The Ateljé Stundars studio is housed right at the heart of the Stundars Museum area, in the attic of a beautiful traditional wooden house.
The studio has a large window facing north. On a bright summer day, the natural light coming through the window is quite sufficient, but most days artificial light is needed. The studio therefore has strong electrical light.
The 60 m² studio is equipped with tables and chairs and an easel. Basic artist's supplies and materials can be bought in Vasa, but we advise our artists to bring as much with them as possible, at least crucial supplies and material.
The studio shares the attic with the Stundars Museum Office. There is a door between the office and the studio.
The stairs leading up to the attic are quite steep. The studio is therefore not handicapped-friendly.
Even though winters in Finland may be bitterly cold with temperatures down to -20 degrees Centigrade, the studio offers a warm and dry place to work.
The artist’s apartment is situated in a terrace house some 200 metres from the studio. It consists of two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom / toilet.
The apartment is quite spacious (75 m²) with big windows in the living room (and kitchen) facing south. Many of our artists have used the living room as a home studio. The windows in the two bedrooms face north.
The artist residence operates in conjunction with an open-air museum and centre of culture and art, the Stundars Museum. The Stundars area is quite busy, especially during the summer, with a lot of activity going on: crafts days, exhibitions, concerts, children’s events, time travel etc. There is also a small gift shop-cum-café in the area.
Ateljé Stundars is surrounded by open plains with a rich bird life. Deep forests and a beautiful archipelago can be found within biking distance from the studio.
The 520 million-year-old meteorite crater of Söderfjärden lies within walking distance from the residence. Today the circle-shaped cultivated crater plain is one of the most interesting geological sites in Finland and a true paradise for bird watchers in both spring and autumn. From the bird-watching tower you can on a good day observe thousands and thousands of migrating cranes, swans and geese.
Meteoria, a visiting centre right in the middle of the crater, features an advanced exhibition of the entire history of Söderfjärden. There is also a well-equipped astronomical observatory with a telescope for studies of celestial bodies hundreds of millions of light years out into the universe.
The village of Solf is part of the municipality of Korsholm. With its 20,000 inhabitants Korsholm is the third largest municipality in the region of Ostrobothnia. The closest city is Vasa (in Finnish: Vaasa), some 17 kms north of Solf. Vasa with its 60,000 inhabitants has a rich cultural life and offers a number of interesting museums and galleries, for instance
In Jakobstad (in Finnish: Pietarsaari) some 100 kms north of Vasa, the Novia University of Applied Sciences offers a Master's programme in culture and art. Degree programmes in arts and culture is offered also by the YA – Vocational College of Ostrobothnia. Both operate at the Campus Allegro in the city centre.
There is also an artist residence in Jakobstad, AiR Jakobstad.
The Kvarken Archipelago is the only natural heritage on Unesco's World Heritage List in Finland. The area received the World Heritage status because it is the best place on earth to witness and observe the unique geological phenomenon of land uplift.
Finland is a bilingual country with two national languages: Finnish and Swedish. The Swedish-speaking population is concentrated on the west and south coast of Finland as well as on the Åland Islands.
The region of Ostrobothnia with some 180,000 inhabitants is the only region on the mainland with a Swedish-speaking majority. Many people are bilingual and speak both Finnish and Swedish, but there are people, especially among the elderly, who are not able to communicate in the other national language.
Most people in Finland speak English quite well.