You can visit Dr. Taishi Watanabe’s exhibition Unity Architecture in Finland and Japan -3 Projects, 3 Exhibitions, 18 Objects- through this online presentation. The exhibition was held in Tokyo’s Metsä Pavilion in September 2021, but due to the state of emergency could not be opened to public. On the video Dr. Watanabe discusses the exhibition with the director of the Finnish Institute in Japan, Dr. Anna-Maria Wiljanen.

The exhibition is on display in Espoo, Finland, in Aalto University’s Learning Center Lobby Gallery 7.–20.10.2021, and will continue to Germany in 2022.
For more information visit http://www.f.waseda.jp/watanabetaishi/kougei.html.

Video: Akiko Osaki
Photo: Taishi Watanabe

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of autonomy of the Åland islands, The Finnish Institute in Japan holds an Åland 100-themed online lecture series. The lectures will be held in Zoom in English and are interpreted in Japanese. Pre-registration to the lectures is via Peatix.

Upcoming lectures:

Photo: FIJ

The Northern Alps Art Festival in Nagano’s Omachi City is featuring two Finnish artists this year, Maaria Wirkkala and Milla Vaahtera. Their works are on view between October 2nd and November 21st. The Finnish Institute in Japan is hosting online artist talks with the artists

Milla Vaahtera on Wednesday September 29th at 5pm
Maaria Wirkkala on Thursday October 7th at 5pm

Please join us to hear them talk about their artistry and works on the festival, you can register via Peatix:
Milla Vaahtera artist talk: https://vaahteratalk.peatix.com
Maaria Wirkkala artist talk: https://wirkkalatalk.peatix.com

Milla Vaahtera (b. 1981) is an artist and furniture designer, who graduated as a Master of Arts in 2010 from Aalto University, the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. She works at the interfaces of sculpture and design.
Her work in Northern Alps Art Festival is Lintumaa (Birdland), an installation of glass and brass sculptures inspired by the small flora of the forest floor. Imaginary plant sculptures are large and they react to the forest around them by colour, sound and movement.

Maaria Wirkkala (b. 1954) is known for her site-specific installations. She has taken part in numerous art festivals around the world and in Japan, i.e. Echigo Tsumari Art Triennial, Yokohama Triennial and Setouchi Triennial, and had her solo exhibition in Tokyo in 2017. She has represented Finland in the Venice Biennial twice, and received numerous art awards and honours.
Her work in Northern Alps Art Festival is an installation with two unoccupied cottages on the shore of Lake Nakatsuna. The work draws its inspiration from an old local legend of temple bells, that were destroyed by an earthquake long ago but can still be heard today, and from the local history of salt road.

Photo: Milla Vaahtera: Birdland installation, 2021. Photo: Hannakaisa Pekkala

Place: Online (Zoom) until further notice.
Time: Each course every other Friday 15:00–17:00 JST
Beginners’ course: 24.9., 8.10., 22.10., 5.11., 19.11., 3.12., 17.12.
Advanced course: 17.9., 1.10., 15.10., 29.10., 12.11., 26.11., 10.12.
Course fee: 14,000JPY
Teachers: Raija Okuda, Raija Hashimoto
Textbook for absolute beginners: ニューエクスプレスプラス　フィンランド語（山川亜古・白水社）, for Advanced course, Selkosanomat and other material provided by the teachers
Cancellation policy: No refund after enrolling.

The registration is now open! The maximum number of participants for the beginners course is 20 and for the Advanced course is 15, so act fast! The students register for the whole course and will purchase the course material themselves. Register by Monday 13th September 2021, by sending your name and e-mail to info@finstitute.jp. You will get a confirmation e-mail.

Nähdään kurssilla! Lämpimästi tervetuloa!

Photo: Shutterstock

To spotlight the Paralympic Games, a celebration of excellence, courage and life, EUNIC Japan is organizing a Paralympics Photo Exhibition entitled “Spirit in Motion-for Diversity & Inclusion”. “Spirit in Motion” is the official motto of the Paralympic Games, introduced in 2004.

In order to contribute to the recognition of the achievements and raising awareness of the athletes who compete in the Paralympic Games, as well as highlighting the importance of disability inclusion, EUNIC Japan is holding “Spirit in Motion” in summer 2021 in partnership with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government at their Tosei Gallery at its main building in Shinjuku.

Finnish photographer Miikka Kiminki has captured the moments and spirit of recurring paralympic champion, Leo-Pekka Tähti, a true embodyment of “Spirit in Motion”.

Spirit in Motion-for Diversity & Inclusion

18th of August to 6th of September 2021 – Weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00
Tokyo Metropolitan Government at their Tosei Gallery – Free entry

Miikka Kiminki

Miikka is a 37 year old professional freelance photographer and has studied photography in the Arts Academy at Turku University of Applied Sciences. He currently lives in Pori, Finland. He is passionate to tell people’s stories through portrait photography, often trying to capture emotions and movements in his photos, which the naked eye cannot easily see.

Leo-Pekka Tähti

Leo-Pekka Tähti is clearly a top athlete who always strives to win the competitions. He trains very hard and always sets his goals as high as possible. Leo-Pekka has often proven to be one of the best in the world and the fastest on the track. His commitment and passion for the sport, and life itself is obvious for anyone to see. All the photos are taken in Pori, the city where Leo-Pekka was born, and started training sports.

