Wonderwater Frozen Lights will be a dramatic installation of ice lanterns in Helsinki’s Senate Square to celebrate the Open Doors Weekend of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012.

The display will help raise awareness of the water footprint. Two massive ice blocks from Lapland each represent the water footprint of 3 873 litres used daily per person in Finland, while 150 litre ice lanterns represent the domestic use per person in Finland.

Illuminating the darkest season of the year, Wonderwater has invited designers and architects to sculpt lanterns on site. The designer teams include: Artek Studio, Ilkka Suppanen, Team Brita Flander, Sebastian Jansson & MottoWasabi, Architect Group A6 and Team Aalto University. In the sprit of WDC Helsinki 2012 theme of openness and collaboration, the people of Helsinki are invited to participate by designing their own ice lantern and bringing it to the event or share their designs on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/wonderwaterevents. A jury will award prizes to the best Frozen Light design in each class.

Wonderwater and WWF Finland Wonderwater is joining forces with WWF Finland to raise awareness of the water footprint. ”Finland is one of the richest countries when it comes to water resources. A significant part of the products that Finns use, like groceries and cotton, however, originate in areas with limited water resources. Our consumption habits affect the state of water environment. WWF wishes to devote more attention to tackling the issue of the water footprint in Finland. Together with Wonderwater, we can illustrate this issue in an interesting way”, says Jussi Nikula, WWF Finland Program Manager.

Schedule 4 Feb. 9 am – 4 pm Watch Frozen Light design workshops (by invitation) in Senate Square 12 – 4.30 pm Bring your own ice lantern to Senate Square 4.30 pm Lighting of Frozen Lights 5 – 6 pm Jury evaluation + prize ceremony

 

Helsinki, Finland – A new Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki would make a distinct contribution to Finland’s cultural landscape, according to the concept and development study that representatives of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation delivered officially on Tuesday morning, January 10, to Mayor Jussi Pajunen. The study was commissioned by the City of Helsinki a year ago to explore the possibility of creating a new Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki.

No decisions have been made regarding the proposal that is set forth in the study. The City Board and the City Council of Helsinki will review the recommendations of the study over the next weeks, in a public process that will extend at least into February 2012. The City of Helsinki will then decide whether to move to the next phase of the project. At that time, the Board of the Guggenheim Foundation, in consultation with representatives of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, will also formally decide whether to endorse moving ahead.

The report by the Guggenheim study team proposes that a museum would be built on a City-owned site along the South Harbor waterfront, where the Kanava Terminal Building currently stands. The total area of the museum would be approximately 12,000 square meters (129,000 square feet), with 3,920 square meters (42,000 square feet) devoted to exhibition galleries.

The estimated construction costs of the building and its design would be approximately €140 million. The mid-range estimated attendance for a museum is 500,000 – 550,000 visits per year, of which approximately 300,000 visits would be by Finnish residents. Helsinki anticipates funding the project through a combination of public, private, and corporate sources.

The study finds that international exhibitions and programs of a new museum likely would not overlap with those of existing Helsinki institutions. Moreover, a new museum would give the city a signature space that symbolizes Helsinki’s aspirations to be a cultural capital. According to the study, a museum would powerfully contribute to the Finnish arts community by acting as an artistic center that convenes and collaborates with Helsinki’s other institutions and that draws greater global attention to Helsinki’s cultural contributions.

The new institution would help contextualize Finnish art, design, and architecture within the broader tradition of modern art while presenting Finnish audiences with artworks from around the world. A Guggenheim Helsinki would have a stronger focus on architecture and design than other Guggenheim affiliates. As the newest affiliate, Helsinki would also be able to play a unique role in testing new approaches and technologies that could eventually benefit other members of the global network (and museums around the world) through Finland’s uniquely advanced technological networks and educated population.

Although the Guggenheim’s mission statement includes all “manifestations of visual culture” within its institutional mandate, architecture, and specifically design, have infrequently been featured in the Guggenheim’s programs and exhibitions. Precisely because of its historic connections to advanced painting and sculpture, the Guggenheim would offer new audiences in Helsinki access to the broad, transnational practices that characterize contemporary art. Just as Helsinki would in turn open doors to subjects and practices, and artists not well known to the Guggenheim, the Guggenheim would open doors for Helsinki to access the global art community.

Moreover, a museum would be likely to increase cultural tourism and so would have the potential to increase overall attendance at other Helsinki arts institutions.

The study recommends that a Guggenheim Helsinki be largely a non-collecting institution. It would incorporate some conventional elements of an art museum while pushing the boundaries of process, presentation, and audience engagement. The museum potentially would present two to three major and three to five smaller exhibitions each year, supplemented by short-term non-traditional programs and an innovative education program.

The study also recommends that a new museum absorb some of the functions currently performed by the Helsinki Art Museum. The collections and public art functions of the Helsinki Art Museum would be continued and further developed under the auspices of a division of the City of Helsinki dedicated to this purpose. The exhibitions and education functions now performed by the Helsinki Art Museum would be developed as part of the mission and operations of the proposed Guggenheim Helsinki.

