What is art produced with AI, and can art produced with AI even be considered art? What are authorship and ethics? What needs to be taken into account? These questions were discussed at the AI To Stretch the Borders of Arts – hybrid seminar organized by the Finnish institute in Japan. Presentations were given by both Finnish and Japanese researchers. The seminar was supported by Business Finland. 

AI To Stretch the Borders of Arts – hybrid seminar
Date and time: March 16th, 2022 at 15:00-19:00PM + networking reception
Place: Academy Hills, Roppongi and online (ZOOM)

【Programme】

15:00 Opening words Anna-Maria Wiljanen, Ph.D, Director, Finnish Institute in Japan
15:10 Greetings Kimmo Ojuva, Country Director, Business Finland
15:20 Introduction Kristiina Jokinen, Senior Researcher, AI Reseach Center, The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
15:30 Gentiane Venture, Professor, University of Tokyo – ”Bringing robots closer”
16:00 Riina Lundman, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Turku – ”AI, arts and co-creativity: The Experiences of the Finnish Artists”
16:40 Dr. Katie Seaborn, Associate Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology – “Implications for Art”
17:10 Coffee Break
17:20 Tomi Slotte Dufva, University Lecturer, Aalto ARTS University – ”Entanglements in AI Art”
18:00 Panel Discussion
Led by Kristiina Jokinen (AIST)
Participants: Gentiane Venture (The University of Tokyo), Katie Seaborn, (Tokyo Institute of Technology), Riina Lundman (University of Turku), Tomi Slotte Dufva (Aalto ARTS University)
18:45 Closing remarks Anna-Maria Wiljanen, Ph.D, Director, Finnish Institute in Japan
18:50 Networking reception (only on-site participants)
20:00 Doors close

Photo: Guillaume Meurice from Pexels

The curator of the exhibition Frans Autio will give a curator’s talk and tell more about the exhibition on Thursday March 17th at 6pm (in English, interpreted in Japanese) via Zoom.

Registration open until March 16th.

Frans Autio. Photo: Rolf Autio.

Frans Autio is doctoral researcher in Doctoral programme in history and cultural heritage, at University of Helsinki, Finland. In his doctoral thesis, he is examining Japanese industrial car design, focusing on the transition of its future expectations during 1960s and 1970s.

Autio is specialized on modern Japanese design and architecture, modern architecture theories, and history of the future. He was assistant editor of Kaikki ja ei mitään: arkkitehdit Kaija + Heikki Siren [Everything and nothing: Architects Kaija + Heikki Siren] (2020), in which his article, ‘Ajattoman puuarkkitehtuuriperinteen äärellä Suomessa ja Japanissa’ [Approaching the heritage of timeless wooden architecture in Finland and Japan] was published.

In summer 2018 Autio spent three months in Japan, working on his master’s thesis in collaboration with Chiba University.

Quite Japanese – Yet So Finnish: Kaija + Heikki Siren
8.–20.3.2022

Hours: 11:00–18:00 (until 15:00 on the last day of the exhibition)
ars gallery, 5-13-1 Jingumae Shibuya-ku Tokyo 150-0001
Gallery closed on Mondays
Free entrance

Exhibition is produced by the Museum of Finnish Architecture and curated by Frans Autio.

Header photo: Museum of Finnish Architecture

The Finnish Institute in Japan wishes every girl and woman a hopeful International Women’s Day and encourages everybody to #BreakTheBias.

Imagine a diverse, equitable and inclusive world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.

Together we can force women’s equality…because we can #BreakTheBias.

Come and meet us Tuesday March 8th at 9AM-10AM in front of the National Azabu Supermarket in Hiroo! We will give a small, inspirational gift to 200 first passers-by. Hope to see you! 

Tuesday 8 March 2022, 9:00-10:00 (JST). 

National Azabu Supermarket, 〒106-0047, 4-5-2 Minami Azabu,Minato-Ku,Tokyo.

The exhibition examines Kaija and Heikki Siren’s long-term relationship with Japan, and features their wooden architecture in both Finland and Japan. 

The Finnish architect couple Kaija Siren (née Tuominen, 1920–2001) and Heikki Siren (1918–2013) designed and realised several projects for Japan, a country much admired by numerous Finnish architects. The extensive collection of articles on the Sirens’ architecture published in August 1965 in Kindai Kenchiku, a Japanese magazine specialised in modern architecture, provided the initial impetus in furthering their relationship with Japan, leading to a warm understanding between the Sirens and the Japanese public. For the Sirens, Japanese architecture meant the same as the Sirens’ architecture meant for the Japanese: simple and beautiful architecture that takes its environment into account, and skillfully combines interior and exterior spaces. Over the next six decades, the Sirens’ work continued to be featured in Japanese architecture magazines.

