Withstanding

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.