If all parties accept the study’s recommendations and resolve to move ahead, an international competition would be organized to select an architect for the new Museum.

“Helsinki now has an incredible possibility that we should embrace,” stated Jussi Pajunen, the Mayor of Helsinki. “As the study shows, a Guggenheim Museum would be a distinct place in Finland´s cultural landscape.”

“A Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki would benefit the whole Finnish museums and arts field. It would strengthen Helsinki’s position as a Nordic cultural capital and bring more cultural tourists to Helsinki from Finland, Scandinavia, Russia, the Baltic States and other parts of the world. The study’s calculations clearly state that investment in the proposed Guggenheim would also be worthwhile economically. The long-term effects will benefit both the City of Helsinki and Finland as a whole.”

“I would like to give particular thanks to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, members of the study team, and all the others who have participated in discussions and think tanks and contributed with their expertise and ideas for the study,” Pajunen said.

“A Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki, realized according to the recommendations presented in the study, would complement and build upon the spirit of innovation, experimentation, entrepreneurship and social consciousness that has helped Finland become and thrive as an advanced democratic society. This new museum’s role as a space of learning, education, artistic production and social exchange is fundamental to its mission. As an affiliate of an international network, a Guggenheim Museum would open a unique opportunity to both absorb new cultural impulses, and to develop and share with others globally recognized achievements and best practices of the Finnish school system, other civic organizations and the Finnish public and private sectors in general,” said Tuula Haatainen, Helsinki’s Deputy Mayor (Education, Culture and Personnel Affairs).

“The recommendations outlined in the study indicate that the City would allocate even greater resources to promote Finnish arts than it now does. I think it is a great idea that the Helsinki Art Museum’s exhibitions management would move to and be developed as part of a Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki. However, the Helsinki Art Museum’s collections management, new acquisitions, and their display would continue under the City and be developed further. By giving artists, designers and architects access to major international networks, and by promoting new types of conversations of the arts, a Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki would offer global exposure and unprecedented opportunities to practitioners in the field of visual culture in Finland as well as in the Baltic and Nordic regions in general,” Haatainen said.

“With gratitude to the Finnish people and their public officials for their interest in the Guggenheim and its global network, we are very pleased to deliver our concept and development study to the City of Helsinki today,” stated Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. “We undertook this work in the conviction that the information and insight it would produce could be of great value for both Helsinki and the Guggenheim. We are confident that this report will justify the high expectations of our commission.”

“Our year of conducting on-site research, developing ideas, and holding in-depth conversations with a multitude of partners was highlighted by the many rewarding dialogues with Finnish artists, members of the public, and cultural leaders,” stated Ari Wiseman, Deputy Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. “One of the rewards of this study will be a closer ongoing relationship between the staff of the Guggenheim and the cultural community of Helsinki.”

“We know Helsinki’s elected officials and citizens will thoroughly and thoughtfully review the study over the coming weeks, as they move toward a decision on whether to proceed to the next stage,” stated Juan Ignacio Vidarte, Deputy Director and Chief Officer for Global Strategies, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. “Our confidence in the breadth and transparency of the public process in Finland was in fact one of the major factors that motivated the study’s recommendations. We look forward to the discussion.”

The City of Helsinki hosted a Study Presentation Seminar at Finlandia Hall to review the results of the study before an invited audience of members of the Helsinki City Council and other elected officials, representatives of the state administration, key figures in the museum and cultural field in Finland and members of the media. Presentations were made by Ari Wiseman, Deputy Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and Juan Ignacio Vidarte, Deputy Director and Chief Officer for Global Strategies, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Mayor Jussi Pajunen, Deputy Mayor Tuula Haatainen; and Janne Gallen-Kallela-Sirén, Director of the Helsinki Art Museum. The Study Presentation Seminar was chaired by Pekka Timonen, Executive Director of World Design Capital Helsinki.

The study in its entirety and more information on this project and images is accessible at http://www.hel.fi/guggenheim-study.

 

NZELA is a sturdy modular table set made of grade A birch plywood. Plywood is used instead of plain solid wood because of its better resistance to the effects caused by humidity. The no-tool setup takes a mere 3 minutes per table and you may seamlessly conjoin – in whichever direction – as many tables. Storage is also easy – simply disassemble and place the table parts in a neat pile.

NZELA may not only be used for dining but also as a conference table, a statement piece for the lobby or for an unofficial ping-pong match, to mention. There is ample legroom and a toddler’s high chair fits perfectly too.

You may choose from 3 tabletop colors – red/white, blue/white or yellow/white. Additionally, the visual appearance (the glossiness or hues of the colors) may be personalized; and the table parts can be re-arranged to suit any space or taste. The De Stijl movement inspired this objet d’art. The name Nzela is Luganda for Angella in homage to my grandmother.

Material: Birch Plywood Length: 148 cm Height: 74 cm Width: 148 cm Weight: 95 kg

KAYIWA manufactures its products to very high standards and we guarantee that they will perform well for many years. Accordingly, we warranty all the products for the period of 10 years.

