MERI IRINDIRA NIKULA

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​I had a wonderful time in The Netherlands in the beginning of this month. It felt very powerful to share my work again with a new depth it has started to radiate after spending some time in introspection, envisioning where I want my life and my creations to go. It is a time of great transformations in the world and in my personal creative work and all that it will express as a part of this transformation. I can feel it very strongly.  

Up in the Arctic where I am based, we are now enjoying the season called 'Spring-Winter'. It means that the sun has taken over the darkness and we feel the spring in the air despite there being still loads and loads of snow! It is a dizzying time of the year with so much energy moving and swirling in the air. The sun is stunningly radiant, seeming to take over the whole wide sky. 

I have been tuning into the opportunities up here for a while now, wanting to make more of my creative work in the North of Norway, Finland and Sweden. 

Our collaboration with Hanna Kanto is bringing me to Oulu, Finland, to perform for the first time there as a solo artist. I am going to make a vocal improvisation called 'Arktisia kuulokuvia yhdelle äänelle' (Arctic Ear-scapes for One Voice) on the 8th April at Oulu Museum of Art (OMA).

I am also very happy to get to teach my very first Voicing Your Body course in Finland, on the 10th of April at VALVE Cultural Centre in Oulu. The course is already getting full, but there are a few spots left, if you are interested! Please send me an email to make a reservation. 

In the end of April I will travel to the magical Lofoten islands which are famous for their natural beauty. I will perform at a one day festival LYDRØRT in Henningsvær on the 30th of April, where themes around emptiness  will be expressed through sound art, dance and performance. 

I will also teach a Voicing Your Body workshop on the 1st of May in Lofoten islands. For more information check the 'agenda' on my website closer to the dates. 

I am sending you all some SPRING SUN to expand you further! I can't wait to see how this journey unfolds... So excited!!

Much love, 

​Meri

In the beginning of March I will start my nomadic travels as an artist and a transformational healer again. There will be something very different every day, from an evening without electricity at De Kleine Wiel, an ecologically built cultural space, where I will tune in with Nordic sounds acoustically, in candle light,  all the way to an avant-garde event at WORM in Rotterdam on the International Women's Day where my performance Survival of the Fittest will be shown. If you are anywhere near, would be wonderful to meet you! 

04.March at 20:30-22:00
ZONDER STROOM
Extrapool Event at De Kleine Wiel, NIJMEGEN
Solo Concerts without electricity by Meri Nikula (FI) and Richard Youngs (GB)
Entrance: 5€

05.March at 19:00-20:30
VOCAL MOSAIC
Meditative Concert by Meri Nikula
Praktijik Zaklina Lecnik, ROTTERDAM
Entrance: 10€

06.March at 10:00-14:00
VOICING YOUR BODY - workshop
Praktijik Zaklina Lecnik, ROTTERDAM
Participation: 35€ (with light, healthy snacks and tea/coffee)

08.March at 20:00-01:00
International Women's Day
FUCK YOU FRIEDRICH!
WORM, Rotterdam
Solo Performance: The Survival of the Fittest by Meri Nikula and more 
Entrance: 5€
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VIDEO STILL: Through The Wilderness Within

​It has been a productive beginning of the year 2016 for me. I finally finished my video project 'Through The Wilderness Within' which I started filming when being pregnant in 2014. It was a profound and demanding process, where I also birthed myself anew as an artist. You can watch the video here: THROUGH THE WILDERNESS WITHIN 

In the beginning of February I was also in Kilpisjärvi, Finland, at the Bioarctica Residency with Hanna Kanto, a painter from my home town who I have become close with in the past few years. She is working on her big solo exhibition for the Oulu Museum of Art (OMA) coming up in April. This video will be part of the exhibition, where the rest of the works are paintings. I have been collaborating with her on this video, which is still a work in progress. I am going to make the sound track for it and also sing in the opening of this exhibition on the 8th of April. 

I am also starting my international travels again, first having a small tour in The Netherlands in the beginning of March for concerts, performances and a Voicing Your Body workshop. 

With Snowy Greetings, 

Meri

FILMING A NEW PROJECT at Kilpisjärvi, Finland. For once me behind the video camera! The premiere will be at Oulu Museum of Art (OMA) on the 8th. April 2016. I will also perform at the opening.
PHOTO: Hanna Kanto

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST at Kamppi Shopping Center, Helsinki, for Dimanche Rouge Performance Art Festival
PHOTOS: Ignacio Perez Perez

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I have been contemplating to start a blog. To share more of me as my life, my music & art are all interconnected.  My little daughter Mimi is 1 year old already and since the beginning of September I have felt like it is a new start again.  After a long break it feels great to start creating again! To start planning new work and travels. 

I have made a lot of new music in our sauna which I turn into a studio by bringing in all my gear, microphone, loop station and recorder. It is the only room in the house which is somewhat sound proof! And there is a special atmosphere for sure. Usually sauna is a very contemplative place for me, to relax and let go. These energies are now in good use as well, setting the tone for the music being created. 

Since I have traveled less than before, I have been experiencing and appreciating my immediate surroundings even more.  Nature is becoming increasingly important as a source of peace and rejuvenation.  The photo on the right shows one of these moments of deep healing connection amidst some hectic days: taking a breather in Helsinki Central Park with little Mimi sleeping in her trolley. 

After having lived a life of great freedom, practically on wings, it has been a challenge to get used to being at someone else's service 24/7 as a mother. The first year has been as wonderful as it has been demanding. I am proud of my little girl, of who she has already become. And I am proud of how I have managed, as a mother. 

Now it has become a time of marrying the two roles, being a mother with being an independent creator as well. To take equally good care of me as I do of my little girl. For me this means reconnecting with my creative work and the creative circles around the world as well as continuing with my healing  work, which is still less visible. In the coming years, my intention is to bring forth both. 

There are some actual NEWS too to share with you soon, about upcoming performances. For now, I will use this space in the blog form. It is equally exiting for me to see how this all will transform in the coming months and years... The Fresh New Energy is there and I am welcoming and embracing it with an open heart.

Warmly, 

Meri
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