The Sirens first design in Japan, the Karuizawa Golf Club’s restaurant, was completed in 1974 and second, the Onuma Golf Club, in 1976. Today, several holiday villages consisting of standard cottages designed by the Sirens can be found in Japan. The sites designed by the architect couple in Japan emphasize wooden log materials and a refined relationship between a building and its surrounding environment.

Curator’s talk
The curator of the exhibition Frans Autio will give a curator’s talk and tell more about the exhibition on Thursday March 17^th at 6pm (in English, interpreted in Japanese) via Zoom.
Requires registration, more information here.

Quite Japanese – Yet So Finnish: Kaija + Heikki Siren
8.–20.3.2022

Hours: 11:00–18:00 (until 15:00 on the last day of the exhibition)
ars gallery, 5-13-1 Jingumae Shibuya-ku Tokyo 150-0001
Gallery closed on Mondays
Free entrance

Exhibition is produced by the Museum of Finnish Architecture and curated by Frans Autio.

Photo: Museum of Finnish Architecture

The winners of the hugely popular Åland 100 Knitting competition have now been selected, thank you so much to everyone who participated! All of the entries were excellent, so the decision was really hard to make, but in the end Ms. Megumi Shibata was chosen as the winner with her lovely Åland-coloured cardigan! Prizes will also go to Ms. Yuko Hachiya, Ms. Mieko Toba and Ms. Yuka Suzuki, as well as an honorary prize to Ms. Kazumi Sunada with her lovely sweater for dogs. Congratulations!

The jury consisted of Ms. Tiina Björklund, Project Leader of Åland 100, Ms. Linda Permanto, Head of Marketing and Communication at Novita Oy, as well as Dr. Anna-Maria Wiljanen, Director of the Finnish Institute in Japan.

Photo: Megumi Shibata

Photo: Yuko Hachiya

Photo: Mieko Toba

Photo: Yuka Suzuki

Photo: Kazumi Sunada

Celebrating women December 13th!

At Women’s empowerment seminar held on Monday, December 13th at 15-19:30PM we had presentations and group discussions how to balance work and family life and live a happy life followed by a networking reception! This event was held as a hybrid event face-to-face at the Metsä Pavilion as well as online on Zoom.

Women’s empowerment seminar
Date: December 13th, 2021 at 15:00 – 19:30
Place: Metsä Pavilion (50 persons) and online (ZOOM)

【Programme】
15:00 Opening words 　-Anna-Maria Wiljanen, Director of the Finnish Institute in Japan
15:15 Inspirational video
15:30 Presentation I – Ms Noriko Sunaga
16:00 Presentation II- Ms Yoriko Ikari
16:30 COFFEE TASTING
17:00 Break
17:10 Presentation III – Ms Shino Mikamo
17:40 Group discussion
18:10 Results of the group discussion
18:45 Closing remarks
18:50 Networking reception (Only on-site participants)
19:30 Doors close

The Finnish Institute in Japan

Photo: pixabay.com

A special Knitting Club for combining the grandmother square blankets will be held on Monday December 13th at 13–14:30PM. The event will be held as a hybrid event on site at the Metsä Pavilion as well as online on Zoom! There are no strict rules about the size of the blanket, so you may make your blanket as big as you want.

If you are not able to join the event, you can also send your blanket directly to the Institute:

The Finnish Institute in Japan/Knitting club
3-5-39 Minami-Azabu
Minato-ku Tokyo 106-8561 Japan

Tips on how to connect the squares:

Registration: https://knitting1213.peatix.com

– Patterns and Forms Inspired by Nature

The legacy of modernism is still strongly present in the day-to-day lives of Finns. The Finnish Design for Everyday Life – Patterns and Forms Inspired by Nature exhibition showcases this history, design and art of modernism from the 1930s to the 1970s. The exhibition sheds a light on the evolution of Finnish design into a well-known phenomena while also offering glimpses into the Helsinki of artists and designers, where Tove Jansson, amongst others, left her mark with her commissioned works and art pieces. The success stories of the Finnish art industry at the New York World’s Fair in 1939 and in the Milan Triennials in the 1950s also have their moments in the spotlight. The exhibition also presents the Finnish textile industry to the Japanese audience, showcasing the successful histories of Marimekko and the Finlayson and Tampella factories.

Nature is still very much present in the Finnish way of life and the day-to-day life. The exhibition studies how various flora and fauna, the different seasons and natural phenomena have inspired artists, photographers, architects and designers. Their experiences of nature manifest in their art, the unique items of the art industry as well as in industrial serial production. The diversity and organicity of nature are reflected on the pieces and works of the exhibition; the posters, photographs, glass and ceramics art, fashion photos and advertisements, textiles, furniture, dishes, paintings and drawings.

