Welcome new board members

We are happy to introduce new board members of the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York: artist Terike Haapoja, designer Elina Helenius and museum director Jukka Savolainen.

The Board of Directors of the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York is chaired by architect Esa Laaksonen, director of the Alvar Aalto Adacemy in Helsinki. This January we welcomed three new members.

Terike Haapoja is a visual artist based in New York. Haapoja’s large scale installation work, writing and political projects investigate the mechanics of othering with a specific focus on issues arising from the anthropocentric world view of western modernism. Haapoja represented Finland in the 55 Venice Biennale with a solo show in the Nordic Pavilion, and her work has been awarded with several prizes. She is an adjunct professor at Parsons Fine Arts and NYU, New York.

Elina Helenius is a designer working extensively in the field of textiles, colors and materials. Her production includes spatial wall textiles related with architecture, industrially produced large-scale textile collections as well as limited editions and smaller ranges. In 2012, Helenius was nominated as Finnish Textile Artist of the year, and has been awarded in multiple design competitions. Her designs have been featured in international collections and exhibited in design exhibitions worldwide.

Jukka Savolainen is the Director of the Design Museum in Helsinki, Finland.  Savolainen has a long history in the museum and design fields, having worked previously as the Deputy Director and Exhibitions Curator at the Design Museum and as the Director of Research & Information at Material ConneXion in New York. Trained as an art historian at the University of St.Andrews in Scotland, his research interests span from contemporary design to national design policies and design driven decision making.

Meet all board members here.

Thumbnail image: Terike Haapoja, Venice Biennale, Nordic Pavilion 2013.