Since the summer of 2024, SWAMP has been actively collecting materials. Current donors include institutions such as the Helsinki Art Museum, EMMA Museum, Amos Rex, Kohta, Helsingin Taidehalli, IHME, PUBLICS, Feminist Culture House, NO NIIN Magazine, Helsinki Urban Art, and others, as well as over 40 individuals—artists, craftspeople, designers, and producers (the full list is available on the project’s landing page). Pick-ups are organized regularly, occurring 2-5 times per month. Although most of the time we work with professional freelance loaders, we try to hire our colleagues from the art field to do pick-ups when possible, thus supporting peers with additional income opportunities.

With the soft launch event in October 2024, we opened our doors to the public. Since then, 5-15 visitors per day, three days a week. Demand is high—not only for receiving but also for donating materials. We receive about 2-4 donation requests per week from individuals and art institutions. Since October 10th, and until December 5th, we were visited by 246 artists and art workers. Our visitors rescued over 2100 items, including 143 l of paint, 176 MDF and chipboard panels of various sizes, 207 plywood beams, 164 sheets or rolls of paper, 72 pieces of textile, and many more.

Among other activities, we have established the association Swamp Swap ry to manage the project, with Vera Kavaleuskaya, Adel Kim, and Margarita Leonenko as active members. We plan to expand the board next year. As an organization, we have already joined the Vihreätaide Sustainable Visual Arts Network.

We have received very positive and supportive feedback from both donors and users — both online and in person. Moreover, most visitors were able to find something they were looking for or were inspired by what we had available. They also note that it is a relief to know that there is a place to donate their materials if they are no longer needed. Overall, we are convinced that the project is both necessary and long-awaited, and we are proud to finally offer this solution to art organizations and workers.

Given the scale of the materials flow, at this stage of the project’s development, we have identified the following challenges:

Storage space needs
A larger storage space or additional space is urgently needed. The main storage and office of Swamp Swap, located in Länsi-Pasila, is a three-floor space of 69 m², with ceiling heights ranging from 2.5 to 4.3 meters depending on the floor. After just two months of collecting significant quantities of large materials, we have reached full storage capacity. To address this, we rented an additional 8 m² storage unit at Cityvarasto, but it was fully occupied within a month.

The willingness to collaborate from major art institutions and the volume of materials available after exhibition demolitions have exceeded our expectations. During each museum pick-up, we typically receive dozens of full or cut boards of plywood, chipboard, or MDF, as well as 2–3-meter-long lumber beams, pedestals, and buckets of paint. However, the distribution of large-scale wooden, glass, and metal materials, along with specific exhibition equipment and furniture (such as pedestals and lighting), occurs at a slower rate than the materials are being collected.

At this stage, we do not have the budget to rent a larger space, but we are actively seeking additional funding.

High frequency of pick-ups
The high frequency of pick-ups is challenging for the budget. Rescuing materials post-exhibition requires swift action, as institutions typically have only a day or two to clear materials from a previous exhibition to prepare for the next one. Many exhibition venues have limited storage space, making it impractical for them to hold materials for future use or donations. Consequently, if not rescued immediately, these materials are often sent to a landfill.
So far, we have managed to collect all the materials offered, but this may become unsustainable as the project grows.

Insufficient labor force
Although we strictly adhere to the working hours agreed upon within the working group, we recognize that two people cannot efficiently handle all aspects of the work, including strategizing, communication, paperwork, greeting visitors, and managing inventory. We are currently arranging work try-outs supported by the city to involve other art workers in the project.

The project is progressing according to plan, with minor adjustments to the timeline. As proposed in our application, we leased the office and storage space in March, furnished it, and organized it. Between March and May, the visual identity was developed, and since September, the website has been under development. We reached out to institutional partners and made agreements with them for the pick-up of materials. Material collection began in August, continued actively through September, and we were able to open to the public in October.

Regarding changes to the project, these mainly concern the side activities. For instance, although stated in the application, the final version of the website will not be interactive due to budget constraints. We did not organize workshops or commission research papers this year, as the budget was allocated to urgent needs. Nevertheless, we hope to revisit these ideas in 2025. Unfortunately, we also had to abandon plans for an open call for art production for this and next year, again due to financial limitations.

We have successfully established an information infrastructure for the project. The landing web page has been online since June 2024, with a full website launch planned by the beginning of 2025. The project’s Instagram account, instagram.com/swamp_swap/, was launched in August and has grown to more than 1,400 followers by mid-December 2024.

We reach our audience through accounts of other organizations, such as Globe Art Point, IHME, and Kulttuuri Kaikille, which have shared posts about us. The main Facebook art swap page in the capital region, Roinaränni, has also provided its platform to inform artists about our project. Additionally, we presented the project at one of the meetings of the Sustainable Visual Arts Network, Vihreä Taide.

It is worth mentioning that, at this point, as the project becomes increasingly familiar within the local art scene, more and more visitors are also finding us through recommendations from their colleagues.

In 2024, we spent €1,601.53 on furniture and equipment for the office and storage, including storage shelves, industrial carpets for floor protection, a ladder, etc., and €118.88 on miscellaneous expenses. A significant portion of our spending is the transportation fee for pick-up delivery, which is currently €3,124. The cost of the designer’s services, including visual identity and website design, amounts to €5,984.40. The website development cost is €3,675.

We spent €50 on proofreading, €350 on technical consultations, €475 on building additional shelves, and €655 on accounting. The registration of the association cost €55.

Office rental began in March, resulting in a total of €10,400, which includes a €1,600 refundable deposit. Additional storage space at Cityvarasto has been rented since September, with a total cost of €835. Subscriptions, such as Adobe Photoshop, domain and hosting, and email services, cost €219. Communication tools, including Wi-Fi and mobile phone expenses, totaled €166. Catering (snacks for meetings and guests) cost €108.