A little background information on the space : The
gallery was founded by Jani Joenniemi and Gareth Hayes on Mechelininkatu-street
in 2002. The first exhibition, REBORNLUXURY, was at the same time a shop of
Pusipusi-clothes by artists Frida Hultcrantz and Maija Luutonen. A couple of
years later Myymälä2 moved to its current location in Uudenmaankatu, where the
opening exhibition was the legendary ’Helsinki Hall of Fame’ organized by Karri
Kuoppala, where underground graffiti scene gurus were painting the gallery
walls all night long. Soon Myymälä2 had gained the reputation of a streetwise
art space for all kinds of urban culture and visual art crossovers and
Jan Konsin started running the space. Myymälä2 is the first of the ‘new
wave’ of artist run spaces that started to appear in the early 2000s. Soon after
Huuto! gallery opened and some years later Oksasenkatu11, XL-art space, 00130,
SIC, and so on. Myymälä2 is a strong street art advocate. For a long
time, the city officials' suffocating zero tolerance approach had an enormous
effect on street art's practice and content. During that period, the venue
played an active role in defending the banned forms of expression by
distributing zines and hosting shows.
Myymälä2 is unique in the sense that it
doesn't have a strict formal line. They aim at connecting with different
scenes, not just the visual art scene, but also with comic art, graphic design,
graffiti, skate culture and music. Myymälä2 emphasizes content and
attitude in its exhibitions and looks for dedication to one’s work and a
position outside of what you can find in mainstream culture.
=> Good to know : there are quite a lot of
various kinds of events happening in Myymälä2 as well, not just exhibitions, such
as concerts, film screenings, talks, which is quite unusual for a gallery space
in Helsinki.
The place has a lot of self-published books, fanzines and records, as well as a small selection of clothes. The shop is also a cafe. Myymälä2 tries to give exposure to independent publications and other small edition printed items that have very limited availability in Helsinki in general.
The space has open calls twice a year and selects from these. They have a continuous intense programming : in the spring, they organize the Fall programming and in the Fall, the Spring one. Members of the co-op also have access to the space on short notice to host events. This way Myymälä2 can be the front of the scene in terms of what’s going on in the city and society in general.
DYSTERBOTTEN
En annan sida av Österbotten / Toinen puoli Pohjanmaasta
Oscar Hagen & Beni Köhler
6-28.2.2016
One of the last shows at the venue, which can be seen in the photographs below, is “Dysterbotten” by artists Oscar Hagen & Beni Köhler which deals with hidden world of Pohjanmaa (Ostrobothnia) which means, basically, drug culture and use in that specific area. The exhibition was not pretty, as it deals with matters of alienation and becoming branded as a criminal and drug user by the society around you.
Further information:
Address: Uudenmaankatu 23 F, Helsinki 00120
Website: www.myymala2.com
Opening hours: Wed-Sat 12pm–6pm, Sun 12pm–5pm, Mon-Tues Closed
Contact: info@myymala2.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Myym%C3%A4l%C3%A42/566528183462448?fref=photo
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