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In Residence 2000-2010
Since 1990, FCINY has hosted nearly 700 visual arts professionals through its residency and mobility programs. This article highlights three of our alumni — Kim Simonsson, Meri Louekari, and Saara Ekström — reflecting on how New York City has influenced their careers and lives. All three participated in our residency programs between 2000 and 2010, all returning to the city either through another residency or fellowship program, or to exhibit their work.
In the 2000’s, FCINY’s residency apartments were located at two addresses in two boroughs: 695 Lorimer Street in Williamsburg and 77 Bleecker Street in NoHo. The apartments offered artists-in-residence a place to stay and work during a residency period stretching 1-6 months. At the time, FCINY hosted around 18 visual artists, designers, and architects annually.
In this story, we hear from three of our alumni during the first decade of 2000 on how their time in New York has shaped their work and practice. We talk to sculptor KIM SIMONSSON about the keys to establishing an artistic career and exhibiting work in New York. We talk with urban researcher and architect MERI LOUEKARI about her research projects exploring urban planning and waterfront development in New York and Helsinki. We will also hear from visual artist SAARA EKSTRÖM on how the City can spark and initiate artistic projects and shape one’s understanding of visual art.
We will follow-up on each residency experience by reflecting on the way in which the residencies have enabled further collaborations and opportunities for the alumni. To conclude, we will discuss how the changing landscape of presenting visual art, and the new challenges facing design and urban planning today, have been experienced by the alumni during the year 2020.
Kim Simonsson — Nordic folklore in New York Galleries
KIM SIMONSSON is a ceramic sculptor based in Fiskars, Finland. Inspired by Nordic fairy tales and folklore, Simonsson’s eerie and mysterious sculptures illustrate a sense of childlike wonder with an underlying, wild tone. Simonsson’s works are presented in significant collections including Racine Art Museum (US), Victoria And Albert Museum (UK), Shigaraki Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art (JPN), and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art (FIN).
The path to Simonsson’s first solo exhibition in New York consists of surprising encounters and several chains of events. During an artist residency in the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Simonsson’s work was highlighted in the New York-based American Ceramics Magazine. One thing led to another, and soon Simonsson’s first solo show in New York was approaching. The year was 2005 and the exhibition took place at the Nancy Margolis Gallery. Simonsson recalls the excitement of reading a New York Times review of his exhibition; it felt like a significant milestone for the young artist.
“It is great that a residency program in New York exists, especially when you are a young artist. You accidentally meet someone and — if you have substance and present something — then suddenly possibilities can open.”
Right after Simonsson’s first exhibition in New York, Simonsson resided as an artist-in-residence with FCINY at the 77 Bleecker Street residency apartment. The time spent in the city as an artist-in-residence — with a newly attained gallery representation — made it clear for Simonsson how much work is required to establish oneself and live in New York as an artist. On the flip side, New York is the primary place where artists can build meaningful connections and collaborations:
“It is great that a residency program in New York exists, especially when you are a young artist. You accidentally meet someone and — if you have substance and present something — then suddenly possibilities can open. These opportunities don’t come if you can’t meet people in person. These possibilities exist in New York, not in the Finnish countryside where I currently live.”
Despite the challenges of establishing oneself in New York while living in Finland, Simonsson’s work has been presented in New York and the U.S. at solo shows and international art fairs on multiple occasions during the past two decades. In 2015, Simonsson had his first solo show with Jason Jacques Gallery. The exhibition featured Simonsson’s new work Moss People; life-sized sculptures of children that appear to be conceived out of vibrant green moss. The following exhibition at Design Miami 2015 was a success, drawing attention and interest from the visual art and design fields across the U.S.
During the year 2020, Simonsson has continued exhibiting work while developing new projects; large-scale alphabet blocks that he uses as pedestals for his sculptures. Nevertheless, the turbulent year has not drastically shaken Simonsson’s artistic practice:
“As a visual artist, everything is always uncertain. The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the uncertainty but it has not had a remarkable effect on my work. One is already used to the uncertainty.”
Meri Louekari — Urban and Maritime Research Collaborations Across the Atlantic
MERI LOUEKARI is an architect and PhD Candidate, with a specialisation in strategic initiatives, urban research, and maritime strategy. Louekari is one of the founding members of Open House Helsinki, an annual event that opens architectural sites and buildings to the public through guided tours and events. Louekari is currently working as the Senior Advisor at the Urban Environment Division in the City of Helsinki.
“New York City is one of the most fascinating cities. As an urban researcher and architect, this was the primary reason why I applied for the residency program.”
Meri Louekari resided with FCINY for the first time in 2008. The reason behind Louekari’s interest in applying for a residency with FCINY was evident:
“New York City is one of the most fascinating cities. As an urban researcher and architect, this was the primary reason why I applied for the residency program.”
During her residency, Louekari researched how urban areas are developed to serve different actors and purposes. The research project led Louekari to visit public spaces in New York — beaches, riverbanks and squares — to study how they enable commercial and common-good activities. Louekari’s project resulted in a visual research with a survey and analysis of different urban spaces and their uses.
