Fié Neo is an Singaporean interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker and designer. She started with fashion and was always interested in the idea of wearable art. An art piece reflecting the social or political that can be worn out into public spaces and is accessible to everyone, an inclusive art that is not exclusively for an elite group of gallery goers. While experimenting how to present her wearable art she entered theatre and performance, both designing costumes and set as well as performing for more than 3 years. However, it frustrated her that performances in theatres often always reach out to an audience of a specific demographic and background. Hence, since 2016, she started doing interventions in public spaces. Her memory exchange series <Toby>, <Sally> and <Tally> were brought to Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Venice Biennale, Kings Cross Canal Festival, London Design Festival, #welcomerefugees demonstration at Trafalgar Square, Battersea Arts Centre, Gillman Barracks Singapore etc. Her Conversations series interventions engaged the public with the topic ‘home’ and were presented around London, in Royal Albert Hall, Tate Modern, Central Saint Martins and around public areas in Kings Cross.
Her films are experimental and often social or political. A range of topics from violence, gender inequality, war and depression to civic participation and universal basic income were addressed in various films.
Since 2017 she has also started INSEP, an international network for socially engaged practitioners to bring together practitioners and promote the sharing of collective knowledge. In her works she discovered her inadequacy of knowledge around ethics and boundaries and realised the lack of specialised support in this field. She set out to address that by setting up this network to bring people together for exchange and discussions. This network is also in part to document the resources and learning from the European Academy of Participation project that she had been involved in for 2 years.
Tuula Nikulainen (born 1959) is a Finnish textile artist living and working in Angelniemi South East Finland. Tuula has worked as a textile artist since 1985. She has MA from Turku University in Folklore and Environmental Studies. She is also a weaver. Tuula´s artwork has been exhibited in many galleries and art museums in Finland, Europe and New Zealand. She has also given several felt workshops around Finland, Europe, and New Zealand. Also she has been teaching feltmaking as “forgotten art” in Mongolia (Mankhan 1992).
Tuula is known from large pictorial felts made with the help of a horse. Additionally, Tuula is known for installations of shelters, wagons, and spaces to connect with the Earth. In 1990 Tuula worked as regional Artist in Turku District and her main theme was Environmental Art and Crafts. She is also a charter member and chairman of an association Sunny Future (2004): Ecological culture for children, young people and elderly. Tuula has been the producer and the curator of Halikonlahti Green Art trilogy: 4E (Ecology, Energy, Esthetics, Ethics 2006), Waterways 2008 and Food Chains 2001. In the 2000s her work have become more community art focused on nature, sustainable living and harmonious life with others.
Ari Kivelä is currently finishing MSc studies in Integrated Natural Resource Management at the Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany. His focus areas in the MSc studies were land and water, and biodiversity and nature conservation. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from Häme University of Applied Sciences Finland. His studies have given him a socio-economic-ecological approach to natural resource use and environmental issues.
During his Bachelor studies, he was involved in many projects for the cities and communities in Finland, e.g., environmental education, communication in sustainable development, and energy and waste management projects. Moreover, he participated in a rural development project in Kenya, where community participation was also the key to success. He also worked for a recycling and environmental education company in Curitiba in Brazil during his Bachelor studies. Where he had a chance to be involved in recycling and waste management implementation for an independent music festival.
During his master studies, he has worked for IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature in Málaga in Spain. There he assisted the Mediterranean species team in their conservation projects and in listing Mediterranean plant species with the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species methodology. Recently he just finished his work on his master thesis at the Conservation Biogeography Lab of the Humboldt University of Berlin on grassland change in the Chaco.
Sini Ilmonen Finland
I am a Circular Economy Specialist with master’s level specialization in Corporate Environmental Management. In addition to Finland, I have been working and studying in Spain, Costa Rica, England and Zambia. I am a passionate networker and I believe in cooperation with different kind of organizations and people in many fields. I am also a co-founder of Circular Economy company, Helsieni Oy. We produce urban oyster mushrooms grown on used coffee grounds of local cafés. I truly believe that we should know from where our food and other products we consume are made from and coming from.
I’m working for Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto Oy, which is public waste management company in South-West Finland. I am thrilled to work with challenges which are at the same time important to myself and which matter also globally. I believe that by using more services than products and by transition from linear to circular economy we have better chance to reach a balance and a better future. We need to change our way of thinking and behaving to give the Earth a chance to heal all the damages we have done. We all need to work hard for the environment, justice and equality.
At the moment I’m mostly working for developing the circularity of textiles. Textile industry is one of the most polluting industry in the world and it has many negative impacts. Textiles touch each one of us! The industry and fashion should be redesigned from raw-materials to production and from usage to utilization. I am proud to run on the front line with my Finnish colleagues from many different organizations for developing the circular economy of textiles. #telaketju
iseasfinland 