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Posted On: April 29th 2026, 12:30 pm
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Samuli Emery is a dancer, choreographer and artistic director. Their project at Villa Karo included networking with the local dance artists as well as work with rhythms and their emotional and communicative potentials. Samuli ended up working with communities, organising antiracist study groups, meditations, a dance performance, a trash picking event, and a Queer Valentine’s Day party.
Their time at the residency was very productive artistically, perhaps also thanks to the fact that they had enough time to exchange with others. “I made new friends and professional contacts that I hope will last for a long time", they say. Despite describing Villa Karo as an eye-opening experience that they’ll never forget, Samuli always stayed critical towards the institute's work as well as their own. “The luxurious services and facilities of Villa Karo felt strange in contrast to the way of life of the local community. It created a certain class division that made me critically reflect about the position of Villa Karo in the community.” This is a very welcome feedback, as it pushes us to do even better in terms of making the cultural centre more accessible to all members of the Grand-Popo community.
Samuli truly enjoyed working with local collaborators, which resulted in various projects in Grand-Popo and beyond. But it was not always easy, especially when it came to schedules and control. “It felt healthy to work within a culture where there’s trust that things will fall in place and time needs not to be controlled.” From their work in Benin, Samuli hopes to take home with them spiritual insights, humility, respect for plurality, and the delightful experience of being small.
As much as Samuli loved to stay at Villa Karo, they also wish to encourage it to keep developing its work further. “The determined contribution to the radically decolonising structural work seems like a very important direction for Villa Karo.”
Thank you for your stay and the excellent feedback, Samuli - on est ensemble!
Their time at the residency was very productive artistically, perhaps also thanks to the fact that they had enough time to exchange with others. “I made new friends and professional contacts that I hope will last for a long time", they say. Despite describing Villa Karo as an eye-opening experience that they’ll never forget, Samuli always stayed critical towards the institute's work as well as their own. “The luxurious services and facilities of Villa Karo felt strange in contrast to the way of life of the local community. It created a certain class division that made me critically reflect about the position of Villa Karo in the community.” This is a very welcome feedback, as it pushes us to do even better in terms of making the cultural centre more accessible to all members of the Grand-Popo community.
Samuli truly enjoyed working with local collaborators, which resulted in various projects in Grand-Popo and beyond. But it was not always easy, especially when it came to schedules and control. “It felt healthy to work within a culture where there’s trust that things will fall in place and time needs not to be controlled.” From their work in Benin, Samuli hopes to take home with them spiritual insights, humility, respect for plurality, and the delightful experience of being small.
As much as Samuli loved to stay at Villa Karo, they also wish to encourage it to keep developing its work further. “The determined contribution to the radically decolonising structural work seems like a very important direction for Villa Karo.”
Thank you for your stay and the excellent feedback, Samuli - on est ensemble!
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