As a PhD Candidate, Louekari continued her research on how cities are transformed and developed from the bottom-up through grassroots initiatives and processes:
“In my thesis, I’ve researched the relation between bottom-up and top-down processes and their dynamics in the cities of Reykjavik, Berlin, Helsinki, and New York. In these different cities I’ve tried to find operational models and strategies that could be applied to other cities and urban areas.”
During Louekari’s first residency with FCINY, Louekari researched how urban areas are developed to serve different actors and purposes. Image: Meri Louekari.
Louekari’s interest in maritime development and urban research led her to apply for the MOBIUS Fellowship Program in 2016. The MOBIUS Fellowship Program (2014-2019) offered one to two month long fellowships and professional exchanges between curators and visual art professionals. Louekari conducted her MOBIUS Fellowship parallel to her research exchange at Columbia University in the Spring and Summer of 2016.
During her MOBIUS Fellowship period, Louekari continued her research on waterfront development, using Helsinki and New York as comparative case studies. As part of the residency, Louekari organized two discussion events around the topic of waterfront development: the first one in New York in May 2016, followed by the Helsinki event in August 2016.
The year 2020 has presented unforeseen challenges for urban planning, especially for densely populated city centres. The new health guidelines and recommendations to meet at a distance, preferably outside, led Louekari and her team at Helsinki city to rethink the usage of one of the most visited and iconic spots in the Helsinki city centre: The Senate Square. The outcome of the process, the Senate Square Summer Terrace, sought to invite passers-by to enjoy local food culture and culinary experiences with safety measures and social distancing in mind. The new challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic required creative approaches of rethinking the usage of public and urban spaces, a field of research Louekari already began during her first FCINY residency in 2008.
Saara Ekström - Discovering Artistic Projects in New York City’s Streets and Archives
SAARA EKSTRÖM works in film, photography, text, and installation. Ekström’s artistic practice is tightly rooted in the physical and spiritual realms, tracing paths where decay and growth coincide. The contradicting desire and fear to both remember and forget, are central themes in her artistic practice. Ekström’s work has been presented extensively in exhibitions and film festivals in Europe, the U.S., and Asia.
Saara Ekström has resided as an artist-in-residence with FCINY on two occasions. The first residency took place in 2003, and the latter in 2014.
“The street art in Brooklyn ranged from highly political and anarchistic reactions to subtle interventions, satirical graffiti or amazing installations. This forum that was constantly evolving and falling apart stayed with me, and found its ways into my own practice.”
Ekström’s first residency focused on gathering inspiration and material while walking around the city of New York. Ekström was especially drawn to observe how the building facades in the Williamsburg neighbourhood transformed bit by bit each day:
“The streets outside of the Lorimer Street apartment were like an enormous metamorphic gallery with artistic endeavours and street art taking new shapes every day”
The rapidly changing artistic work, evolving layer by layer in the public sphere, revealed to Ekström how art does not need to be static and still:
“Visual art does not need to last, it can equally disappear, change form, or merge with other artworks. The street art in Brooklyn ranged from highly political and anarchistic reactions to subtle interventions, satirical graffiti or amazing installations. This forum that was constantly evolving and falling apart stayed with me, and found its ways into my own practice.”
In 2014, Ekström received the opportunity to conduct a residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program ISCP, a residency program organized in collaboration with Alfred Kordelin Foundation and FCINY.
The longer six-month residency allowed Ekström to find more time to see the city in its complexity. The residency in 2014 resulted in multiple projects and fields of research where Ekström documented dioramas in the Natural History Museum in New York together with partner Thom Vink and researched the legacy and history of the Collyer brothers. Ekström brought these insights and experiences into her solo exhibition Alchemy (2016) at Wäinö Aaltonen Museum in Turku and Bildmuseet in Umeå, as well the exhibition Measured Silence at Kerava Art Museum (2019) in Kerava, Finland.
The year 2020 has brought concerns for family and friends across the world, and a new normal to Ekström’s artistic work. During the year, Ekström has worked on a new project, documenting the essence of geological time in the Finnish archipelago and in Iceland. In Iceland, Ekström had the chance to reside — in accordance with international travel regulations — as an artist-in-residence in order to work for a forthcoming extensive solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Helsinki and the Nordic House in Reykjavik in 2022.
In the upcoming article, we will continue our journey through FCINY’s residency programs and history by reflecting on the residency and mobility programs conducted between 2010-2020. We will reflect on the artist residencies FCINY has organized in collaboration with New York City-based International Studio and Curatorial Program ISCP and Triangle Arts Association. We will also highlight the MOBIUS Fellowship Program, a program that has been central in our operation for creating cross-cultural collaborations between the U.S., Finland, and London. We will also address the marks left by the Covid-19 pandemic on our mobility and residency programs, while opening our eyes and minds for what is to come.
Text by Vilma Leminen