Seasons Greetings Party
December 1, 2015 at 5:30 pm
Three generations of Fulbrighters (Fulbright Center Alumni, newly selected Finnish and current U.S. Fulbrighters) got together to celebrate the holiday season with a Season's Greetings Party organized by the ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association.
Welcome Event
August 26, 2015
The ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association welcomes the new U.S. Fulbrighters and returning and current Finnish grantees at the Welcome Event on Wednesday August 26, 2015, at 17:00-18:30 at the Sibelius Upper Secondary School. Join us to welcome them to the Fulbright Center Alumni community in Finland.
Innovation Center Visit at the U.S. Embassy
May 12, 2015
Fulbright Spring Gallery Hop
April, 2015
ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association members visiting Innovation Center with the U.S. Fulbright grantees. In April, Alumni met for the 3rd Fulbright Alumni Gallery Hop in the heart of the Helsinki Design District. Works ranged from the mundane to the controversial. A crowd favorite was the Helsinki Contemporary show of Young Artist of the Year, Ville Andersson, whose detailed black and white works intrigued Finns and Americans alike (photo above center).
We visited a record number of galleries this trip, and the conversation was non-stop. It was great fun to see old friend and meet new Fulbrighters across generations, while enjoying good coffee, delicious food, and exploring the art scene of Helsinki. We hope to see you at the next alumni gathering!
Annual General Meeting
March 3, 2015
Holiday Season Get-Together
December 9, 2014
The ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association members and current U.S. Fulbrighters celebrated the Holiday Season at an afterwork get-together.
Fulbright Fall Gallery Hop
October 30, 2014
At the end of October, members of the ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association enjoyed a Gallery Hop, that included visits to several galleries, two art openings, and a dinner in central Helsinki.
The evening brought together different generations of Finnish Fulbright Alumni, as well as American grantees. The opening of the Icon exhibition by Stephan Balkenhol at Gallerie Forsblom proved to be the favorite of the evening. A quick stop was made at the Helsinki Artotheque, the unique art lending library and gallery of the Helsinki Artists' Association. This sparked a spirited discussion, which benefited from the participation of current grantee in Information Science, Molly Schwartz, highlighting the evolution of modern libraries and the innovations of the Finnish library system. It was an opportunity for fun, good food, and interesting art.The association is looking forward to the Spring gallery hop in 2015: we hope to see you there!
Fulbright Gallery Hop: Sun, art, food and delicious interdisciplinary conversation
April 26, 2014
Fulbright alumni and future grantees gathered in Helsinki for a sun-filled day of gallery visits, coffee, tapas and great discussion. The creative idea for this new networking event came from Fulbright Grantee Matti Heinonen, who will be heading to New York next fall. The tour included visits to Factory St. Gallery, Gallery Ama, Bulevardin Taidesalonki, Helsinki Contemporary and Forum Box, pictured here. Visits to the galleries ignited fascinating discussions that bridged different disciplines and shared Fulbright experiences. The exchange of ideas continued at Juuri, a restaurant specialising in new Finnish cuisine, where the group enjoyed sapas (Finnish tapas) to complete the afternoon.
The tour also included a visit to the Helsinki Taidelainamo, a fine art lending and selling organisation run by the Helsinki Artists Association. This institution, another innovative Finnish invention it seems, allows people to rent and buy a wide selection of fine art from local artists. The ALSA-Fulbright alumni board hopes to make this an annual event, so that American grantees might be introduced to this innovative idea, and maybe even return to their new Finnish homes with a piece of local fine art to enjoy during their grant year. Stay tuned for the Fall Gallery Hop—we hope to see you there!
Visiting Alvar Aalto Museum in Jyväskylä
April 23, 2014
The current American Fulbrighters were in Jyväskylä for the first Fulbright Forum seminar. The ASLA-Fulbright Alumni association organized a pre-conference visit to the Alvar Aalto Museum for the grantees and alumni.
Runeberg's Day Ateneum Museum visit
February, 2014
The 5th of February is celebrated in Finland as Runeberg's Day, in honor of the birth of one of Finland's greatest poets, Johan Ludvig Runeberg. The ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association invited current U.S. grantees and alumni to join them on a tour of the Ateneum Museum, where an exhibit called "On the Shores of the Lake" was on display. We enjoyed a great guided tour of the exhibit, which showcased the work of some of Finland's most famous artists such as Pekka Halonen and Eero Järnefelt.
After the tour we headed to Sokerileipuri Suominen, a sweet little café where we enjoyed runebergintorttu (Runeberg's torte), a Finnish pastry flavored with almonds and rum or arrack, said to be the favorite dessert of Runeberg himself and an invention of his wife, Fredrika Runeberg.
