Introduction
Taidetila Muijala is an emerging art space and artist residency located at the village of Reila in South-West Finland. It was founded in 2022 and it is run by the Taidetila Muijala ry association.
The estate previously housed a gardening school (founded in 1948) and was from the 60’s onward owned by the Finnish army who used it as an information centre. The original name of the land is Äijälä (man’s place). We decided to rename it Muijala (woman’s place) to breathe new life into the space. We chose to play with the word and give a new meaning to it whilst also referring to the history of the place.
The property includes a large wooden main building, a row house with three studio apartments, a big industrial garage, two barns (navetta & suuli), a granary, an old windmill and a sea sauna. The location is surrounded by inspiring nature. Right next to our place starts the wonderful Hierkonpolku trail located on the seashore, which is a nature preservation area.
Mission
Artist-run, emerging artists, artists’ wellbeing
We have established a grass-roots artist-run art space and artist residency, open to artists of all disciplines. More specifically we focus on providing opportunities for emerging artists. We want to create a fertile scene for this new generation. We care for artists’ wellbeing, which means we would like to offer an inspiring and productive environment for creation as well as producing opportunities for artistic work and presentation that can provide artists (a net)work for the future.
Artistic freedom, process based, multi- and interdisciplinary art
We strive for artistic freedom. Each residency is based on the artists’ needs and is guided by their process. We can offer a quiet place for research, time for experiments and room for spacious projects. We encourage multi- and interdisciplinary art, a stimulating climate for inspiration and collaborations across different fields. Moreover we aim to engage the whole estate into artistic practices. The many buildings offer great facilities for presentations, installations and events. We also plan to develop a (sculpture) garden on our land, creating opportunities for commissions of environmental and site-specific art.
Sustainability, ecology, cultural exchange, local & international
We aim to operate in a sustainable way, oriented towards the future and friendly to the environment. Being surrounded by nature, we focus on how to engage and interact with the land. We incorporate ecological thinking to develop an organic, lively organisation. Furthermore, we want to connect the local and the international, by inviting international artists for residencies and directing the events at our art space towards a varied local audience.
Thank you!
We would like to thank all the people who support us on the way. Without your kind and generous help this adventure would not be possible. Special thanks to Annet, Sjang, Henna, Arto, Jani, Wies, Marius, Roosa, Ville, Vilkku, Lucy, Katrien, Sophie, Yilin, Kirstin, Jürgen, Sophie and Serhii.
Many thanks to Kone Foundation for supporting the development of our project in 2023 and to Laukolan Säätiö for the grant to renovate our windmill during 2024.
During 2024, several of our artists-in-residence have been supported by Mondriaan Fonds, Culture Moves Europe and Canada Counsil of the Arts
During 2025, several of our artists-in-residence have been supported by Mondriaan Fonds and the Flemish government
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Taidetila Muijala ry,
non-profit association
founded in 2022
board members 2025:
Roos Hermsen (chair)
Kirstin Naomie Broussard (vice-chair)
Serhii Varlamov
Yilin Ma
Mio Fujimaki
total members: 21
Taidetila Muijala 