SAUMA [DESIGN AS CULTURAL INTERFACE]

SAUMA [Design as Cultural Interface] presents innovative contemporary design from Finland. The works in the exhibition explore new approaches to usability, user experience and the design process itself.

SAUMA introduces twenty installations including new portable devices, an experimental kitchen, an urban sauna and a gaming prototype. Other exhibition items study the ideas of portability, sensory experiences and the ways in which we navigate our urban environment. The contents of the exhibition are updated for each presentation.

The SAUMA exhibition has been touring widely in North America for a period of three years before its presentation in Finland in the beginning of 2008. It was first shown at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, DC in fall 2005. Its second showing took place in downtown New York at the World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery over the summer 2006 in conjunction with the World Financial Center Arts & Events as part of the River to River festival.

SAUMA was presented in Los Angeles at the A+D Architecture and Design Museum from June 30 to August 28, 2007. From Los Angeles the exhibition traveled to Europe where it will be shown at Design Museum in Helsinki, Finland from January 18 to March 2, 2008. More info on the exhibition's European tour will be posted on this site soon.

SAUMA is produced by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York. The exhibition was part of the Finnish Design Year 2005, a year-long celebration of Finnish design.