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Looking Back: 2020โ2025 - Farewell Interview with Elina Suoyrjรถ
Photo by Emma Termonen
๐๐ง๐ค๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐, ๐๐ช๐ง๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ
After five years with the ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ, our ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐, ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ทรถ, is moving on to her next chapter. Since joining the Institute in the fall of 2020, at a moment of global upheaval, Elina has steered our programming with ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
With a background spanning ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, and ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต, Elina has brought a distinctive voice to the Instituteโs work, fostering dialogue between Finnish and North American practitioners, and expanding the reach of our ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐, ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐. Her approach has consistently foregrounded collaboration, critical reflection, and the importance of sustainable and long-term cultural exchange
Upon her departure, we asked questions from Elina to reflect on her time at ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฌ, the projects and partnerships that have defined her tenure, the challenges and joys of working across continents, and the ideas she will carry forward into her next chapter.
๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐, ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐. ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ ?
It was a strange experience starting a new job abroad from my living room in Finland, just by turning the work laptop on. The fact that the whole team worked remotely, with no staff members at the office, shaped everything we were able to do. I thought a lot about what kind of programming could even be relevant at that point: what would benefit artists, what would interest the audiences, and in the end, what kind of programming the Institute was actually able to do from this vast distance to the city. I worked closely with artist ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ท๐ฎ, who was one of FCINYโs board members at the time and lived in New York. She was my eyes and ears in the city and Iโm ever grateful for all the discussions we had at that time. One thing none of us realized from the distance was the trauma the pandemic caused to the city. This only started unfolding once the borders opened and we were able to relocate. I actually think the pandemic times and its aftermath is still unfolding within the city and its residents. Itโs not just something anyone wants to talk about at the moment. The experience New Yorkers had of the pandemic with full-on lockdowns, neverending sound of sirens, the sight of field hospitals in city center, and losing loved ones, was completely different to the Finnish experience of people mainly complaining about bars being closed. It was a challenge to think about what programming in New York could be at that time. The overarching solution was to approach the program as a whole through tenderness and care.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ ?
The idea for the still ongoing ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด podcast started brewing quite soon after I joined the Institute. The idea was to emphasize the silver lining of a devastating situation: the potential of rethinking our ways and habits of working, and eventually changing them amidst the halt in production and hustle caused by the pandemic. Work with Withstanding has continued after the pandemic, partly as a reminder of this potential, which we seem to have totally forgotten about! Three seasons of Withstanding have also served as a platform for sound-based art. I was really excited about this possibility, as exhibiting art was physically impossible at that time.
Once physical gatherings became possible, I started working on a program titled ๐๐
๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ง๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐, which consisted of small-scale public gatherings and culminated in presenting a group exhibition titled ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ, and a publication gathering contributions from curators, writers and artists. The first gatherings were tiny, as we were allowed to gather with a maximum of 15 people! The program was all about gently learning to be together in the aftermath of the pandemic, and it included contemplation on topics such as the significance of communities, human/more-than-human relations, and work-life balance. Two first gatherings were realized in Helsinki with ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ and ๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ, two following events in New York with ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐จ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ and ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ, and the final gathering took place online on the Withstanding podcast platform. The publication was a possibility to reflect upon all that was done and what on the other hand needed more attention.
Photos by Kira Bjorklund and Helmi DeMaxi (Korhonen)
During my time at the FCINY I have also had the chance (and the pleasure!) to work across the whole ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐โ network. In 2022, I worked closely with ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ต๐๐ถ, who was at the time the Director of Programs at the ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ & ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, in planning and realizing an exhibition and a seminar titled ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐, which took place at ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ. The project brought together several of the Finnish Institutes operating all over the world. Karoliina and I continued collaborating in 2023 by planning and organizing a notch more ambitious project, ๐ง๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป, which brought together nine Institutes to commission new works from artists and artist collectives, and organising an ambitious one-day program at ๐ข๐ผ๐ฑ๐ถ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ in Helsinki, presenting a keynote talk, discussions, presentations, commissioned pieces, and participatory artworks. It was a journey! Program directors and other staff members from all of the institutes played an essential part in making that event happen, and the FCINY also hired a fantastic producer, ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต๐๐ผ, to work on this vast program.
๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐ ?
Image by Matt Borkowski BFA.com
Iโm of course proud of all of the projects Iโve had the chance to work on at the institute, but if I have to pick one, Iโd like to highlight ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต. This was a project that took place at the ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ (๐ก๐๐๐) fair in ๐ ๐ถ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ in December 2024. ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต was very much an experimental curatorial project, in which a nomadic exhibition presenting the work of three artists was carried out by two performers on each day of the fair. The contributing artists were ๐๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ธ๐ผ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ผ, ๐ก๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ทรค๐นรค, and ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐๐ธ๐ฎ, who all created new works or new versions of earlier works for this occasion. The wonderful performers were US-based artists ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ผ๐ป and ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ. During the week, the audience members were able to spot this odd character wandering slowly around the fair area, focused on reading the book Limits to Growth from 1972. This report pretty much predicted the outcomes of disaster capitalism and the imminent climate catastrophe caused by it.
