Program
Paimio Sanatorium Foundation develops and presents a program of events, workshops, seminars, residencies, summer schools, and exhibitions for the public.
In collaboration with partners, the Sanatorium is creating a series of inclusive events exploring the visionary design ethos of Alvar and Aino Aalto, with a specific focus on the architecture of care. Program foster a deeper appreciation for the Aaltos’ legacy and to scale and popularize the rich content of the Spirit of Paimio Conference making it widely accessible and engaging for diverse audiences including the local community.
Paimio Sanatorium Summer Residency 2024
In Summer 2024 the Paimio Sanatorium Foundation offers a unique experience for artists from various fields through an international program. The program includes creative fields such as architecture, design, visual arts, performing arts, music, literature, writing, film, and curating. Those selected for the program have the opportunity to work and live in the masterpiece of modern architecture designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto for three weeks.
By the application deadline, more than a hundred applications had been received from all over the world, from Japan to Brazil. The quantity and quality of the applications surprised the selectors. A small pause was necessary to process the applications, and the number of selected participants eventually rose from 15 to 21.
Paimio Sanatorium brings together thinkers and doers, makers and visionaries to collaboratively build unexpected ways to answer questions through radical, practice-based solutions.
The first group of summer residents stayed at the sanatorium in June. Although the work plan for the residency period was flexible, the June group is closely tied to the Paimio Sanatorium and the Aaltos’ design philosophy in both their projects and methods.
The first ever artists-in-residence were Japanese-Brazilian ceramicist Danielle Yukari, Finnish cartoon artist and artist Juliana Hyrri, American sound engineer Malloy James, French-Canadian design duo Louise Dousset and Xander Maclaren, Finnish artist Anna Pesonen, and British non-fiction writer Gráinne Lyons.
Anna Pesonen is a Finnish artist and designer working predominantly with marble sculpture and large-scale installation design and research. Her practice in the arts started in a marble carving studio in Tuscany, Italy. Pesonen has previously built a successful career in the fashion industry, working as a stylist, consultant, and creative director for over a decade with some of the most prestigious names in the industry. During her residency in Paimio, she plans to finalize designs for a sculpture park and a large-scale marble installation set to take place in 2025 in Tuscany.
Danielle Yukari is a Japanese-Brazilian artist currently based in Helsinki. Her work explores the craft and repetitive gestures involved in ceramics practice or other craft activities, producing functional objects that often feel like sculptures and sculptures that can be repurposed into practical tools. Living and working at Paimio Sanatorium allows her to experience one of the most iconic Aalto projects. Yukari is interested in witnessing how Aalto’s architecture, thoughts, landscapes, and meticulous eye for detail will affect and reflect on her work in terms of concept, colors, shapes, and structures.
Gráinne Lyons is an emerging non-fiction author and illustrator from and based in London, transitioning from a career as an experienced arts and history documentary producer. Her work focuses on telling stories about art, women’s experiences, identity, post-colonial history, and travel. She works mainly in writing and developing non-fiction prose, documentary, and journalism. Lyons’ debut work of non-fiction, “Wild Atlantic Women: Walking Ireland’s West Coast” (New Island Books, 2023, second ed. 2024), is a nature writing memoir. She aims to write and illustrate her next work of non-fiction during her residency.
Malloy James is a sound designer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from New York City, with a diverse body of work exploring space, feeling, and context. His personal practice is grounded in hip-hop composition and production and has bridged into ambient sound design, using this as a base to unite form, collaboration, and influence. He has worked across disciplines and genres and collaborated with various designers. James looks forward to creating a new site-inspired work and is interested in exploring how this piece could continue to engage with the institution and residents in the future.
Juliana Hyrri is an award-winning visual artist, painter, and comic book artist from Helsinki. She has exhibited her works extensively both in Finland and internationally and has published two acclaimed graphic novels. Her works are included in various private collections as well as in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. The residency serves not only as a workspace but also as a journey to gather material and color inspiration for her third graphic novel. Additionally, interaction with fellow artists in what is usually a solitary profession offers a shared experience and thus a new dimension to her work.
Louise Dousset and Xander Maclaren are interdisciplinary information and product designers who met at Design Academy Eindhoven. Dousset’s practice involves tampering with printers, making books, and recording interactions. Maclaren works largely in print and digital design with a focus on composition and typography, but also designs physical things and spaces. He is also a collector, which provides him with a robust library of historical precedents and models for his work and an understanding of the context and lifecycles of objects. They find Aalto’s architecture an ideal subject and setting for their practices of documentation, interpretation, and extrapolation.
The July artists-in-residence are American architect Landon Brown, American designer and educator Thomas Gardner, Tokyo-based architect Aureliusz Kowalczyk, Finnish musician Ringa Manner, Italian architect and illustrator Enrico Pinto, and Japanese, Helsinki-based artist Aiko Tsukahara.
Landon Brown is Founder and Principal of Onland Architecture an independent design and architectural firm based in and working between New York City and the Catskills Mountains region. At Onland, Landon leads design efforts focused on a range of scales including exhibition, cultural, and residential spaces. Prior to launching Onland, Landon was the Studio Director of Toshiko Mori Architect (TMA), the internationally acclaimed design practice founded by Toshiko Mori. At TMA he led a range of design and planning efforts including numerous public, institutional, and master planning efforts.
Thomas Gardner is a designer and educator. His teaching and research explore design methodologies and tactical technologies, with a particular focus on pedagogy, fabrication, community engagement and emerging practices. He is the co-founder of HousingOperative, a design-build agency based in Detroit and dedicated to the realization of architecture for social and cultural change. Following his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, Thomas worked with a number of leading design studios, including Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and Steven Holl Architects in New York, as well as Stanley Saitowitz in San Francisco.
Aureliusz Kowalczyk studied architecture at Technical University in Warsaw and Berlage Institute in Rotterdam. He worked for Tony Fretton and Caruso St John Architects amongst others prior to establishing his own practice with Emiko Hayakawa in 2009 In Tokyo. From 2005 — 2007 he was a visiting critic at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zürich (ETH) and at the University of North London.
Ringa Manner is a Helsinki-based music creator, producer and artist with focus on experimental electro and eclectic pop. She composes music both for her own bands and on commission for various projects, including theater, advertisements, and films. She writes, arranges, and performs songs in a variety of environments, communities, and events.
Enrico Pinto is an Italian architect and occasional illustrator who is becoming a full-time illustrator and occasional architect. He is trained in Milan and currently resides in Paris.
Recently he has published his first graphic novel “Lo Schermo Bianco” with the Italian publisher Coconino Press. He is currently working on private commissions, editorial projects and the writing of a new graphic novel.
Aiko Tsukahara is Japanese artist based in Helsinki. She started her career as artist after graduated as Master of Fine Arts from Kyoto City University of Arts, and moved to Finland in 2006. She has had solo exhibitions and participated group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. Her works are in public collections such as the Finnish state art collection and the Bank of Finland. She is currently working with three-year artist grant (2023-2025) awarded by Taiteen edistämiskeskus.
