The Finnish Institute in London

Finnish Institute in London logo

The Finnish Institute in London (Suomen Lontoon instituutti)[1] is a non-profit, private foundation operating within the fields of culture, art and academia. The Institute was founded in 1989, and it operates in the United Kingdom, Finland and the Republic of Ireland. The London-based institute has commissioned, produced and/or collaborated in hundreds of events across these countries.

It is a part of the Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes network which is formed of seventeen independent institutes.

MISSION

The mission of the Finnish Institute in London is to increase awareness about Finnish culture and society in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and to increase co-operation between the countries. In order to reach this goal the Institute identifies emerging issues and strives to make a positive social impact. The Institute provokes its partners to carry out culturally and socially significant actions.

The Finnish Institute in London makes Finnish culture, society and research known by strengthening existing and creating new co-operation and networks in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Finland. The Institute supports the internationalisation of Finnish artists, researchers and other social and cultural actors. The Institute also works towards better utilising international expertise in Finland.

Projects

The Institute has commissioned and produced projects[2] such as Viewpoint, Open Knowledge Festival, HEL/LO Let's Talk, REDDRESS and HEL YES!

Viewpoint

In 2013 the Institute, in close collaboration with The Architecture Foundation, produced a Viewpoint Structure for the London Wildlife Trust. Viewpoint is designed to serve as a viewing platform for the Camley Street Natural Park overlooking Regent's canal. Erkko Aarti & Arto Ollila & Mikki Ristola were chosen to deliver the final design for the structure, which was built and launched in autumn 2013. The Viewpoint competition and commission were a follow-up to the New Architects: Finland_UK exchange programme curated by the Finnish Institute, The Architecture Foundation and Museum of Finnish Architecture in 2012.

Open Knowledge Festival

"THE OPEN BOOK" is a publication on open knowledge edited by Kaitlyn Braybrooke and Jussi Nissilä with Timo Vuorikivi

The Finnish Institute in London organised world's first Open Knowledge Festival[3] Helsinki 17 – 22 September 2012. The event was organised in cooperation with Open Knowledge Foundation and Aalto Media Factory. Open Knowledge Festival was organised to bring together open knowledge experts and actors to build a fair and innovative knowledge society. The festival combined two annual international open knowledge events to Helsinki, Open Government Data Camp, Open Knowledge Conference and numerous satellite events.

HEL/LO Let's Talk

HEL/LO – Let's Talk[4] is a series of talks organised in 2012, bringing together architecture and design professionals for a lively exchange of ideas. Curated by Hanna Harris, Programme Director for Arts & Culture at the Finnish Institute in London, and Blueprint magazine's Senior Writer, Owen Pritchard, HEL/LO aimed to promote dialogue and collaboration between Helsinki and London through an exploration of the design culture in each capital and the pressing issues architects and designers face. Four HEL/LO events took place during the year 2012 between May and September: three of them in London and one in Helsinki. All four events were linked to design events such as London Design Design Week and London Festival of Architecture as well as Helsinki Design Week. HEL/LO - Let's Talk was a part of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 international programme of events.

REDDRESS

Institute commissioned and produced REDDRESS[5] for the London Design Festival 22–25.9.2011. Designed by Aamu Song, REDDRESS is realised in over 550 metres of fabric – and it is worn by a performer who will climb a concealed 1.5 metre staircase to immerse themselves into the billowing material. Reaching an impressive 20 metres in diameter, it can accommodate up to 238 people within the gigantic pockets. In London REDDRESS was exhibited in York Hall with vocalist Emma Salokoski, guitarist and composer Jarmo Saari and the Britten Sinfonia performing for the audience.

REDDRESS is part of Finnish Design Museum’s permanent collection, and REDDRESS London is an international satellite event for World Design Capital Helsinki 2012.

HEL YES!

