Roots of the Residency
Story Villa supports creative work by offering an opportunity to pause in the peace of nature and engage with the historical layers of the Finnish countryside.
The residency provides a space to focus on creative work and research. The traces of interaction between humans and nature in the landscape, create an inspiring environment for working.
The Story Villa artist residency is run by a non-profit family company.
We value creative work, culture and artistic integrity. Our values are based on ecological, cultural, and social sustainability.
cultural producer and freelance journalist Sirpa Sutinen. ”Everything will work out.”
residency’s day-to-day tasks, often with tools in hand. “For the love of the art.”
For the past 20 years, the former village school in Heinävaara was the residence and workspace of the visual artist Arja Valkonen-Goldblatt.
The old village school transformed into an artist’s home and studio, which now, in almost its original state, provides the setting for Story Villa. Arja’s ”Satumaa” (Fairyland) became Story Villa Heinävaara, extending a warm welcome to artists from all fields to immerse themselves in the ambiance of this home of art.
Under Arja’s care, the rugged schoolyard blossomed into a lush garden. If you visit the residency in the spring, you’ll witness the awakening of the trees and shrubs in the courtyard. During the summer, the garden offers shady resting spots beneath the foliage. The aromatic herbs in the garden plot and the greenhouse, crafted from the school’s old windows, provide a pleasant sanctuary on rainy days. As autumn arrives, you can pick fruits from the apple and plum trees or gather berries from the bushes in the garden. In winter, the landscape turns white with snow, which may surprise those unfamiliar with a genuine frosty winter.
Visual artist Arja Valkonen-Goldblatt:
”In 1998, I rented one classroom as my workspace in the recently closed school in Heinävaara. I had no idea then that after a couple of years, through many twists and turns, we would own the school. We named the place Satumaa (the land of fairytales). I realized that it was exactly what I had been looking for in terms of living and working.
Now in retrospect, I can say that nowhere else could I have created the works that were made during the twenty years in my light-filled studio atop Heinävaara. The Satumaa inside me still affects me.
The Story Villa artist residence has realized my dream of continuing the use the Old School. I hope that as many artists as possible can experience the unique working and living environment in the residence.”