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[2] of the Finnish Institute in London is to identify issues emerging in contemporary society and to facilitate social change. The Institute works with artists, experts, researchers and policy makers in Finland, the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Institute has two main programme strands: Society and Arts & Culture. The Society Programme focuses on promoting openness in society and equal opportunities for all. The Arts & Culture programme is focused on design, architecture and contemporary arts and creating new, unexpected collaborations.

Projects

The Institute has commissioned and produced projects[3] 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[4] 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[5] 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[6] 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![7] 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.

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.

Project links

References

  1. ↑ "ABOUT US". The Finnish Institute in London. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  2. ↑ "MISSION". The Finnish Institute in London. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "What we do". The Finnish Institute in London. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "OPEN KNOWLEDGE FESTIVAL 2012". The Finnish Institute in London. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "HEL/LO – LET'S TALK 2012". The Finnish Institute in London. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "REDDRESS". The Finnish Institute in London. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "HEL YES!". The Finnish Institute in London. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  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.

External links

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