The Finnish Institute in London commissioned and produced the temporary restaurant and working exhibition HEL YES![6] for the London Design Festival in 2010. The event started programme to promote Finnish design and designers internationally. Built into a disused industrial space in East London, HEL YES! saw 5000 visitors during its three weeks. HEL YES! travelled to Helsinki’s Kalasatama 2011 and to Stockholm Design Week 2012 as part of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 project's programme. HEL YES! was created and produced as part of the Finnish Institute’s Art & Culture Programme's ‘Helsinki-London Design Camp’ project.

WOW Finland 2017

The Finnish Institute in London is organising WOW (Women of the World) Finland event March 2017[7] in Tampere in collaboration with Tampere Hall and feminist think-tank Ajatushautomo Hattu.

WOW is a global cultural project with women’s issues at its heart. It works as a network and gets its ideas from listening to different communities and their needs. WOW Finland will start at Tampere with a think-in event – and similar events will take place during 2016 around Finland in Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Imatra and Vaasa. The process will culminate to the main event at Tampere Hall March 2017.

WOW- Women of the World was developed at London’s Southbank Centre. The international event concept arrives now to Finland and Northern Europe for the first time. The event aims to increase people’s freedom of choice and equality between the sexes, to celebrate Finnish girls and women and strengthen the connection and sense of togetherness between women. The diverse programme deals with topics such as feminism, quotas, domestic violence, women bishops, sex, culture and cuisine.

The WOW Finland’s core team and group of ambassadors consists of top professional Finnish women such as journalist Maria Veitola, activist Maryan Abdulkarim, artist and author Rosa Liksom, Olympic medalist Virpi Sarasvuo and councilor of state Riitta Uosukainen.

The event joins Finland into the international WOW network and it is part of the official Finland 100 anniversary programme.

MOBIUS

MOBIUS is a fellowship programme for visual arts, museum and archive professionals based in New York, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Finland. The programme enables transatlantic mobility and collaborative practices and supports long-lasting professional relationships. MOBIUS is a three-year pilot programme organised by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York (FCINY) and the Finnish Institute in London.

The MOBIUS programme wants to support peer-to-peer learning, meaningful networking and sharing of knowledge. One of the main agendas is to open up and develop current modes of operation in the fields of visual arts, museums and archives: in organisations ranging from up-and-coming to prominent, from independent to institutional.

The programme will carry results such as exhibitions, publications, research, events, and other outcomes that will find their form during the process. The information will be edited as part of a publication that aims to unveil and discuss some of the crucial structures, processes, possibilities and challenges that form the basis of today’s visual arts institutions, museums and archives.

MOBIUS is generously supported by Kone foundation, Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland and Svenska Kulturfonden (The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland).

Artist Residency Programme

The Finnish Institute in London organizes four residency programmes in the UK and Ireland in collaboration with Frame Visual Art Finland and HIAP - Helsinki International Artist Programme. The residencies are based in White Building (Space) in London, Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Wysing Art Centre in Cambridge, Lighthouse in Brighton and Temple Bar Gallery & Studios in Dublin. Each of the residencies has a different focus and therefore they open opportunities for artists from various areas of contemporary art.

Partners

The Institute collaborates closely[8] with the Finnish Embassy in London[9] and the Finnish Embassy in Dublin.[10] It is also a member of EUNIC London,[11] the network of the cultural institutes from the member states of the European Union in London. In most projects, they work with the Finnish Cultural Information Centres. The Finnish Institute is also part of a cluster of 17 Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes.

References

  1. ↑ "ABOUT US". The Finnish Institute in London. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  2. ↑ "What we do". The Finnish Institute in London. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "OPEN KNOWLEDGE FESTIVAL 2012". The Finnish Institute in London. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "HEL/LO – LET'S TALK 2012". The Finnish Institute in London. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "REDDRESS". The Finnish Institute in London. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "HEL YES!". The Finnish Institute in London. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "WOW Finland 2017". The Finnish Institute in London. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  8. ↑ "OUR PARTNERS". The Finnish Institute in London. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Embassy of Finland, London". Finemb.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  10. ↑ "Embassy of Finland, Dublin". Finland.ie. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  11. ↑ "eunic-london.org". eunic-london.org. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
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