Guests from Washington, D.C.
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Ayo Okunseinde
Ayo Okunseinde thought of himself and the output of his considerable talents in a compartmentalized way: artist, design studio head, entrepreneur focused on cultural exchange and communication. Then came Helsinki, with its integral approach to art and culture. “From the top down, from cultural institutions, to businesses, to the way people talk about art and culture, I experienced art and culture as relevant and essential to all aspects of life,” says Okunseinde. “And I saw what that approach looked like manifested in such places as the Cable Factory and Aalto University. Here was the connective tissue, the model for all my projects and ideas.”
In his May event hosted at the Embassy of Finland for Washington’s art community-- artists, gallery and museum professionals, collectors, and critics—Okunseinde presented along with Yoko K, a collaborative partner with whom he performs as ayyoko confidential, a multimedia-scape of Helsinki, an immersive environment with sound, video, and images that introduced Washington audiences to his Helsinki experience.
Inspired to share his experience of Finnish culture with a greater audience, Okunseinde set about forming FINUS: Finland/United States Cultural Alliance, a non-profit organization supporting and promoting creative cultural activities between the two countries with a focus on Helsinki/Washington, DC relationships and their artists. Okunseinde travels back to Helsinki in November 2009 for meetings to present a proposal-in-progress to the Helsinki cultural office, the Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum, gallerists, and artists for collaborative input on developing programs between the US and Finland.
At present, FINUS will sponsor three major events a year: an annual benefit, an artist exchange program, and an art expo. Sixteen artists--eight from DC and eight from Helsinki—will be selected by the FINUS Board of Directors to live and work for a month in the respective city. FINUS event programming launches in December 2009 when it brings electronic artists from Finland to perform at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, DC.
“Helsinki was just so magical and amazing, everybody was just so open to ideas,” says Okunseinde. “The notion of being given the opportunity to present ideas and having them well-received gave me that confidence to say I can create this cultural exchange and actually go ahead and do it. I’ve been to other places and have had other ideas for projects, but I’ve never received this level of support. Everybody I met was like ‘yes yes yes, you can do it, we believe in you, we’re interested in this.’ Helsinki has become a sort of the touchstone where everything refers back to the city and goes back out where I think about how I can shape, experience, or create through that lens.”