AVARA2024: Art & Tech <3 Wellbeing showcased ways to promote wellbeing through art and technology
AVARA2024: Art & Tech <3 Wellbeing Highlighted Innovative Ways to Combine Art and Technology to Promote Wellbeing
Held on November 21–22, 2024, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Oulu, the AVARA2024: Art & Tech <3 Wellbeing event showcased cutting-edge approaches to advancing wellbeing through the integration of art and technology.
Organized annually as part of the Art Innovations research program at Oulu University of Applied Sciences and the Oulu2026 program, the event focused on two main themes: the first day explored opportunities for collaboration between art, technology, and the social and healthcare sectors, while the second day delved into the societal role, wellbeing impacts, and artistic aspects of gaming.
Promoting Wellbeing through Art and Healthcare Collaboration
The first day began with a keynote by Dawn Prescott from the Lime Art Foundation, who shared insights into implementing art projects in British hospital environments. She presented compelling examples of long-term art initiatives in Manchester hospitals.
Antti Ikonen from Aalto University continued the theme with a presentation on a sound art project created for Helsinki’s New Children’s Hospital, completed in 2018. The project developed a friendly soundscape complementing the hospital’s visual design to ease children’s visits. The project has received several prestigious awards, including the Grand Prix at the International Sound Awards.
“When gathering feedback, children and their parents particularly appreciated the soundscape, feeling it was designed just for them. Nurses were more critical, but further analysis revealed that their comments often stemmed from misunderstandings, such as criticizing areas where the soundscape was not implemented,” Ikonen noted.
Ikonen discussed the sound design process of the New Children’s Hospital at AVARA, emphasizing its impact on patient experience.
A panel discussion featuring Taru Koivisto from the University of the Arts Helsinki and Ville Pellinen from Lapinlahden Lähde/ AWAKE Project highlighted the importance of creative projects in healthcare. The discussion emphasized the need to enhance entrepreneurial skills among artists and foster collaborations between the art and healthcare sectors.
International Perspectives and Emerging Technologies
A winter storm prevented Marie le Sourd from attending Thursday’s keynote in person, but she delivered her presentation remotely, addressing barriers to international mobility for artists.
Italian researcher Alberto Sanna introduced a method combining machine learning and biometric data, such as eye movements and heart rate, to analyze emotional reactions to artworks and photographs.
“This work merges expertise in neurophysiology and photography to deepen our understanding of emotional engagement with art,” Sanna explained.
Gaming as a Tool for Wellbeing and Societal Dialogue
On the second day, the audience experienced interactive gaming sessions. Harold Hejazi’s Adventures of HarriHarri, Episode Three live gameplay addressed challenges related to immigration. The game was projected onto screens, with Hejazi directing it from a nearby room while the audience influenced the storyline by shouting commands. The protagonist, HarriHarri, navigated locations such as a shopping mall and the Finnish Parliament as part of his residence permit process.
Adventures of HarriHarri draws on real interviews to reflect the experiences of immigrants in Finland.
Jaakko Kemppainen from Aalto University discussed the wellbeing effects of games. Drawing on over 20 years of experience as a game designer and educator, he highlighted games addressing complex topics, such as parental alcoholism (Lydia), mental health issues (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice), and depression (Unhappy Place).
Kemppainen shared a touching story about Mats Steen, a Norwegian with muscular dystrophy who formed significant friendships and even romances through gaming. After his passing, his parents discovered the profound connections he had made in the virtual world. Mats’s life is featured in the documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, available on Netflix.
The Power of Multidisciplinary Collaboration
AVARA2024 underscored the potential of combining art and technology to enhance wellbeing. The event provided a platform for researchers, artists, and technology professionals to explore the societal impact of creativity and innovation. In addition to presentations, the program included workshops and art installations, such as an exhibition by Toronto Metropolitan University students that examined marketing-driven perceptions of wellbeing.
Julia Heikkinen, project manager at Oulu University of Applied Sciences, summarized the event’s purpose:
“We strongly believe that diversity and collaboration across disciplines spark new innovations. AVARA offers a unique platform for fostering these connections.”
