Capital of Game Art
What is this event about?
Kouvola is the Capital of Game Art, an international event in 2022 and 2023. The art of games will be presented through striking events, exhibitions, cooperation with educational institutions, public lectures and competitions. The capital of game art highlights the versatility of games as well as games as part of contemporary culture and self-expression. Art of games is presented as a broad social phenomenon and an interpreter of the present.
The capital of game art brings out games as its own art form. There will be a wide variety of playable art, from light entertainment to grueling drama. Technological frontiers will not hold back games that spread from the screens of mobile phones and computers to the urban environment and physical experiences. In the Capital of Game Art we dare to try something new, fail and try again.
A Unique Festival
During the Capital of Game Art Festival, gaming will be presented and researched from the perspective of serious games, entertainment, new virtual technology and education, and as a broader social phenomenon. The collaborative significance of multiplayer games, psychological phenomena related to games and game characters such as empathy, emotional skills, the experience of communality, and intrinsic motivation, for example, are being addressed.
Kouvola will be the centre of game art.
OBJECTIVES AND IMPACT
Kouvola is transforming itself into an internationally known platform for game art and the art of games. Capital of Game Art celebrates all the art in games, but also games as a unique form of art. We will bring in sight different aspects of art in games and games as an art form: niche art games, experimental indie productions, crossover performances, playable public art, the beauty of the Hollywood-budget megaprojects and the joy of playing and making games. We encourage our audience to experience games in new and surprising ways.
For companies, the event brings opportunities for different levels of partnerships from platinum to bronze. In addition, event sponsors will be sought for the event from actors in the area. The patron of the event will be appointed in January 2022.
Jaakko Kemppainen, the regional artist in the field of Games as Art, believes that the event will be a wonderful opportunity for Kouvola. “Finland has long been a world leader in gaming technology and industry. The generation that has grown up with digital games has already reached the adult age, and for them, games are a natural tool for self-expression and artistic activity. Now Kouvola is taking over games as an art form and making game art an internationally distinctive business card for itself. In Kouvola, it is possible to see and experience game art throughout the city. In the future, Kouvola will be known as an interesting and bold center combining technology and human experience.” Read more of Jaakko's thoughts in his column!
* The Academy of Finland has awarded the Game Research Lab of the University of Tampere (COMS / TRIM), the Research Center for Contemporary Culture of the University of Jyväskylä and the Digital Culture Research groups of The University of Turku, Pori unit, the status of the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies (2018-2025).