For more information, visit www.kayiwa.fi

 

On a window has been elected a burlesque cartoon depicting a head of Perussuomalaiset Timo Soini

Soini head was connected to naked cartoon pig’s body. Next to apparently computer drawing was written: Roh, röh.

Also, the election window was scratched.

• True Finns have made a case of a complaint, “says the Helsinki District board incumbent Toni Paussu.

According to him, vandalism is about the fear and the suppression of the True Finns.

• We are trying to ignore cartoons by this, we do not make themselves responsible. This is cowardly. If someone has something to say, should then be go to square and say it openly, Timo Paussu said.

Based in Helsinki, the Finnish electoral office has been up since February. Now it was again vandalized.

Soini: Represents the stupidity

IS reached Timo Soini to comment last night’s event.

• It’s about frustration and stupidity. It is right that it has been reported to the police, because the district election office has been damaged.

Soini says he suspecting the past couple of weeks ago that the game is increasing and becomes dirty parliamentary elections are approaching.

• We should not overreact and lose the nerves and allow publicity to such (vandals) .

Soini also says that he has been ever a subject of caricatures.

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/vaalit2011/Vaalisota%20kiihtyy%20Soinista%20tehtiin%20sika!/art-1288378418820.html

 

Zengrow garden wall indoor garden is a Finnish invention, which allows for clean and fresh food for growing plants indoors all year round. Zengrow take advantage of clean and efficient aquaculture technology. Wall garden can multiply the trade of herbal and salad plants harvest.

 

JOLIER´s fall 2011 collection Emma & Coco has been revealed.The elegant dresses have a female agent motif. “The idea was to combine the modern woman with a retro female military officer esthetic. “I want to empower women, make them beautiful and seductive yet dominant and dangerous… give them a certain confidence”, describes Sveta Planman,designer and CEO of JOLIER. Inspiration includes the 2008 French film Les femmes de l’ombre and Salt (2010).

Emma & Coco is a continuation of the JOLIER transformable line previously represented by the Paris London Milan New York collection. Emma, the shorter of the two dresses, transforms from wide to pencil and Coco´s length from maxi to mini. Sleeves in both models transform from short to long. This functionality offers the wearer a multitude of looks to choose from. Coco with its long helm and collar mirrors the idea of the male business suit. Materials are a sophisticated wool mix, an always stylish black, and a black/nude lace.

To continue with the the agent theme Emma & Coco were shot in the historical Mannerheim suite in Hotel Kämp Helsinki. Noted fashion photographer Liisa Valonen created a subtle dialog between subject and setting leading to the final images that portray the collection in a dramatic and cinematic way. Emma & Coco arrives in stores on the 1st of August and joins the previous continuous JOLIER collections.

 

Helsinki turns darkness into a setting for light art The Finnish capital celebrates the darkest days of the year with the Season of Light city festival.

The Season of Light city festival turned the Helsinki city center into an inspiring journey of light from New Year’s eve through January 9, 2011. A series of installations transformed familiar city neighborhoods with the help of light art into mystical environments and stimulating experiences, presenting Helsinki’s historic city center in new perspectives.

The journey started from Village of Light by Jouko Kärkkäinen in the Esplanade Park, consisting of glowing minimalistic miniature houses.

A tall cross in front of the iconic Helsinki Cathedral displayed Mercy, a media artwork by Finnish light artist Mikki Kunttu featuring powerful images of the Christian faith created by LED technology. The work was accompanied by music that filled the square, and it was supported by light effects projected onto surrounding buildings.

Starting from Senate Square, the Unioninkatu street displayed 100 years by German artist Martin Kuhn. The street, closed to traffic, was illuminated by special light columns utilizing LED technology to produce a performance of rhythmically changing colors and combinations of light accentuated by sound. Along the route of 100 years, the fire circus group Walkea gave performances that celebrated the beauty of fire.

The journey of light continued through the Kaivopuisto Park. Here Finnish lighting designer Tülay Schakir’s Good Light – Bad Light highlighted the park’s natural features with illuminated trees and changing lights of various colors.

The Sanoma media corporation’s headquarters building hosted Stage Emotions, a photo exhibition by German photographer Ralph Larmann featuring light design for stage including rock concerts, opera and shows.

The journey ended at Parliament House with Soul of Suomi (“soul of Finland”) by Swedish light artist Per Sundin, who bathed the front of the building with Finnish national symbols and colors.

The Season of Light city festival is an annual event produced by the City of Helsinki with the city’s energy company Helsingin Energia as a founding partner.

Helsinki is World Design Capital 2012, so designated by the Industrial Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid). The biennial designation recognizes one city at a time for achievements and commitment to design as an effective tool for social, cultural and economic progress.

Helsinki’s theme for the year 2012 is Open Helsinki – Embedding Design in Life, which reflects how Finnish society has been shaped and continues to move forward on principles where design plays crucial and inherent roles.

 

This Open Call is for artworks and other projects to be presented in Camp Pixelache 2011 lab/exhibition in several venues on Suomenlinna island during two days (Saturday 13 March – Sunday 14 March).

The deadline for proposals is Friday 14 January 2011 (at MIDNIGHT CET / Central European Time).

More information at www.pixelache.ac.