Void residency

The two-month fully supported Deep residency by Northern Photographic Centre provides access to the 1,444-metre deep Pyhäsalmi Mine (FI). The station and the environment provide opportunities for research and art across an extensive range of fields including extreme environmental conditions, geology, particle and space research, analogue astronautics, industrial transformation, underground safety, security and testing, biotope art, renewable energy (geothermal and hydroelectric), and remote sensing as well as the past, the present and the potential futures.

The site allows for the study of the impact of the mine and its closure on the local population, the nature and the vitality of the area. The residence partner is international, multidisciplinary research and development centre Callio Lab.

The Pyhäsalmi Mine, which became the deepest mine in Europe, opened in 1962 and produced copper and zinc. Active underground mining operations ended in fall 2022, and the local community now faces structural change. The mine is currently being developed into a pump energy storage station for research, novel uses and renewable energy balancing power with the aim of creating the largest energy reserve in Finland in the future.