New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Prioritising the places and people that need it the most

Email user
mari@ponsia.fi

Basic information
Initiative title
Contemporary Art in Architecture

Full initiative Title
The Digital Utilization of Existing Contemporary Art in the Material Surfaces of Architecture

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
Ponsia is a licensing service that connects art with architecture. Architects can use the details described in works of art and scale them to suit structural surfaces. The integration technologies required by different building materials enable, for example, the integration of a small detail of a sculpture or video stills into the facade of a building. We created a new earning mechanism for artists and a value base created by art for the building.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
Cross-border/international

Where was your intiative implemented?
Location 1
Finland

Location 2
Other

Which other country?
Great Britain

Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries
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If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
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Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): Ponsia Ltd.
  Type of organisation: Limited company
  First name of representative: Mari Johanna
  Last name of representative: Krappala
  Gender: Female
  Nationality: Finland
  Function: Founder
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Aurakatu 22 C 46
  Town: Turku
  Postal code: 20100
  Country: Finland
  Direct Tel: +358 50 3678918
  E-mail: mari@ponsia.fi
  Website: https://www.ponsia.fi
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/ponsiaofficial/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): https://www.instagram.com/ponsiaofficial/
In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
Ponsia® is a contemporary art licensing limited company founded in 2020, whose target group is European design actors and architectural offices. The company's mission is to renew art procurement methods and accelerate the use of art as part of visual surface solutions in design and architecture. Fragment licensing, which utilizes the surface area of the work, is a service that combines art, digital and technology, which updates the dialogue between art and architecture to a new level. Ponsia® is a registered trademark in the EU.

We license contemporary art in a unique way by offering designers the legal rights to scale and integrate the surfaces of the works into their own projects. Ponsia cooperates with artists' copyright organizations, is responsible for the licensing and filming process and artist fees. The company will internationalize its service concept to the EU region in the coming years and has employment goals both nationally and internationally. The service promotes the social and ethical dimension of sustainable construction. For the designer, the service provides a working tool to utilize current contemporary art as part of the design and selection processes as well as purchasing decisions. For end customers, the service provides competitiveness and a new method of supporting art. The concept increases the accessibility of art and the social well-being it brings.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
art

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
architecture

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
technology

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
digital

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
dialogue

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Ponsia® is a contemporary art licensing limited company founded in 2020, whose target group is European design actors and architectural offices. The company's mission is to renew art procurement methods and accelerate the use of art as part of visual surface solutions in design and architecture. Fragment licensing, which utilizes the surface area of the work, is a service that combines art, digital and technology, which updates the dialogue between art and architecture to a new level. Ponsia® is a registered trademark in the EU.
We license contemporary art in a unique way by offering designers the legal rights to scale and integrate the surfaces of the works into their own projects. Ponsia cooperates with artists' copyright organizations, is responsible for the licensing and filming process and artist fees. The company will internationalize its service concept to the EU region in the coming years and has employment goals both nationally and internationally. The service promotes the social and ethical dimension of sustainable construction. For the designer, the service provides a working tool to utilize current contemporary art as part of the design and selection processes as well as purchasing decisions. For end customers, the service provides competitiveness and a new method of supporting art. The concept increases the accessibility of art and the social well-being it brings.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Ponsia wants to add an exploratory approach, significance and innovative utilization of technologies to construction and space planning with the help of art. We strive to promote that art can be integrated with technological means even in challenging materials and structures.

Integrating art into buildings creates a human and ethical dimension that produces cohesion and a cultural experience. Art creates well-being and using art has an effect. With the means of advanced technology, the use of art in spatial solutions can be much more extensive and thus have a social welfare-increasing effect.

The effort is to increase exposure to art in conventional environments, otherwise art would not be included. We want to enable artists to benefit from the works that have already been made. The method works as a payment solution alongside the public art competition and allows designers a responsible alternative to the use of art in their sites.

The viewer has the opportunity to get to know the artist, the origin of the work and the message with the help of a qr code.

We always try to also convey the original work of art, from which the detail has been used, to the same public space. The user of this space can view the external relationship between the magnified detail and the work created by the artist.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Our service works with artworks that have already been made, which gives the artist the possibility of additional income.

Digital image files travel quickly as data transfers without environmental load. The architect can already define material and integration solutions during the design phase, so that art becomes a natural and integral part of the built environment.

Art integration also enables the use of works by artists who would otherwise not participate in tenders for public art procurement.

Integration supports sustainability goals. As a digital and immaterial file, it can be used again in situations where there has been damage to the surface or the need for renewal.
Integration technology enables the use of art also in places and buildings where art would not otherwise be brought.

This brings art to the use of a wide building stock. At the same time, groups of people who don't consciously go to see art use it along with other activities.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
Our service acts as a catalyst for the synergies of art, architecture and design.

