/2018
Brenda Petays was examining "becoming Finnish" during her residency period.
Cheryl J. Fish (USA) 9/2018
Cheryl J. Fish introduced the American literature to the locals!
María Platero (ESP) 7/2018
María Platero is a Spanish photographer who led us to an art walk and a picnic!
THE KOKRA FAMILY: marjolijn kok and line kramer (NED) 6/2018
THE KOKRA FAMILY makes visual documentations of wonderment about what you are looking at and why in that specific configuration.
Tina Mariane Krogh Madsen and Malte Steiner (DEN/GER) 4-5/2018
Tina Mariane Krogh Madsen and Malte Steiner are artists from Denmark and Germany who specialize in media art and electronical music.
Maja Ingerslev (DEN) 3/2018
Maja Ingerslev is a visual artist who works with staged photography, video and papercut installations.
Sam Irwin (USA), 2/2018
Sam Irwin is a multi media artist and composer from New York City.
Raquel Sakristan and Rafael Agudo (ESP), 12/2017 & 5-6/2018
KulttuuriKauppila and Lähde! –project welcomed artist Raquel Sacristan Fernàndez and producer Rafael Agudo Illán to Ii in the beginning of December 2017!
Iwona Rozbiewska (POL), 11/2017
Iwona Rozbiewska, born in 1980, is from Zaścienie, Poland, and she has studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.
Eunjung Hwang (KOR), 6–7/2017
Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Eunjung Hwang, born in 1971, lives and works in New York City, USA.
Touko Hujanen (FIN), 6/2017
Touko Hujanen, born in 1986, is a freelance photographer specialising in reportage.
Yuna Cho (KOR), 4–5/2017
Yuna Cho, born in 1993, is a Korean-Canadian artist and drawing and painting instructor currently living and working in Seoul, South Korea.
Antti Leino (FIN), 3/2017
Antti Leino, born in 1976, is a freelance photographer based in Turku, Finland. He has been a professional photographer since 2016.
Leah Beeferman (USA), 2/2017
Leah Beeferman is an artist from New York City, and she was in Finland during 2016-2017 on a Fulbright Scholar Grant.
Ivana Radovanovic (MNE), 9/2016
Ivana Radovanovic, born in 1983, is visual artist living in Podgorica and working in Cetinje in Montenegro.
Masami Aihara (JPN), 8/2016
The Japanese artist Masami Aihara, born in 1961, lives on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Aki-Pekka Sinikoski (FIN), 7/2016
Aki-Pekka Sinikoski is known as a versatile portrait photographer whose work has been exhibited both in Finland and abroad.
Carola Grahn (SWE), 6/2016
Carola Grahn, born in 1982, is of South Sámi descent. She grew up in Jokkmokk and received a master’s degree in fine arts from the Royal Institute of Art in Sweden in 2013.
Matti Aikio (FIN), 5/2016
Matti Aikio, born in 1980, comes from Vuotso, a small reindeer-herding Sámi village in northern Finland.
Anders Sunna (SWE), 4/2016
Anders Sunna, born in 1985, grew up in Kiruna. He lives and works in Jokkmokk, Sweden.
Emma Wippermann (USA), 1/2018
Emma Wippermann is a writer based in NYC. She works in text and images, often incorporating smartphone photos and screenshots into her writing, which is primarily concerned with ecology, desire, and queer digital intimacy.
Iryna Vorona (UKR), 10/2017
Iryna Vorona, born in 1987, is an artist born and working in Ukraine.
Anna Yamanishi (JPN), 8–9/2017
Anna Yamanishi’s master’s degree is from the Kyoto City University of Arts and she has presented her works in Japan both in solo and group exhibitions.
Defne Tesal and Murat Yildiz (TUR), 10–12/2016
Defne Tesal and Murat Yildiz are visual artists living and working in Istanbul, Turkey.
Emily Little (ITA) 1–3/2016
The visual artist Emily Little was born in Paraparaumu, New Zealand, and she studied in Scotland, graduating from Edinburgh College of Arts. She currently lives and works in Rome.