Newsletter 
We all know it – the Baltic Sea faces many well-known and acknowledged challenges, such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss The science is clear, yet what lingers still is the most crucial challenge of all: the need to truly act.
In response, this exhibition – Reimagining our future with the Baltic Sea – brings together artists from the Guarding the Baltic Sea Residency, along with students, staff, and researchers from Aalto University.
Featuring films, artefacts, experimental materials, and installations, the exhibition invites visitors to explore our embodied connections with marine environments. For instance, would you wear a hat cast from seaweed, largely available in the Baltic Sea?
The exhibition unfolds in two parts:
Part I (Sept 4 – Oct 5): Outcomes from Guarding the Baltic Sea Residency, as well as sea-related work by students and staff at Aalto University, Department of Design.
Part II (Oct 6 – 24): Outcomes from Aalto University’s Materials and Living Systems 2025 course, in which MA Contemporary Design students work in relation to the Baltic Sea.
The exhibition, part of Helsinki Design Week’s “Designs for a Cooler Planet” satellite event, encourages reflection on ocean literacy and the potential of biocentric design to inspire care, action, and systemic change.
The exhibition opening will be held in Venturo Studio on September 4, between 5 PM and 7 PM. Both the opening and the exhibition are free to attend and require no registration. The exhibition is presented in English.
The exhibition itself can be seen around the clock during the exhibition dates; given the aquarium-like structure of the Venturo Studio with its glass walls, all the works can be seen from the outside of the space. No entrance is thus needed to fully enjoy the exhibition!
Guarding the Baltic Sea artists:
Monika Czyżyk (Poland)
Julia Lohmann (Germany)
Ville Raasakka (Finland)
Kristina Õllek (Estonia)
Camille Zisswiller & Nicolas Lefebvre (France
Aalto University Students:
Anna van der Le
Ariane Carde
Carla Rotenberg
Ena Naito
Hitomi Asaka
João Justino
Jonna Rutanen
Juni Sun Neyenhuys
Kauri Rantala
Mattia Anderle
Niina Riutta
Paulina Varis
Saga Rantanen
Seoyoung Lee
Vladimir von Arx
The exhibition is curated by Julia Lohmann and Taru Elfving.
Guarding the Baltic Sea is a project by EUNIC Finland and Goethe-Institut Finnland, French Institute of Finland, the Polish Embassy in Helsinki, and the Estonian Embassy in Helsinki.
EUNIC — European Union National Institutes for Culture — is Europe’s network of national cultural institutes and organisations, with 39 members from all EU member states and associated countries.