Press release 8 April 2015 WE LOVE WOOD(s)! ONOMA’s summer exhibition 2015 at Fiskars Wood is an ecological local material that inspires the creation of remarkable innovations and export products. The We Love Wood(s)! exhibition seeks new forms for wood, highlighting top Finnish handicraft skills – by means of internationally renowned Scandinavian design. Multidisciplinary and accompanied by related events, the exhibition will open to the public on 24 May 2015 at the Copper Smithy in Fiskars Village. On display will be new works created with the skills of a designer, cabinet maker, ceramist and composer alike. The focus will be on wood as a material to be crafted or processed or as a source of inspiration. How does wood bend and acquire new forms in 2015? Interesting teams of two have been invited to design and produce beautiful new everyday objects. The woodcrafting skills come mainly from Fiskars and neighbouring villages, the designs from Finland, Sweden and Norway. You can follow production processes in Facebook and join in discussion on the We Love Wood(s)! events site already before the opening of the exhibition. There will be challenges, material experiments and search for novelty. The end results can be utility articles, pieces of furniture, spatial works, light fixtures or something quite else. We Love Wood(s)! contributes to a creative discussion about the future of local craft and the significance of design driven micro-‐enterprise in the Finnish economic structure. The thematics of the exhibition also touch on topical ecological challenges, striving to help Finland continue to be a land of green gold and a prominent exporter. The discussion will continue during the summer in numerous We Love Wood(s)! events, of which further information will be soon available. The exhibition will also feature fine arts, presenting the Carborundum series of drawings by artist, painter Jukka Mäkelä, a forestal sound installation by artist Ron Nordström, works of wood by sculptor Martti Aiha and the Norwegian sculptor Knut Wold. The local doll artist Piitu Nykopp’s work “Thanks to the Forest” will be placed along the Fiskars arboreal path. The participants of the exhibition are Martti Aiha, Heikki Aska, Nanna Bayer, Linda Bergroth, Mia Cullin, Kirsti Doukas, Susan Elo, Marco Escartin, Kirsi Gullichsen, Kristian Gullichsen, Lulu Halme, Antrei Hartikainen, Sakari Hartikainen, Simo Heikkilä, Pekka Helin, Miisa Hüttner, Teija Isohauta, Mari Isopahkala, Olli Kari, Minja Kolehmainen, Petri Koivusipilä, Kotaro Kubo, Manthey Kula, Laura Mattila & Mikko Merz , Rudi Merz, Timo Mikkonen, Jukka Mäkelä, Jussi Nordberg, Ron Nordström, Piitu Nykopp, Stefan Nyström, Tuulia Penttilä, Tuula Pöyhönen, Hannu Raatikainen, Saara Renvall, Jenni Roininen, Kristian Saarikorpi, Karola Sahi, Saine Ensemble, Arto Salminen, Ben af Schulten, Howard Smith, Markku Soinio, Matti Söderkultalahti, Ninni Timola, Petri Vainio, Kari Virtanen, Knut Wold, Laura Väre, Ines Wartiainen and Karin Widnäs. The exhibition working group members are Kirsi Gullichsen, Cati Aiha, Kari Virtanen, Petri Koivusipilä, Tuula Saari, Susan Elo, Pekka Helin, Leena Kuumola and Kari Selkälä. The corporate collaborators of We Love Wood(s)! are: Nordea Private Banking, Artek and Fiskars OYJ. The Askon Säätiö Foundation, the Metsämiesten Säätiö Foundation and the Svenska Kulturfonden Foundation have supported the exhibition. We Love Wood(s)! 24.5.–20.9.2015 Further information, photo requests: Open every day 11 am – 6 pm Aila Svenskberg, +358 41 538 7533 Fiskars, Copper Smithy [email protected] www.onoma.org Visit Facebook/We love wood(s)