RIIKKA LAKEA
dance artist
Aanimals
A donkey has a problem, a raven drops the sun to the sea, and a drag king wants to be a cow
Aanimals (2023) is a collection of small performances inspired by other-than-human animals, taking place in the everyday and urban spaces of Aarhus, Denmark. The piece puts animals, a marginalized group of critters in our society, on center stage through the interpretations of local artists from different backgrounds. The work features a raven inspired by the Uaajeerneq practice, music students playing the flute and cello, Ghanaian storytelling, a Greenlandic folk tale, a drag king on a meadow, and a human dog with its master. Aanimals is an ode to diversity, an ode to listening, an ode to both the familiar and the unknown, the wild and the tame.
Aanimals is a film work and a selection of small pop up live events. Aanimals was hosted by ARoS art museum between 26.8.-1.9.2023.
The Aanimals film and events are part of Teatret Svalegangen’s United Change. The piece is based on the United Nations' Sustainability Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities.
Concept & direction: Riikka Lakea
Photographer & editor: Alice Hjorth
Sound design: Ole Schneider
Colorist: Mamoun Abufarha
Collaborating artists: Samuel Kweku Addison, Else Danielsen, Klaus Geisler, Tone Haldrup Lorenzen, Siri Maj Knutsen, Faux Moe, Sofia Lind Pedersen & students at Katrinebjergskolen
Production: Riikka Lakea, Teatret Svalegangen, ARoS, Aarhus Filmværksted & Rylan
Live events at ARoS between 26.8.-1.9.2023:
Drag show by Faux Moe
Dog training workshop for humans by Tone Haldrup
Lorenzen & Siri Maj Knutsen
Mini cello concert by the students of Katrinebjerg skolen
Concert and perofrmance by African Footprint
Aanimals Dance-along by Riikka Lakea
Publicity: Interview with Riikka Lakea & Tone Haldrup Lorenzen on Danish Radio Kulturen
Photos: Alice Hjorth
Photo: Mikkel Vognæs