In this edition of Artfully Bound, I got to interview Heidi Lunabba who is based in Helsinki, Finland. Heidi uses social and community art projects through installations, photography, and video to explore questions on identity, gender, and communication, in both public and private spaces. I got to ask her what she thought about art and how it addresses pressing issues in society. Along with her artistic process and what is up next for her.

UZOMAH: How do you use art to ask questions that society needs to answer about certain issues?

HEIDI: I use art to try to lift the voices of people that I feel are not heard enough. It may be just regular people but often I work with minorities. I feel as an artist I am in a position of power and I try to use that for the benefit of people that may not have that same power. Different projects of course talk about different issues but I guess the core question deals with everyone’s right to be who they are and express themselves in their own ways. These issues are closely related to minorities and minority rights since it is often the one who is seen as different that is expected to adapt to the norms of the majority.

U: What you do want people who view your art to walk away asking about the world around them and even themselves more?

H: I choose the issues I talk about, but I think people's thoughts are totally beyond my control. I don’t want to preach but maybe to connect people and tell story’s I a way that might arise empathy or understanding.

U: How do you know when a piece or installation or video is finished?

H: I usually have a pretty clear plan before I start doing the visual part of any project, so then I just try to do my best and finish when I’m done, sometimes I also work towards a deadline so then the timeframe also tells me when I need to be finished. Since a lot of my work is community-based the final result also depends on who chooses to participate.

U: What topic or subject do you plan to explore next?

H: I prefer to focus on what I do now instead of thinking too much ahead. Right now I'm working with LGBT people who are also part of other minorities. The project is about norms in society and we make photography-comics about each participant's experiences with the norms in society.

U: How did you come with the concept for the “Washing Line” a community art project with Ilar Gunilla Persson (Swe)?

H: I was curating an exhibition for Jeppis Pride festival 2014 -the first pride festival ever in the town I grew up, my friend Ilar was in the show. Before the festival, the debate about the Pride festival had been quite aggressive with some religious people saying really homophobic things. But we also sensed that even though they were loud and aggressive, It was actually only a small group of people. So we wanted to create a kind of easily accessible tool for people to express their support for LGBTQIA people and the pride festival and this is how we came up with the project. We wanted to resemble rainbow flags, without making people have to buy anything to be able to participate. Everybody has clothes, so this is how we came up with the idea to ask people to make rainbow-colored washing lines and share pictures using the tag #tvattlina (washing line in Swedish).

U: How important has it been for you to use art to address issues facing LGBTQIA and QTPOC persons?

H: I think minority issues, in general, are important and interesting to work with. Being a queer person myself I feel this is a minority that is easy to connect with, II understand the issues on a personal level, and working with community art it's easier to form a trust since even if everyone’s situation is different I can connect to some experiences. When it comes to POC I find all the issues and structures around racism important to deal with, but myself being white It’s harder to do it right. I have done some work around my own privilege trying to talk about ways to use one's privileged position for the benefit of people that are less privileged instead of just feeling guilt. I will be working with Sami LGBTQIA people in my comics project “Other” and I suppose my recipe for trying to make it right is to listen and trying to make sure the story told is the story the participant wants to tell.

U: Arts and politics go hand in hand in addressing cultural and societal issues where do you see it being used in the next ten years to handle issues facing LGBTQIA persons?

H: In my own work or generally? As for the art world in general I don’t have a clue, in my own work I suppose it depends on what happens in society in general, I want to work with whatever issues are important to the community.

U: What do you wish to convey with your art to other groups about the LGBTQIA community?

H: To other groups, I guess what is most important is to understand that their understanding of the issues and their actions matter. Any minority needs the support of people from the majority to have their situation improved.

U: Do you listen to any music when you are creating art, or have any must-have items to be around you when creating?

H: No, I might listen to music at times when working but it’s not a must. What is important to me is to not be too isolated, I find it hard to concentrate if I’m not in contact with the world around me.

U: When did you first start making art? What were the things about art that drove you to do art?

H: My interest in art has been with me since early childhood, I wanted to be an artist already as a child. At times I had other plans but always returned to the art. I guess then it was more about the joy of creating something, and the political aspects came into it later on.

U: What advice would you give to the young artist wanting to financially support themselves as an artist?

H: I think to answer that first of all I need to be honest about my own privileges, of course, yes I worked hard, I’ve been stubborn and I didn’t give up. But I also come from a country where education is free, my middle-class family background gave me a lot in terms of support and cultural capital, I have networks which make it easier to go on with a profession where incomes are not always regular. So what can I say, work hard, believe in yourself, don’t give up? If you have privileges try to use them in a way that benefits the less privileged. If you don’t, don’t go thinking the ones that do are better than you…

You can find more about Heidi’s work here.