These five works of art will be seen on Tampere’s art tram car – more than 17,000 votes were cast in a public vote
The works of art for Tampere’s art tram car were selected by public vote. The general public had the opportunity to select five works of art for implementation on the sides of the art tram car. A total of 17,391 votes were cast. The first work of art will be visible in the Tampere cityscape in December.
An open design competition arranged for the works of art on Tampere’s art tram car attracted 100 submissions. A jury selected 10 of these for the public voting process. People had the opportunity to vote on the Tampere Tramway website for one week, from 20 to 27 September. The following works of art received the most votes:
- Mari Hyde, The Glow, 4,334 votes
- Milla Vuorela, 151 passengers, 3,372 votes
- Juliana Hyrri, Paradise tram, 2,837 votes
- Teemu Raudaskoski, Colour flow, 2,043 votes
- Tomi Ivalo, Journey between the lakes, 1,165 votes
The overwhelming favourite was Mari Hyde’s “The Glow”, which received nearly 1,000 votes more than the proposal that placed second.
– I took part in the art tram car design competition because the topic was interesting and I found the idea of using a reflective surface right at the start of the design work. Winning feels just amazing, and I’m really looking forward to seeing my work of art live. Hopefully it will reflect a glow all around and in people’s minds, says a delighted Mari Hyde.
– I think the Tampere Tramway Art Programme is a great thing, because making art a part of the cityscape produces an interesting and unique environment – and it also provides added value, continues Hyde.
The winning work of art will be visible on the sides of the first art tram car in December, and the art will change every six months until spring 2024. The winner of the public vote will be awarded 5,000 euros, while the prize for those placing second to fifth is 3,500 euros.
– The tramway’s growing passenger numbers indicates that the start of operation has been positively received. We’re very pleased that people are also enthusiastic about the art tram car and cast such a large number of votes in the public voting process. Thank you to all the voters and those who submitted a proposal to the competition. This will bring some truly eye-catching art to the Tampere cityscape, states Pekka Sirviö, CEO of Tampere Tramway Ltd.
Facts about the winner of the public vote and the works of art
1. Mari Hyde, The Glow
- Born in Tampere
- Mother of two
- Education: Master of Arts
- Employment: Graphic designer at Nokian Tyres’ global marketing department
- In Mari’s words: “Art has always interested me from the perspective of experiencing and creating it.”
The Glow:
My competition proposal is called “THE GLOW”. It represents a magical fairytale world that provides joy and light, especially during the darkest months in Finland. The idea is based on using reflective tape along the white lines of the illustrations. The background for the tape is dark while the characters are bright blue and turquoise line drawings. The focus is a reflective line that makes the characters come alive when lights hit them – producing a glow around the artwork.
2. Milla Vuorela, 151 passengers
A tram car with cats! Why not? Early in the year, I was drawing a lot of cat groups because I wanted just the right background image for my phone. When I saw the announcement about the art tram car competition, I thought it would be great to use the same idea for a cat tram car. I drew the cats on paper in the traditional way, and then refined the work on a computer to make it suitable for the side of a tram car.
The sides of the tram car should be identical. The advertising space on one side is taken into account so that when ads fill the space, the cats would not be cut in half and peeking out from under the ads. The tram car’s seams and lighting were also taken into consideration. The cat tapes were designed with the idea of using the tram car’s own red colour as the background.
There are 151 cats on each side. If there are no tapes on the parts in front of the wheels, the small cats will be left out, meaning that there would only be 134 cats on that side and 123 on the advertising side. However, I think that 257 cats would also be enough. Everyone can pick out a cat that suits their state of mind at any given time. Lots of cats and lots of different emotions!
3. Juliana Hyrri, Paradise tram
I implemented “Paradise tram” as a digital collage based on one of my paintings. Siberian tigers stand guard over passengers in a setting of spring and autumn-like vegetation with glimpses of ponds and waterways. I wanted the colour world to be a subtle representation of all Finland’s different seasons. The majority of the paintings that I utilised in the material were part of my art exhibition at Galleria Rajatila in late summer 2020.
4. Teemu Raudaskoski, Colour flow
This work of art is called “Colour flow” in honour of Tampere Tramway and Tammerkoski Rapids. It has two different sides, but if necessary one of these can be used on both sides of the tram car.
5. Tomi Ivalo, Journey between the lakes
Tampere developed on the isthmus between Lake Näsijärvi and Lake Pyhäjärvi that the tramway now travels along. The lakes symbolise Tampere’s past and future. Their psychological importance to Tampere residents is increasing all the time.
When applying the tape, the exact positioning of the different elements can only be planned after seeing the surface shape of the tram car close up. Space will be left for the sponsor logo.
There’s still time to become an art tram car partner
Tampere Tramway has an open partner application process for the art tram car. Partner companies will receive long-term visibility in the exterior tapes on the art tram car, on interior digital screens, and in Tampere Tramway’s digital channels.
At this time, the following companies have been selected as partners: Lumme Energia and Tampereen Seudun Osuuspankki. These companies were also part of the jury that selected the works of art.
More information:
Laura Lehtinen
Coordinator
Frei Zimmer Oy
Tel. +358 (0)50 3793 555
laura.lehtinen@freizimmer.fi
Pekka Sirviö
CEO
Tampere Tramway Ltd
Tel. +358 (0)40 334 5798
pekka.sirvio@tampereenraitiotie.fi
Tramway art in a nutshell
Tampere Tramway uses art as an element of the transport experience. The aim of tramway art is to create a high-quality entity that improves the pleasantness of the environment in the construction phase and during tramway operation. Until now, 76 artists have taken part in 21 art projects. The City of Tampere’s Tramway Development Programme is responsible for the Tramway Art entity. Implementation is being coordinated by Frei Zimmer Oy. For more information (in Finnish): www.tampereenratikka.fi/ratikantaide/