Kupru Gallery
2.9.-30.9.2023
Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 5pm
CHAPTER 1 / LUKU 1 is an exhibition produced by two collaborating organisations – MAKE Southwest in the UK and ONOMA Cooperative of Artists, Designers and Artisans in Fiskars. The exhibition is taking place in Kupru gallery and is open from the 3rd until the 30th of September 2023.
In early 2023 the representatives of MAKE Southwest, an organisation focusing on promoting locally created crafts in the Southwest of England, contacted the Executive Director of Onoma Matleena Kalajoki and the Exhibition Producer Jouni Virtanen. Laura Wasley the CEO of MAKE Southwest and Flora Pearson the Exhibition Manager had learned about our unique cooperative of creative people located in a similar historical surroundings to their own community in Bovey Tracey, by Dartmoor in Devon.
MAKE Southwest is an acclaimed exhibition space for contemporary craft and design as well as a leading charity for craft education. It was founded as Devon Guild of Craftsmen in 1955 by a small group of makers, led by Edward Baly, who were enthusiastic about the idea of promoting the best in regional craftwork. In 1986 they bought the historical Riverside Mill to start a unique exhibition and education centre, utilising and selling craft by their 250 plus local Maker Members.
Onoma the Cooperative of Artists, Designers and Artisans of Fiskars was registered in 1996 and has been producing exhibitions locally and internationally for nearly 30 years. Its 143 members work in wide range of different fields and with various materials. The cooperative has been running a member only art, craft and design store ONOMA Shop for 25 years and an international Artist in Residence program for more than 15 years in the historical ironmongery village of Fiskars. Fiskars village was founded in 1649, and it is also a home to the largest listed company in Finland, Fiskars Group (or Corporation, you know, the orange scissors?). Onoma was founded in a time when the industry was moving elsewhere from the village and it was in dire need of spark of life. It was time for the creative people to step in, and invited by then vice president of Fiskars Corporation Ingmar Lindberg they started settling in the village making it their home and place of various kind of creative work.
In early 2023 MAKE Southwest had been looking for creative partners to do exhibition exchange with and after the first online meeting between the parties in March 2023 it was clear that there is undeniable synergy and many exciting similarities between these two creative organisations. The idea to start producing joined exhibitions in alternating years was born.
The first edition – first of many to come we hope – is called CHAPTER 1 as it symbolises the beginning of our collaboration. We are showing works from eight artists and artisans:
Sally Baldwin, textile artist
Lulu Halme, visual artist, graphic designer
Barton Hargreaves, artist and printmaker
Tiina Karimaa, sculptor
Peter Lanyon, green wood furniture maker
Syann Van Nitfrik, jeweller
Riitta Talonpoika, ceramic artist
Imogen Taylor-Noble, ceramic artist
