European Capital of Culture, Turku 2011, has announced the winners of the National Student Award category as part of its comprehensive media art competition. On the basis of the total sum of its prizes, the Live2011.com Grand Prix is the world’s biggest media art competition. The competition is comprised of eight separate categories. The National Student Award was a national category intended to inspire future minds studying in Finland; all other categories remain open to both national and international submissions.
Works were submitted to the competition from many institutions all around Finland. The most entries were submitted by Lahti University of Applied Sciences, the University of Lapland and Turku University of Applied Sciences. The submitted works ranged from games to animation and interactive sound art that utilises brainwaves.
National Student Award given to the Aalto University School of Art and Design
The Third Eye / Niklas Gustafsson |
| Product Placement / Matti Niinimäki |
| Digital Captures / Johannes Neumeier |
The jury evaluating the works narrowed the tough competition down to seven finalists, and selected The Third Eye, submitted by Niklas Gustafsson, a student at the Aalto University School of Art and Design, as the overall winner.
The jury's decision was based on their appreciation for the computer animation that served as a well-thought out and polished work, comprising an intriguing story, skilled animation and an audio track made specifically for the work. The work stood out in style, with some similarities to older Pixar animations.
The second place prize was awarded to Product Placement, submitted by Matti Niinimäki, a student at the University of Lapland. His praiseworthy animation featured brand mascots who criticise the advertising world they represent. The work exploited previously recorded interviews with marketing professionals within a novel visual environment.
The third prize was awarded to Johannes Neumeier from Turku University of Applied Sciences. In his series entitled Digital Captures, Neumeier has moulded digital material in the same manner as with traditional sculpting. The line between the virtual world and the real world is successfully dispelled, and the work reflects a human touch.
In addition to these works, four entries were awarded with honourable mention.
The winning entry will move on to the final in another suitable category of the Live2011.com Grand Prix competition. The submission period for the competition’s main categories will close on 30 June 2010.
The winners of the National Student Award in the Live2011.com Grand Prix competition:
- 1st prize €1,500: The Third Eye / Niklas Gustafsson (Aalto University School of Art and Design)
- 2nd prize €1,000: Product Placement / Matti Niinimäki (University of Lapland)
- 3rd prize €500: Digital Captures / Johannes Neumeier (Turku University of Applied Sciences)
Honourable mention:
- Empty Kitchen / Sampo Sirén (Lahti University of Applied Sciences)
- Xmasheat / Jussi Karnijoki, Miika Pyykkö and Antti Rantanen (Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences)
- Dancer as a Painter/ Aku Meriläinen (University of Lapland)
- Brainwave Music Lab: Performative Experiments on Human Test Subjects / Marko Alastalo et al. (Theatre Academy Helsinki)
The entries can be viewed online at www.turku2011.fi/grandprix
The jury members for the National Student Award were Jari Jaanto (producer and co-founder of IRC-Gallery), Andy Best (media artist and senior lecturer in Digital Arts at Turku University of Applied Sciences) and Sonja Kangas (game researcher and Gamelab Director at Paf, the gaming authority in the Åland Islands).
