University of the Arts Helsinki to engage the public with support from the Louise and Göran Ehrnrooth Foundation
The goal is to establish a meeting place that will promote a dialogue between artists, researchers and other influencers of society in Helsinki.
The Louise and Göran Ehrnrooth Foundation has granted significant financial support to the University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki). The donation of 350,000 euros will provide funding for two separate projects: setting up an open arts venue and a meeting place for the public, as well as arranging Uniarts Helsinki’s fourth edition of the Research Pavilion next summer in Helsinki.
Uniarts Helsinki regularly organises numerous artistic events and performances that are open to the public, but thanks to the newly secured external funding, Helsinki will have a special meeting place for the arts, where the public can go and enjoy art and discussions on current issues.
The concept of the meeting place continues the series of dialogues that were part of the programme of the Feel Helsinki Festival last June at the Helsinki Music Centre. The university invited a range of interesting personas from various fields as guest speakers in the dialogues, including Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto, conductor Dalia Stasevska, academician Markku Kulmala and writer Pajtim Statovci.
“Our goal is to make the arts, culture and the rest of society come together and increase the dialogue between operators that come from different backgrounds. We hope to provide Helsinki with an arts venue and a meeting place that will be known for its topical, surprising and touching events. With support from the Louise and Göran Ehrnrooth Foundation, we now have the opportunity to make it happen,” says Rector of Uniarts Helsinki Jari Perkiömäki.
The Research Pavilion, on the other hand, is a continuation of the Research Pavilions that were set up in 2015, 2017 and 2019 in connection with the Venice Biennale to present artistic research through a series of events. Next year’s Research Pavilion in August-September will bring an international network of artist-researchers in Helsinki during the Helsinki Biennial, which will be arranged for the first time ever.
“The Research Pavilion presents a range of different approaches to ecology and ethics and strengthens the role of arts research in the arts and science sector. Next summer, the eyes of the art world will be on Helsinki, which means that the Research Pavilion has an excellent chance to find its audience,” notes Jaana Erkkilä-Hill, Vice Rector responsible for research at Uniarts Helsinki.
In 2019, nearly fifty artist-researchers from around the world contributed to the Research Pavilion in Venice. The programme of the event featured exhibitions, performances and discussions, and one of the common themes was ecology. The Louise and Göran Ehrnrooth Foundation sponsored the Pavilion already in 2019, when Uniarts Helsinki’s collaboration partners in the project included Aalto University, Valand Academy of Arts at the University of Gothenburg, University of Applied Arts Vienna and Interlab Hongik University Seoul.
Further information
Eveliina Olsson
Director of Communications and External Relations
050-598 6492