Heini Riitahuhta (b. 1975) is a Finnish designer who graduated from the ceramics and glass department of the University of Art and Design Helsinki in 2002. During the same year she received the Honorable mention in Mino, Japan.

Heini Riitahuhta expresses her artistry with decorative unique works. The same decoration motives appear in her serial production objects. The companies she designs for include Arabia, Lapuan Kankurit and Kotonowa. This exhibition presents her ceramic works, as well as furoshikis and fabrics.

Exhibition hours
Oct 20^th (Tue) – Nov 1^st (Sun)
Weekdays 12:00–18:00
Weekends 10:00–15:00
Free, with advance registration only (see below)
Children under 12 years old don’t need a reservation.

Venue
Metsä Pavilion, 3-5-39 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Artist talk

27.10. at 18:00–19:30
The artist talk is arranged via Zoom.
In English with Japanese interpretation.

Join the artist talk

Exhibition tickets

Entrance is free but needs to be reserved in advance, reservations can be made until 16:00 the day before.

Please choose your desired day here and complete the registration process on Peatix via the below links:

29.10.: <<Reserve your ticket>>

30.10.: <<Reserve your ticket>>

31.10.: <<Reserve your ticket>>

1.11.: <<Reserve your ticket>>

Thank you to everyone who participated. Lecture slides are available here.

How to combine work, family and leisure time successfully? Is it even possible? Finnish Institute in Japan continues its well-being theme with the seminar about sustainable work and work recovery. Internationally renowed researchers will discuss well-being in the workplace, why the companies should aim for sustainable employee well-being especially during these challenging times and how the work-life interplay will be beneficial for the inviduals, families, companies and the whole societies. The event will be translated Japanese-English-Japanese.

Speakers

• Akihito Shimazu, PhD, Chair, ICOH Scientific Committee ‘Work Organization & Psychosocial Factors, Professor, Keio University
• Nadezhda Gotcheva, Research Team Leader, PhD, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd.
• Jari Hakanen, Research professor, PhD, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
• Miika Kujanpää, Doctoral researcher, PhD, psychologist, Faculty of Social Sciences/Psychology, Tampere University

Program

• 13:15 Opening words. Anna-Maria Wiljanen, PhD, Director, Finnish Institute in Japan
• 13:30 Akihito Shimazu.PhD, Happy at Work, Happy at Home: Research findings and practices from Japan
• 14:30 Coffee break
• 15:00 Nadezhda Gotcheva, PhD. “New Work@VTT: Trends and Themes”
• 16:00 Jari Hakanen, PhD. Feeling engaged, satisfied, bored or burned out at work? What happened to well-being of Finnish employees during the first months of Covid period?
• 17:00 Miika Kujanpää, PhD. Relationships between off-job crafting and well-being among Finnish and Japanese employees.The topic will be updated soon.
• 18:30 Closing remarks

This seminar was hybrid event taking place in the Metsä Pavilion (max. 50 attendees). 

October 22nd, 2020 at 13:15-18:30PM

Photo: pixabay.com

Rut Bryk (1916−1999) was an internationally acclaimed Finnish pioneer of modern ceramic art. In a career spanning five decades, she worked in the art department of Finland’s famed Arabia ceramics factory. This exhibition is presenting an in-depth look into her extensive career for the first time in Japan. There are roughly 200 pieces (including textiles and sketches) centering on her ceramics, known for their profoundness and the elegant shine of their glaze.

Rut Bryk: Touch of a Butterfly

October 10 – December 6, 2020

The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum

For more information, visit the museum’s website.

The safety of our visitors and our staff is our top priority. The Finnish Institute in Japan takes the following measures in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• An alcohol-based hand sanitizer is placed at the entrance and at the event venue
• Our staff members wear face masks to protect visitors and themselves from infection
• All tables, chairs and door handles are regularly sterilized
• The event spaces are appropriately ventilated

When coming to the event organized by the Finnish Institute in Japan:

• Every visitor’s body temperature will be checked at the entrance
• We kindly ask the visitors to wear a face mask and practice good coughing etiquette  
• Keep social distancing
• Please let our staff know when you feel sick

Kindly refrain from participating the events if:

• you have cold symptoms such as a fever of 37.5 degrees or above, cough, sneeze, and a runny nose
• you don’t feel well

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

EDUFI Fellowship will be available on 1st October 2020 for your doctoral degree research in a form of rolling deadline. A doctoral student or a young researcher from outside Finland can get the grant 1,500 EUR per month for your stay in Finland regardless of your nationality and fields of study.