All photos taken by Miikka Kiminki.

Welcome to the on-line seminar Sustainable Design from Finland on Friday August 20th between 3pm and 6pm. Speakers include textile designer of the year 2021 Erja Hirvi, lecturer at Aalto university Markus Joutsela, architect Pekka Helin and many other top professionals of their field. Full speaker line up and registration throught the event website: https://sustainabledesignfromfinland.com/

The seminar is free and will be held in English.

– Patterns and Forms Inspired by Nature

The legacy of modernism is still strongly present in the day-to-day lives of Finns. The Finnish Design for Everyday Life – Patterns and Forms Inspired by Nature exhibition showcases this history, design and art of modernism from the 1930s to the 1970s. The exhibition sheds a light on the evolution of Finnish design into a well-known phenomena while also offering glimpses into the Helsinki of artists and designers, where Tove Jansson, amongst others, left her mark with her commissioned works and art pieces. The success stories of the Finnish art industry at the New York World’s Fair in 1939 and in the Milan Triennials in the 1950s also have their moments in the spotlight. The exhibition also presents the Finnish textile industry to the Japanese audience, showcasing the successful histories of Marimekko and the Finlayson and Tampella factories.

Nature is still very much present in the Finnish way of life and the day-to-day life. The exhibition studies how various flora and fauna, the different seasons and natural phenomena have inspired artists, photographers, architects and designers. Their experiences of nature manifest in their art, the unique items of the art industry as well as in industrial serial production. The diversity and organicity of nature are reflected on the pieces and works of the exhibition; the posters, photographs, glass and ceramics art, fashion photos and advertisements, textiles, furniture, dishes, paintings and drawings.

The exhibition contains about 300 art works and items from nearly 40 different Finnish artists and designers. In addition to Alvar Aalto, Ilmari Tapiovaara, Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva, Kaj Franck, Michael Schilkin and Birger Kaipiainen, the exhibition showcases a group of influential women designers, such as Aino Aalto, Dora Jung, Eva Taimi, Eva Anttila, Saara Hopea, Gunnel Nyman, Helena Tynell, Nanny Still, Uhra-Beata Simberg-Ehrström, Rut Bryk, Toini Muona, Kyllikki Salmenhaara and Marjatta Metsovaara, who all deserve international attention also during these modern times.

In addition to the collections of the HAM Helsinki Art Museum, items and works in the exhibition have been borrowed from the following collections: The Alvar Aalto Museum/Alvar Aalto Foundation, Design Museum, Helsinki City Museum, Kakkonen Collection, Moomin Characters Ltd, The Finnish Museum of Photography, Vapriikki and private collections.

The exhibition has been curated by HAM curator Heli Harni, with Harri Kalha, PhD, serving as an expert.

Finnish Design for Everyday Life – Patterns and Forms Inspired by Nature
The Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo
September 11th − November 28th 2021
For more information, please visit the museum’s website.

This exhibition has previously been shown in
Tottori Prefectural Museum, Tottori October 10th – November 15th 2020
Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Fukuoka June 26th – August 29th 2021
and it will continue to
Bunkamura, Tokyo December 7th 2021 – January 30th 2022

Photo: Tsutomu Miura / Tottori Prefectural Museum

In May 2021 the Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes announced a new ‘Together Alone 2.0’ open call for art projects in order to help the art scene battle challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic. The open call was aimed at artists and creative workers whose activities and livelihood have been adversely affected by the pandemic. Out of over 140 applications eight projects have been selected that investigate new ways of working and thinking in this difficult time.

“We received high quality applications from many different fields of art. The selected commissions range from AI-sound art to ecological fashion, to podcasts and contemporary circus. The emphasis is on community-engaged art and on international collaboration”, says Pauliina Ståhlberg, the Director of the Finnish Cultural Institute in Madrid.

We are grateful for all the applications that we received. It is impressive to see how artists from around the world are reflecting on the global crisis and the state of emergency through art, and how they are doing this together across borders.

The following projects will be commissioned for Together Alone 2.0:
• Minna Pöllänen and Bang Geul Han: Talk Me Tender
• Anni Puolakka and Ellie Hunter: Inside Eye, Mother Compost
• Jani Kaila and Maarten Wentholt: Veerkracht
• Meriam Trabelsi and Caroline Suinner, Pehmee Kollektiivi: Safer Spaces For Unhad Conversations
• Johanna Rotko: The Nature of Microbes
• David Kozma: The Middle Eastern Bloc podcast Presents Spring ’ 21
• Jaana Pirskanen and Jukka Vallisto: Together Alone In Time
• Milena Oksanen, Diego Machado and José Filgueira: Beatland (A Circus Dream)

By following the Institutes’ social media channels and the #TogetherAloneFi hashtag, you will from August onwards be able to explore all the selected Together Alone 2.0 projects.

More information:
Pauliina Ståhlberg
Director, The Finnish Cultural Institute in Madrid
pauliina.stahlberg(at)madrid.fi
+34 91 444 44 14

Jaakko Nousiainen
Director, The Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland
+44 (0)7711004801
jaakko.nousiainen(at)fininst.uk