I loved working on this project, as I got to put all my curatorial ideas in, and work with fantastic artists on commissioning new work, and putting together something experimental. The starting point was Syrjรคlรคโs existing performative work based on the Limits to Growth report, that we then took together to a new direction. There was a lot of curious unpredictability in terms of the performative part and possible audience reactions, and content-wise it was a delicious mix of social and ecological critique and playfulness. I was also able to commission a visual identity for this project from ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ผ, who had just participated in the FCINYโs residency program as a ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ-๐ถ๐ป-๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ. In the end, Limits to Growth was a short and sweet project that brought together six practitioners in the peculiar surroundings of a busy art fair.
During my tenure the Institute has also launched a curatorial residency program. This was carried out for two years in collaboration with ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐จ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, and from 2024 on with ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐. It has been a pleasure to get to work with such established and essential NYC-organisations in bringing Finnish curators to New York to do research, meet artists, and network. The pool of curators is growing in Finland by the year, but the structures of the art world are still adapting to this change in the ecosystem.
Iโd also like to highlight one ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด episode, namely ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ณ: ๐ข๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด & ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ and ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐๐ผ๐ป. Again - I think all ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด episodes have been fantastic as there have been such fantastic speakers and moderators who have said yes to the invitations, but what is special about this episode is that it focuses on the sound art element that I was particularly excited about when starting to work on the podcast. As mentioned, Withstanding was very much a platform for both discussions and exhibiting sound-based art. It was wonderful to get to bring these incredible artists together, Antye from ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐๐ผ๐๐ผ in ๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ป๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ and ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ from ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ธ๐ฎ, to talk about what soundings mean to them, what kind of a medium or tool sound is, and what sound and hearing can do to us.
In 2025 there has been a specific focus in the program to highlight and honor Indigenous practices in contemporary art, architecture and design. This is the focus in ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐จ๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐๐จ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐, and we also had the opportunity to start the year with a very loud bang by presenting an evening of ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ with the most fabulous drag artists, ๐๐๐ป๐๐ ๐ง๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ, ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ, ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ป๐ถ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐, and the bestest partners ever, ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฅ๐ถฤฤ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น, ๐๐ฒ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฒ-๐๐ผ๐ต๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐บ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐, and ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต-๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ. Itโs been extremely heart-warming to get excited feedback from artists, speakers and moderators, as the occasions to get to exchange thoughts and ideas between Indigenous communities across continents is quite rare. This program continues later on, so please stay tuned!
Photos by Maxwell Vice
Finally, I want to highlight ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐, a performative group exhibition I co-curated together with ๐ ๐ฒ๐ด๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ธ from the ๐๐น๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ in the summer of 2025 at ๐๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟโ๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐. This was very much a project I wanted to realize from the start of my tenure. I was curious about the use and access to public space in ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐๐, where most spaces are private and/or commercial. The idea was brewing for a long time and once I got in touch with ๐๐น๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐'๐ team things started to develop quite organically. Meghana and I had the chance to commission new works from five fantastic artists, all of whom brought audience members together in the park through their own practices, to contemplate on our relationships with both each other and our surroundings. The performance day at the end of June was truly magical!
Photos by Yann Chashanovski๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐. ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐?
Itโs been extremely important for me to bring people together from both sides of the Atlantic as part of the programming. I see it as a benefit for the Institute that there is no allocated event space, but all programming is realized collaboratively with local partners. I think this is a prerequisite for actual cultural exchange and meaningful connections to happen. I have wanted to create programming that has had relevance to the scene and the participating professionals through content, instead of it being inherently a โFinnishโ program. This thinking has guided my work from the start.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐ฆ, ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ?
It has been an intense and active time, during which I have had the chance to do so many things I love. Iโve had the chance to bring artists and other art professionals together, and perhaps Iโve managed to plant some seeds for future partnerships and collaborations while doing it. Iโve been able to commission several new works by wonderful artists and texts from fantastic writers. I have also been able to realize two risograph print publications (which are my favorite!) with fabulous teams. Having worked previously mainly at art organisations, my time at the Institute has also offered another kind of aspect to working with cultural professionals and so many learnings about fostering cultural exchange.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ?
I think New York is all about the people and the chaotic energies people create within this small island. I will miss these both! As Iโve already mentioned, itโs the wonderful collaborators and partners together with the ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฌ team that bring the program alive. These alliances are both precious and generative, and sometimes hard to replicate in other cities. Iโll definitely try to bring some of these thoughts and learnings with me to my next endeavors.
The world is not a great place right now. Instead of fighting our own battles, I think that working together and joining forces is what we need at the moment. Itโs been extremely moving to observe how the recent New York mayoral election results have empowered and mobilized people far beyond New York City. It seems as if people are starting to believe a change is possible, that each one of us can have agency, and above all, that there is hope. I believe art can have a huge part to play in strengthening thoughts and feelings like this, and I think this is exactly what we need at this very moment.
Photos by Emma Termonen
๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ง ๐ฃ๐๐ญ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง!
Interview questions by Emma Termonen.
Text: Elina Suoyrjรถ & Emma Termonen
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