For more info, visit https://www.oph.fi/en/development/edufi-fellowship.

The Finnish Institute in Japan continues its versatile academic and cultural program this autumn! (Kindly notice that the program may be subject to changes).
Venue: Metsä Pavilion, 3-5-39 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo and online in Zoom (If the event will not be held in the Pavilion, you can find more information in the subjected events).

• EXHIBITIONS AND OTHER CULTURE EVENTS
• 【November】
  25th: Finnish dance course
  27th-December 8th: Sauna People Photography Exhibition
• 【December】
•  1st: Sauna People Photography Exhibition Artist’s Talk *Online only
• • KNITTING CLUB

  30th November and 16th December

   

  SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES

  【November】
  24th: Sustainable materials seminar (inc. reception)

  【December】
  3rd: Women’s empowerment conference (inc. reception)
  8th: Finnish Architecture seminar (inc. reception)

  FINNISH HIGHER EDUCATION SEMINARS

• November 26th: Schools on the Move information event webinar *Online only
  
• December 7th: Schools on the Move kick-off event
• Contact us：Finnish Institute in Japanemail: info@finstitute.jpwebsite：www.finstitute.jp
• 
• (Photo: The staff of the Finnish Institute in Japan at the Crayfish party November 8th, 2019).

Wild at Heart – A Collection of Modern Finnish Design and Art offers a look into the exciting world of contemporary Finnish design. Originality, boldness and use of vibrant colour characterise the design language. The exhibition is a tribute to the lesser known side of Finnish design and culture, with a wild sense of humour and passion to be found and enjoyed. The eleven designers move boldly at the intersection of art and design, with wild hearts and open minds.

Wild at Heart

2.–12.10.2020
Metsä Pavilion, 3-5-39 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo

weekdays 10–18, except Thursday 8.10. 12–20
weekends 11–17

Free entrance, a reservation is required.

<<Reserve your tickets here>>

Children under 12 years of age don’t need to book a ticket.

Bookings are accepted only via Peatix through the above link.

An accompanying online program will be held on Zoom. The program is free of charge and will be translated into Japanese.

Program link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88984312754?pwd=RGdhS1cyVUNiaXQ0ZWd5UFg1TXFtdz09

Accompanying online program:

6.10 18:00- Tour of the exhibition with curator Tero Kuitunen

8.10 18:00- Artist talk with Milla Vaahtera

Wild at Heart is curated by Finnish designer Tero Kuitunen.
“I especially want to highlight how multifaceted Finnish design is. I think we are currently living in a design Renaissance, where people move more freely between different creative territories”, says the curator.

The exhibition consists of three stages. The Raw Beauty stage focuses on material and strong visual language. The young master carpenter Antrei Hartikainen’s pieces are both functional products and pure works of art as well as a modern ode to craftsmanship. Photographer and visual artist Sofia Okkonen explores how femininity is performed in her own distinct visual language while Tero Kuitunen works with the concept of touch and how different materials, especially ceramics and clay, invite touching. Klaus Haapaniemi’s magical world is filled to its brim with folklore references and his painstakingly detailed illustrations grace rich textiles.

The Social Impact stage offers a closer look at how design influences society. Milla Vaahtera breathes new life into glass blowing and Tuuli-Tytti Koivula’s clothing collection deals with plastic waste and ways to reuse and repurpose the material. The company Mifuko was born out of its founder’s wish to employ and empower women in rural Kenya. The work is flexible and safe, and the regular income financially enables the women’s independence.

Playfulness and humour are woven into every aspect of the exhibition, but it is especially pronounced on the stage of Wild Humour. Eero Aarnio is one of the most important designers in Finland and over the years his works have been characterised by their originality and conceptual bravery. The rich and colourful design language of Teemu Salonen’s design-sculpture hybrids contains multitudes: it is both gaudy, glamorous and cultivated, while COMPANY’s Aamu Song and Johan Olin celebrate craftsmen and women all over the world in their designs, combining a strong appreciation for tradition, timelessness and the joy of making.