For artists, the service enables a new kind of earning mechanism, the economic potential of existing works, and inexhaustible visual material for architecture, which can be used to strengthen one's competitiveness.

For citizens, art integration generates welfare effects and maximize the accessibility of art.

Pro-art living environment builds a bridge to social responsibility, empathy and happiness. Ponsia is responsible for the artists' legal copyrights and license fees. At the same time, the designers get a safe operating environment to use the surface area of the works in their design projects.

Ponsia's concept is business and educational cooperation, where developers, architecture and design stakeholders, and art representatives create regional clusters. The concept is guided by strong ethical guidelines, all parties commit to something. Valuing the artist's work and respecting copyright are the starting point of the concept. The ethical guidelines are extensive and the licensing of the concept model requires their existence.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
We have started validating the service in Finland. We have built a service model between architecture, art colleges, free art field and galleries.

The next goal is to validate the service internationally by creating clusters with a few selected target country stakeholders (artists, architects, galleries). In connection with the clusters, the public art use and acquisition mechanisms of different countries are applied, and the aim is to offer them a new model that accelerates the use of art.

Ponsia's long-term goal is to scale the operating model by licensing the brand for international use. The aim is that the model supports the work of artists regionally, regardless of the country, but at the same time increases the possibility for artists to create visibility and sales on the international market.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
Art university education, art/social research, future research, service and business design, architecture and design industry.

The well-being and cultural effects of art are known, but the productization of art is still unknown. The commercialization of art is full of emotional and value issues, with which Ponsia strives to operate professionally.

In a changing world, individuals have basic needs for meaning, a meaningful life and an experience of belonging. Traditionally, art and making art are marginally feasible and achievable. The use of art must be brought into modern times as part of architecture, as it has historically been.

By using art with the means of modern technology, accessibility and well-being effects increase. Ponsia’s method supports pedagogical goals by bringing art and artistry into society's everyday life. The digital codes of the image surfaces integrated into the structures get the citizens into an interactive conversation with the artists. During the development of the concept, we have heard the perspectives of various stakeholders, who have encouraged us to continue piloting the service in a targeted manner and with a broader discussion.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
We offer a new operating environment for art acquisition for architecture and design planning processes. In the service, the art is transferred to the architect for selection, scaling and direct integration into the materials. In the concept, the details of the works get a new life in new contexts using digital technology. A new earning model is created for the artist based on surface areas and royalties.

The model encourages the professions of architecture and design to actively use art as a visual influencer and creator of a competitive advantage. The concept can be licensed internationally. The sale and use of art becomes inclusive, easier and takes place on the terms of architecture. The artists' visibility and the profit potential arising from the created works increases.

The use of the surface areas of the works in material structural solutions and industrial manufacturing creates genuine added value and strengthens the realization of responsibility.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
The concept and service model can be scaled and licensed in all respects for international use. Ponsia is a registered trademark.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
The Ponsia® concept works as an art mediator, contract manager and cluster builder.

We collect a reserve of artists and works. We are responsible for work descriptions and moderation, quality and licensing of digital material.

We market the service to architecture projects and promote awareness of the added value brought by art integration, social responsibility and ethical procurement.

Ponsia is responsible for the fulfillment of the artist's rights and compliance with the agreements between the parties.

Ponsia serves the architect by providing access to the digital environment of the works.

Ponsia markets artists and services to targeted markets, builders, manufacturers and design contexts.

Ponsia cooperates with material producers and promotes the digital use of art by utilizing material technology.

We monitor public construction projects and promote the use of art in all projects involving visuality and aesthetics.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
Attitudinal risks: Commodification of art is not seen as a relevant way of presenting art.
Financial resources: In construction projects, the added value brought by art is not seen as an investment but as an expense.
No reference project can be found, even though there is great interest.
There is no regional know-how and motivation to start the concept. The service of the concept develops and starts if a committed cluster is formed.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
The company will start implementing the kv strategy in 2023. Operational measures will begin with mapping the sales and partnership network and defining the target country's marketing strategy. Once the market selections are completed, the operational development of the cooperation network of the two target countries will begin. The network consists of selected galleries, art academies and architectural professional groups in the target countries. The goal is to launch reference projects, validate the digital service software and launch the concept service to the target market. The selection of destination countries is decided taking the cost level into account. In this way, the business model is proven elsewhere and the effects create credibility to access a wider market.

Feedback and suggestions for improvement required for the development of the service are collected through the reference project and stakeholder consultation. Measurable added value and created competitive advantage are measured. Regional feedback channels are being built for citizen feedback.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
Both
PDF
Web link
- https://www.ponsia.fi
- https://www.instagram.com/ponsiaofficial/
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
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Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes