MAY 22

Season 3, Episode 4: On Social Sustainability in Fashion

In this episode, our guest host Ervin Latimer, fashion designer and founder of label Latimmier, leads us to a conversation on sustainability in the fashion industry, with specific focus on the perspective of the body and questions of gender and size. He is joined by fashion designer Henna Lampinen, the winner of the Finnish Young Designer of the Year Award in 2023, and Steven Cox and Daniel Silver, designers behind the New York fashion label Duckie Brown. Together the designers raise topical questions regarding social sustainability and responsibility in the fashion world: what kind of bodies does the high fashion industry serve? How to bring a variety of bodies into the forefront? How to work beyond the gender dichotomy traditionally defining design work? The episode features the sound piece Prelude to Extinct by artists Teo Ala-Ruona and Tuukka Haapakorpi. The collaboratively created and emotion-evoking piece directs our attention to the body as a processual being with its cavities, hollows and unmapped regions.

59 min

APR 23

Season 3, Episode 3: On AI and Artistry

In this episode our guest host, curator and writer Eileen Isagon Skyers, leads a conversation about the dynamic interplay between artificial intelligence and contemporary art. We hear from artist Sofia Crespo, renowned for her mesmerizing generative art using neural networks, and artist Tuomas A. Laitinen, whose recent artistic practice includes an in-depth study of octopus intelligence. The episode delves into how AI redefines the boundaries of creativity, touching on the impact of machine learning on artistic expression, its ethical considerations, and the role of AI as both tool and collaborator in the creative process. Join us for an exploration into the evolving dialogue between art, technology, and the natural world. The episode features an excerpt of a sound piece by Robert M. Thomas, based on his close collaboration with Sofia Crespo on her piece Structures of Being at Antoni Gaudí’s famed Casa Batlló in Barcelona earlier this year. Mapping and zooming in on the micro life forms found at Casa Batlló, the piece is an immersive invitation for audiences to think about the life cycles and life forms we are necessarily a part of. Thomas formed the musical piece by writing generative algorithms that made intricate harmonic textures evoking natural growth and the stages of Gaudi’s life and development as an artist.

1h 1m

MAR 19

Season 3, Episode 2: On Community Activism

In this episode, we delve into field of community activism in New York and Helsinki, through a discussion led by Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä from the Helsinki-based architectural practice Vokal. They are joined by organizer and activist Annie Carforo and curator, organizer and activist Monxo López to discuss both urgencies and longer-term goals of working towards a more equitable urban space. What kind of impact can community-led grassroots organizing have in a city like New York? What are the most urgent matters on either side of the Atlantic? What kind of recent triumphs and challenges to bring forth? As the sound piece of this episode, we present two tracks, when the saints (interlude) and when the saints (reprise) by artist E. Jane’s alter ego MHYSA. Included in MHYSA’s album NEVAEH (2020), the tracks are a cover of an extended and prophetic version of the familiar song When the Saints Go Marching In. For the artist, this not-quite-as-familiar version of the song symbolizes people imagining a radically different world, and trying to call it into being through music.

1h 1m

FEB 20

Season 3, Episode 1: On Listening and Hearing

The new season of FCINY’s Withstanding podcast begins with a deep dive into sound. Each Withstanding episode functions as a platform not only for discussions on urgent topics in the post-pandemic world, but also for sound-based artworks. In this episode, we discuss sounding, listening and hearing with sound artist, composer and activist Antye Greie-Ripatti and multidisciplinary artist LaMont Hamilton. What kind of a material is sound for an artist? How to adjust oneself to practices of attentive listening? And what kind of social and communal potential lies within sound? Join in as we discuss various aspects of sound and listening, alongside Greie-Ripatti’s and Hamilton’s practices within sound-based art.

1h 1m

12/16/2022

Exercises in Togetherness: Listening to the nonhuman

The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York's Exercises in Togetherness program continues with an online listening session on the Withstanding podcast platform, and in the company of curator Alaina Claire Feldman, artist and musician Miho Hatori, artist Josefina Nelimarkka and host Elina Suoyrjö. Aligning with recent and on-going work of the speakers, the session focuses on the practices of listening to nonhuman entities below and above sea levels. The discussion is a collaboration with the Mishkin Gallery. How can we draw on non-visual observations of nature and science to register and account for the non-human and our inevitable coexistence? What kinds of listening practices can bring us closer to understanding and empathizing with various non-human beings and entities around us? This episode is accompanied by Josefina Nelimarkka's essay Listening to the nonhuman: Sounds of air. In her essay, Nelimarkka elaborates on the topics of the podcast discussion in relation to her artistic practice and research. Please find the essay here: https://bit.ly/3FxNP7r Exercises in Togetherness is kindly supported by New York State Council on the Arts.

1h 10m

12/01/2021

Season 2, Episode 2: On Feminisms and Architecture

Season 2, Episode 2: On Feminisms and Architecture In this episode of Withstanding, we are joined by Lori Brown and Arvind Ramachandran to talk about feminist approaches to architecture. What kind of questions do we actually talk about when we talk about feminist approaches to architecture? What kind of tools do feminist architects and scholars of architecture offer to the field? At the end of the episode, we present a new sound collage by Jonna Karanka, consisting of three previously published sound pieces. The episode is moderated by Tiffany Lambert, Curator of Architecture and Design at the FCINY. Lori Brown is a scholar and architect, and among other things, the co-founder of ArchiteXX, a group dedicated to transforming the architecture profession for women. Arvind Ramachandran is a Helsinki-based architect, organiser and stand-up comedian. Jonna Karanka is a multidisciplinary artist working mainly with textile and sound. Season two of Withstanding is kindly supported by the New York State Council on the Arts. Withstanding is hosted by Elina Suoyrjö, FCINY’s Director of Programs. Visuals by TSTO / Jonatan Eriksson. Theme & editing by Retail Space, a Brooklyn-based composing duo. https://fciny.org/projects/withstanding

1h 7m

11/01/2021

Season 2, Episode 1: The Futures of Urban Planning

In the first episode of the second season of Withstanding, we are joined by Efe Ogbeide and Stephen Zacks to talk about the futures of urban planning. How to practice participatory urban planning, that helps to create more livable, inclusive and equal cities? How to implement hyperlocal strategies into a vaster planetary scale? At the end of the episode, we present the sound piece "focus.point.shoot" (2021) by DeForrest Brown, Jr. DeForrest Brown, Jr. is a musician and theorist, producing digital audio and extended media as Speaker Music. Efe Ogbeide is a co-founder of Helsinki-based participatory urban planning office FEMMA Planning. Stephen Zacks is an advocacy journalist and organizer based in New York City. Withstanding is hosted by Elina Suoyrjö, FCINY’s Director of Programs. Visuals by TSTO / Jonatan Eriksson. Theme & editing by Retail Space, a Brooklyn-based composing duo. https://fciny.org/projects/withstanding

57 min

07/05/2021

Episode 4: Processes of Making Art Public

In this episode, we are joined by curators Ceci Moss and Paul O’Neill, to discuss the work done at Gas in Los Angeles and PUBLICS in Helsinki. How do these versatile organizations and platforms work together with artists, communities and other organizations in making art public? How has the pandemic affected smaller non-profit art organizations, and how to reorganize in the verge of the post-pandemic era? The episode features the sound piece diptych The Flower Garden / Flower Garden Generator by art collective MSHR, formed by Birch Cooper and Brenna Murphy Ceci Moss is a curator, writer and educator. She is the founder of Gas, a mobile, autonomous, experimental, and networked platform for contemporary art based in Los Angeles. Paul O’Neill is an Irish curator, artist, writer and educator, and the Artistic Director of PUBLICS. PUBLICS is a curatorial agency and event space with a dedicated library and reading room in Helsinki. MSHR is the art collective of Birch Cooper and Brenna Murphy. The duo collaboratively builds and explores sculptural electronic systems that take form as audiovisual compositions, performances and installations. Withstanding is hosted by Elina Suoyrjö, FCINY’s Director of Programs. Visuals by TSTO / Jonatan Eriksson. Theme & editing by Retail Space, a Brooklyn-based composing duo. https://fciny.org/projects/withstanding

1h 6m

07/02/2021

Episode 3: Making Art in the Public Realm

In this episode, we discuss artistic practices focused on public spaces together with artists Chloë Bass and Mark Niskanen. What can collaboration mean in an artistic process? How has the pandemic affected the artists’ practices? How can institutions better support artists making work for vast audiences outside museum walls? The episode features audio documentation of the piece Ghost Light (2020) by artists Mark Niskanen and Jani-Matti Salo, and cultural anthropologist Inkeri Aula. The episode is accompanied by an essay on public art and abolition by Chloë Bass, which can be accessed on the FCINY's website. Chloë Bass is a multiform conceptual artist working in performance, situation, conversation, publication, and installation. Mark Niskanen is a multidisciplinary artist working with lens-based media, sound, music, and installations. Primarily working in collaboration with Jani-Matti Salo, the artist duo Niskanen & Salo creates installations that weave together everyday phenomena and technologies. Withstanding is hosted by Elina Suoyrjö, FCINY’s Director of Programs. Visuals by TSTO / Jonatan Eriksson. Theme & editing by Retail Space, a Brooklyn-based composing duo. https://fciny.org/projects/withstanding

1h 11m

06/03/2021

Episode 2: On Art, Ecology, and Sustainable Curating

In this episode, we are joined by Ama Josephine Budge and Essi Vesala to talk about ecology and contemporary art, as well as ecologically sustainable curating. What does ecologically sustainable curatorial work with contemporary art entail in today’s cultural climate? How to expand our ecological thinking when working with art, artists and exhibitions? And how to outline curatorial practices that help to shape livable futures for humans and nonhumans alike? The episode features the sound piece I was told I chop wood like a ballet dancer (On Circles) (2020) by artist Freja Bäckman. Ama Josephine Budge is a speculative writer, artist, curator and pleasure activist whose praxis navigates intimate explorations of race, art, ecology, and feminism, working to activate movements that catalyze human rights, environmental evolutions, and troublesomely queered identities. Freja Bäckman works as a multidisciplinary artist, educator and researcher. Their practice is concerned with collective formations, informed by queer and intersectional feminism. Essi Vesala an independent curator and writer whose practice is informed by speculative ecology and queer feminisms. Their research around ecology and curating has focused on challenging current fossil capitalist structures and creating alternative, sometimes experimental ways of working. Withstanding is hosted by Elina Suoyrjö, FCINY’s Director of Programs. Visuals by TSTO / Jonatan Eriksson. Theme & editing by Retail Space, a Brooklyn-based composing duo. https://fciny.org/projects/withstanding

1h 3m

03/19/2021

Episode 1: The Future of Residency Programs

In the pilot episode of Withstanding, we are joined by Taru Elfving and Kari Conte to talk about residencies and mobility. What are the most urgent topics when thinking about residencies today? How to approach mobility in the midst of an ecological crisis, and a pandemic? Which aspects of existing residency models should we nourish in a post-pandemic time? At the end of the episode, we present “Symbiogenesis” (2019) by composer and sound artist Marja Ahti. Taru Elfving is a Helsinki-based curator and writer, focusing on the intersections of ecological and feminist thought. Curator Kari Conte is currently a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar in Istanbul, researching feminist practices. Marja Ahti is a Swedish-Finnish composer and sound artist based in Turku, Finland. Withstanding is hosted by Elina Suoyrjö, FCINY’s Director of Programs. Visuals by TSTO / Jonatan Eriksson. Theme & editing by Retail Space, a Brooklyn-based composing duo.

1h 3m

SEASON 1 TRAILER

Withstanding - Trailer

Withstanding is a new podcast and essay series by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York. As we slowly approach a post-pandemic era, Withstanding looks into what lies ahead for the field of visual arts together with invited art professionals.

1 min

Withstanding

Episodes

Season 3, Episode 4: On Social Sustainability in Fashion

Season 3, Episode 3: On AI and Artistry

Season 3, Episode 2: On Community Activism

Season 3, Episode 1: On Listening and Hearing

Exercises in Togetherness: Listening to the nonhuman

Season 2, Episode 2: On Feminisms and Architecture

Season 2, Episode 1: The Futures of Urban Planning

Episode 4: Processes of Making Art Public

Episode 3: Making Art in the Public Realm

Episode 2: On Art, Ecology, and Sustainable Curating

Episode 1: The Future of Residency Programs

Withstanding - Trailer

Trailer

Withstanding - Trailer

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