Kati Laakso joins the FCINY as Executive Director

We're excited to announce that Kati Laakso has been appointed as the Executive Director of the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York, beginning in October 2021. Kati shares,

“It is a great honor to return to New York to lead the organization that I first worked for in 2006, exactly 15 years ago. I have since then lived in Helsinki, Tokyo, New York, and now Brussels, working on exciting art and societal projects between Finnish and international artists, researchers, and organizations. I cannot wait to return to New York to be able to utilize the knowledge and connections I have been able to build over these past years.

I am equally excited to return to New York at a point when the future looks both promising and worrisome, when there is a great urgency of building a new normal together, a world that should be more equal, just, and kind. During its past 30 years, the Institute has matured into a well-connected and interesting arts organization, and I hope to be leading it into a future full of new opportunities, with a strong base in its art residencies and programming.

There are many exciting possibilities for community building and developing the Institute´s fundraising together with strong support from the Institute’s International Advisory Board.”

Kati Laakso previously served at the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux  as its Director for the past 3.5 years, working on a multitude of contemporary art and design exhibitions and societal projects spanning throughout Europe. Laakso has a solid background in visual arts with over 10 years of international experience from programming and curating for art and culture organizations and nonprofits, and fostering collaborations, projects, and networks between the private and public sector in the U.S., Japan, and Europe. She is an active speaker at industry events and has been part of several international art juries and nonprofit boards. Laakso studied economics and art history in Stockholm and Helsinki, graduating from Stockholm University with a Master of Science degree in Business Administration and Economics.

Jukka Savolainen the Chair of the Board of the Foundation for the Finnish Cultural Institute in Helsinki, writes,

“We are happy and excited to welcome Kati Laakso to lead the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York. Kati’s broad international experience, extensive networks, and strong leadership skills make her a perfect fit to take the Institute forward at a time when the world is looking to a future more uncertain than seemed likely a few years ago.

Culture binds nations and people together and can mediate understanding that enables change, making cultural organizations ever more important and timely. The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York, with Kati Laakso as its new Director, is looking firmly to the future and to strengthen the cultural ties between NY, the U.S., and Finland."

We're excited to welcome Kati onto the team, and look forward to seeing what the future brings for the FCINY.