The exhibition contains about 300 art works and items from nearly 40 different Finnish artists and designers. In addition to Alvar Aalto, Ilmari Tapiovaara, Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva, Kaj Franck, Michael Schilkin and Birger Kaipiainen, the exhibition showcases a group of influential women designers, such as Aino Aalto, Dora Jung, Eva Taimi, Eva Anttila, Saara Hopea, Gunnel Nyman, Helena Tynell, Nanny Still, Uhra-Beata Simberg-Ehrström, Rut Bryk, Toini Muona, Kyllikki Salmenhaara and Marjatta Metsovaara, who all deserve international attention also during these modern times.

In addition to the collections of the HAM Helsinki Art Museum, items and works in the exhibition have been borrowed from the following collections: The Alvar Aalto Museum/Alvar Aalto Foundation, Design Museum, Helsinki City Museum, Kakkonen Collection, Moomin Characters Ltd, The Finnish Museum of Photography, Vapriikki and private collections.

The exhibition has been curated by HAM curator Heli Harni, with Harri Kalha, PhD, serving as an expert.

Finnish Design for Everyday Life – Patterns and Forms Inspired by Nature
Bunkamura, Tokyo
December 7th 2021 – January 30th 2022
For more information, please visit the museum’s website.

This exhibition has previously been shown in
Tottori Prefectural Museum, Tottori October 10th – November 15th 2020
Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Fukuoka June 26th – August 29th 2021
The Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo September 11th − November 28th 2021

Photo: Tsutomu Miura / Tottori Prefectural Museum

Welcome!

The Finnish Institute in Japan will be hosting the annual Finnish-Swedish Week from Monday November 8th to Friday November 12th. This year’s events will discuss the Finnish-Swedish people in politics, entrepreneurship and entertainment outlining the impact of they have made both in Finland as well as internationally! The week will traditionally end with the ever so popular crayfish party! The events this year (with exception of the crayfish party) will be held as hybrid events.You can join us in the Metsä Pavilion or online in Zoom. Please check our website for further information!
Register for all events at: https://hallatokyo2021.peatix.com/

Programme

Monday, November 8th
Alexander Stubb
The Finnish Swedish Week will begin with the interview of Professor Alexander Stubb. He is the Director of the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute. He has served as Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Trade and Europe Minister of Finland. Come and listen to Professor Stubb’s thoughts about the impact of Swedish in culture, business and politics but also about the future of the second official language in Finland!

The interview will be followed by a networking reception!
Come and be inspired!

Date and time: 8.11.2021 18-20
Place: Metsä pavilion and online (ZOOM)
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87922562475?pwd=RytVVHdkYUZrSHM0VUhCYXJtUFRoQT09

Tuesday, November 9th
Green Light District

On Tuesday it’s time for music! The hiphop-meets-big bind group Green Light District is a Finnish-Swedish band from Helsinki, known for their covers and original hits. The band of 10 musicians actively explores the borders and limits of different genres due to the vast musical experience and influences between the members.

Date and time: 9.11.2021 18-19:30
Place: Metsä pavilion and online (ZOOM)
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88228990519?pwd=MTR5aFNqUDZCdVNadWduMVRjeGhrZz09

Wednesday, November 10th
Johanna Gullichsen

Finnish designer Johanna Gullichsen will be interviewed about her art, her story as a female entrepreneur and about the sources of her inspiration. Johanna Gullichsen is widely known for her graphic interior textiles. Her sophisticated designs tell a story of their own combining the traditional patterns textile types. Gullichsen has received many prizes-the most recently Kaj Franck Design Prize 2021.

Date and time: 10.11.2021 18-19
Place: Online (ZOOM)
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81812246082?pwd=T0Zrd3gwY2FsT0lucGZNNXd3TFAzUT09

Thursday, November 11th
Ted Urho

Finnish-Swedish week continues on Thursday November 11th with an online talk event “And that’s why Finland celebrates the day a Swedish king fell off his horse and died on a battlefield in Germany in 1632” by Mr. Ted Urho. He will be talking about why the Finns speak Swedish in Finland, the advantages and disadvantages of being a Finnish Swede as well as discussing the story of the dead king and his horse. Ted Urho is the executive manager of the liberal think tank Agenda since 2019. He has previously worked as a journalist, producer and host of the breakfast show.

Date and time: 11.11.2021 18-19
Place: Online (ZOOM)
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87602467035?pwd=bGtWMVRUR25xekVjcGhRaFc1WTNIQT09

Friday, November 12th
Crayfish Party SOLD OUT

Date and time: 12.11.2021 18-21
Place: Metsä pavilion