In conjunction with a 2016 curatorial residency at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), Satu Oksanen will collaborate with artist Ilona Valkonen on the exhibition, Vieno Motors: How to Prepare 2.0. This project reflects on anarchist botany, engages fellow artists and the public, and involves the creation of wearable artworks made from flowers and found materials. An earlier version of this project was shown in the fall of 2015 at Helsinki Art Museum, and is now part of the museum’s permanent collection. This presentation, commissioned by ISCP in collaboration with El Museo de Los Sures, will run for six weeks with an invited guest artist creating floral accessories for visitors each week, starting with artist Ilona Valkonen, who conceived the project. Participating artists include Heidi Hankaniemi, Franz Jyrch, Marja Kanervo, Ragnhild May, Gabriel Specter, Tove Storch, Aarti Sunder, Tattfoo Tan, and C. Spencer Yeh.

Week 1
March 23: Ilona Valkonen and Tove Storch
March 25: Ilona Valkonen and Aarti Sunder
March 26: Ilona Valkonen and Marja Kanervo

Week 2
April 1: Tattfoo Tan
April 2: Heidi Hankaniemi

Week 3
April 8 & 9: Ragnhild May

Week 4
April 15 & 16: C. Spencer Yeh

Week 5
April 22: Heidi Hankaniemi
April 23: Franz Jyrch

Week 6
April 29 and 30: Gabriel Specter

The program will be open to the public and free of charge to participants.

Exhibition curated by Satu Oksanen, Assistant Curator, HAM Helsinki Art Museum.

Ilona Valkonen (born 1980, Helsinki, Finland) is known for her conceptual installations, paintings, and performance work. Valkonen studied at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. In addition to solo exhibitions, she has taken part in numerous group shows in Finland and abroad.

El Museo de Los Sures was born from a partnership between Southside United with Cornell University and Churches United for Fair Housing to preserve the history of the neighborhood’s residents.

This project is the seventh collaboration between Los Sures and ISCP. It is made possible through the generous support of the Consulate General of Finland, New York; The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York; Frame Visual Art Finland; and in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Antonio Reynoso, Council Member, 34th District; and the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation. Satu Oksanen’s curatorial residency is made possible by the Fulbright Center Finland. The exhibition is also supported by the donations of ChristyGardens, Hannah Edmunds, and Smiling Hogshead Ranch. Special thanks to Maija Tanninen-Mattila.