Beyond the Image of a Swan
An Interview with Annika Tudeer
Witnessing her performance “Annika Does the Swan Lake” the night before, I was able to fill my notes with questions and observations I want to share to Annika in the interview which I was anticipating so much. We sat on one of the benches in the middle of the Observatory Park, amidst colorful trees and gentle autumn breeze. Her smile was contagious as she reminisced her childhood running around the same park in Turku and hurting herself because she cared less back then. After laughing over the memory, I readied my voice recorder and gently tossed my questions at Annika. Please give us a glimpse on who is Annika Tudeer. Why did you decide to study Literature? What is the reason behind founding Oblivia? How do you see failures? What is your attitude as an artist?
The cold was crisp and bites the skin but the warmth of the conversation kept us going for almost an hour. Annika brimmed as she told me a story of her younger years growing in the beautiful and serene Turku. She broke her leg after hitting a tree; she was sliding freely down the hills. That led us to the question on failures which she responded with ease. When asked about Oblivia, Annika never failed to beam as she shared that she is privileged to form a group of people working together and bringing ideas on the table for everyone to work on; people who respects each others’ perspectives, voices and capacities as artists. She believed that above everything else, freedom. As we ended the interview, I was drawn to the determination and passion of Annika. Her experience is a true testament that our enthusiasm to do what we are passionate about will bring us to where we are destined to be. To her, it was her potential and love for art and self-expression that paved way towards reaching her goals. No, she is not and is definitely beyond any image of a swan.
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