News
12/2/2010
Jan Förster is the new director of the Finnish-Norwegian Institute
Art consevator Jan Förster (b. 1971) has been appointed as the director
of the Finnish-Norwegian Institute. He starts in his new position on
April 12, 2010.
Förster has previously worked in some of the leading museums and
galleries in Finland as well as in the field of art logistics. His
previous position was as a conservator at the EMMA – Espoo Museum of
Modern Art.
13/1/2010
Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future - architecture exhibition
Museum of the City of New York, 10/11/2009-31/01/2010
Public programs in conjunction with the
exhibition, January 2010
16/11/2009
The Finnish-Norwegian Institute is looking for a new director
The application period ends on December 15. More information
5/11/2009
Harriet Lonka is the new director of Finnagora
MA Harriet Lonka has been appointed as the new director of FinnAgora - center for Finnish culture, science and economics in Hungary. Her three-year term begins on January 1, 2010.
Open position at the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York
The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York is looking for a new executive director. The application period ends on November 24. More information (in Finnish)
Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future - architecture exhibition
Museum of the City of New York, 10/11/2009-31/01/2010
Public programs in conjunction with the
exhibition, November-December
13/10/2009
Elina Sajakorpi has passed away
The director of the Finnish-Norwegian Institute Elina Sajakorpi
died unexpectedly the night before Sunday, October 11 in her home in
Oslo.
The affairs of the institute are handled until the end of the year by
culture producer Pauliina Gauffin.
The inauguration of the institute’s new, fine premises in the centre of
Oslo took nevertheless place according to plan but in a sad atmosphere
on Monday, October 12. The institute’s new address is Kristian Augusts
gate 5, 0164 Oslo.
11/9/2009
Changes in directors
The next director of the Finnish Institute in Germany for the years
2010-2012 will be Dr. Anna-Maija Mertens (b. 1975). She has
graduated from the Sibelius high school in Helsinki that focuses on
music education. Her studies at the University of Münster included a
major in political science and minors in economics and history.
MA Riitta Heinämäki (b. 1962) has been appointed the new director
of the Finnish Institute in Estonia. She has previously worked as the
director of the Nordic house in Reykjavik, as a senior advisor of the
Nordic Council of Ministers in Copenhagen and in several important
positions at the Theatre Academy Helsinki. Her three-year term begins in
January 2010.
The current director of the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York Ms.
Juulia Kauste has been chosen the new director of the
Museum of Finnish Architecture starting
from January 2010.
The current director of Finnagora (Budapest) Ms. Anneli Temmes starts as
the CEO of
HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd
at the beginning of 2010.
24/6/2009
The Finnish Institute in London
Residencies provide artists with an opportunity for an international breakthrough, according to the new survey conducted by the Finnish Institute in London.
The Institute has been actively developing artist residency projects in the United Kingdom and Ireland since 2002.
The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York
European and American opinion
makers gathered in New York for a three-day symposium Islam in Europe
– Insult: Fractured States? to talk about the current state of
multiculturalism in Europe. Finland was represented by Mohamed El-Fatatry,
the founder of social-site community Muxlim.com. The Islam in Europe
event was organized in cooperation by LIVE from the New York Public
Library and European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) of
which the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York is a member.
Read more (in Finnish)
23/4/2009
Institute network’s next meeting
The Finnish cultural and academic institutes get together for their spring meeting in Copenhagen on May 11-13. The topics to be discussed during the meeting include the cooperation between the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), country branding, and international fundraising.
The institutes get together twice a year. The spring meeting is hosted each year by a different institute, the host this year being The Finnish Cultural Institute in Copenhagen. According to tradition, the autumn meeting will be held in the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Institute in Hanasaari. This year, the meeting in Hanasaari will take place on October 5-7. In the spring of 2010, the institute network’s meeting will be held in Brussels and hosted by the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux.
The annual meeting of the Association of the Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes
The annual meeting was held on March 13 at the offices of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in Helsinki. The annual meeting elected the Executive Committee of the Association for 2009. Committee members are:
Markku Löytönen,
Chair, the Finnish Institute in Japan
Kalevi Kivistö, Vice-Chair, FinnAgora
Päivi Bergroth
Gunvor Kronman, Hanasaari - Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre
Juha Sihvola, Institutum Romanum Finlandiae
Jaana Vasama, the Finnish Institute in Estonia.
After the annual meeting, Under-Secretary of State Antti Sierla from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland talked about the cooperation between the institutes and the Finnish diplomatic missions. Mr. Sierla is currently preparing a report on Finnish representation abroad.
Activities of the institutes
The institutes’ websites contain up-to-date information on their activities. To access the information, click the links on the left bar.
Program for the Finnish Institute in Germany May-September 2009 (in German)
Playful - New Finnish Design in New York
Older news
”Mental Finland” by Kristian Smeds in Brussels
Kristian Smeds’s newest play ”Mental Finland” will premier in the Royal Flemish Theatre (www.kvs.be) in Brussels on February 11. It is a joint production by Smeds Ensemble and the Roayl Flemish Theatre in cooperation with the Capitals of Culture Vilnius and Linz.
Smeds Ensemble’s first big international production has been prepared for and rehearsed since last autumn in Helsinki and Brussels. The play will be performed in Finnish with subtitles in French, Dutch, and English.
Read more
http://www.mentalfinland.com
The new institute building of the Finnish Institute in Damascus
The Finnish institute in Damascus inaugurated its new institute building after a culturally and historically significant renovation. The new institute is located in Old Damascus, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The inauguration attracted both Syrian and Finnish guests. The events of the inauguration weekend were attended by almost 80 Finnish guests. The institute was officially inaugurated by the Syrian Minister of Culture Riad Nasaan Agha, and the speakers of the inaugural events included Secretary of State Pertti Torstila from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Director of International Relations Jaana Palojärvi from the Ministry of Education of Finland, Head of European Commission Delegation in Bagdad Ilkka Uusitalo, and Chancellor of the University of Helsinki Ilkka Niiniluoto.
The renovation was funded by Finnish organizations and carried out with the help of Finnish and Syrian experts. The purchase of the building was funded by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation, while the renovation, which was carried out using traditional methods, was funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, the University of Helsinki, Åbo Akademi University Foundation, and the William Thuring Foundation.
The new institute is located near Bab Sharqi, the East Gate of the biblical Straight Street (Via Recta). The two-story building surrounds two courtyards. On the ground floor are located the institute’s offices, class room and library, while the upper floor has five guest rooms.
Finnish guitar makers in Brussels
Brosella Guitar Fair was held in Brussels on October 26. The representatives of four Finnish instrument makers participated in the fair with the assistance of the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux.
New director for the Finnish Institute in Rome
Katariina Mustakallio, adjunct professor and lecturer from the University of Tampere, has been appointed the new director of the Finnish Institute in Rome from August 1, 2009. Mustakallio is a researcher of social history who specializes in the position of women and children in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. In the institute, her research topic is Religion, childhood, youth – socialisation during the Roman Republic and early Empire. Mustakallio’s research is part of the project Religion and Children. Socialisation in Pre-modern Europe from the Roman Empire to the Christian World, led by her and financed by the Academy of Finland. Katariina Mustakallio succeeds Kaj Sandberg, Ph.D., whose term as director ends on 31 July, 2009.
Institute network’s strategy 2008-2013
was adopted on 26 February, 2008 at the annual meeting of the Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes. Read more (in Finnish)