Wild at Heart is an international exhibition project initiated by the Finnish Institute in Germany, in collaboration with the Finnish Institutes in Hungary, Sweden and Japan, and interior, design and furniture fair Habitare. It premiered at Vienna Design Week in 2019 and has since been shown in Budapest and Stockholm and Helsinki.

The Finnish Institute in Japan kindly thanks Lapuan Kankurit and Hokuouzakka / P.O.S. for supporting the exhibition.

Photo: Maija Astikainen Styling: Tero Kuitunen

The Finnish Institute in Japan organizes an auxiliary program in conjunction with the Tom of Finland exhibition that will be held at the Gallery X at Parco Shibuya September 18^th – October 5^th, 2020. The program consists of lectures that will give highlight the multitalented artist’s art from different perspectives. The audience will also have the possibility to ask questions after each lecture.

Lectures are held at 18:00-19:30PM (lecture 18-19:00 and Q & A for 30 minutes) online in ZOOM (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81362557801?pwd=RmFLbHgxT05CcXZ5Q1NPMy9vU3JaUT09).

Lectures will be in English and interpreted in Japanese and they are free of charge.

LECTURES

September 18^th, 2020:
The Heavenly Creatures of Lust – The Male Body made desirable in Tom of Finland’s Drawings
Dr Juha-Heikki Tihinen / Curator, Pro Artibus Foundation, Finland
Attention: this lecture starts at 17:00PM

September 23^rd, 2020:
There’s always a meaning in a seemingly meaningless landscape – the National romanticism in Tom of Finland’s drawings
Dr Anna-Maria Wiljanen / Director, Finnish Institute in Japan

September 25^th, 2020:
Tom of Finland’s Long and Winding Road to the Center of the Art World
Dr Leena-Maija Rossi, Senior Lecturer, Department of Cultures, University of Helsinki, Finland

September 29^th, 2020:
Tom of Finland Foundation – Protecting, Preserving, and Promoting Art For Over Three Decades
Durk Dehner / President & Cofounder, Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles, USA
Valentine Hooven / Author of Tom of Finland, The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero 

October 2^nd, 2020:
“Before Gucci and Gaultier, there was Tom of Finland”. On the legacy of Tom of Finland to fashion
Dr Annamari Vänskä /Adjunct Professor, Department of Design, Aalto University, Finland

October 5^th, 2020:
From Under the Counter to the Gallery Walls – The Impact of Tom of Finland
BA Pasi Järvinen / Project manager, Finnish Institute in Japan

DISCUSSION EVENT

September 30^th, 2020:

Your happiness is my happiness – a discussion about the LGBT rights in Japan
Participants: Georgie Ichikawa and Kazue Chan. Moderator: Anna-Maria Wiljanen.

Starting at 18:00

ComMunE ROOF TOP BAR

PARCO SHIBUYA,

15-1 Udagawacho

Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0042

MOVIE SCREENINGS Tom of Finland (2017)
Award-winning filmmaker Dome Karukoski brings to screen the life and work of one of the most influential and celebrated figures of twentieth century gay culture: Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds postwar Helsinki rampant with homophobic persecution, and men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhabitations. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.
Director: Dome Karukoski
RUNNING TIME: 1h 56 min
2017 / Finland / Sweden / Denmark / Germany
© Helsinki-filmi Oy, 2017

18.–24.9.2020
WHITE CINE QUINTO（ShibyaPARCO 8F)
for times and tickets, visit www.cinequinto.com/white

​​25.9.–8.10.2020
UPLINK​ Shibuya
for times and tickets, visit shibuya.uplink.co.jp/

SATELLITE EXHIBITION An ode to Tom of Finland

21.9.–30.11.2020
The Container Gallery, Nakameguro​
Presenting Japanese artists inspired by Tom’s works: Gengoroh Tagame, Goh Mishima, Jiraiya
the-container.com

The auxiliary program may be subject to changes.