An interview with Inna by Inna at Institut for X
Inna Huttunen
Hi!
This Inna Huttunen from Finland, currently in Aarhus, Denmark - at a wonderland called Institut for X! I arrived four days ago, and been chatting a lot with myself and my journal in quarantine, so let me welcome you to an interview between me and me:
Who are you?
I’m a producer and experience designer from Finland, specialized in immersive, multidisciplinary art experiences.
I’ve got a Master’s degree in International arts management from HEC Montréal, SDA Bocconi and SMU Dallas, as well as a degree in Experience Management, with a specialization in Adventure Tourism.
In my mind, art and adventure go hand in hand: be it the adrenaline rush during a skydive in a breathtaking scenery, a collective ecstatic feeling at an underground techno rave or the serenity of a contemporary art installation. I’m a dreamer and a doer. I laugh a lot, cry often and I’m always in love. I get stuck and restless in dry, dusty establishments.
I co-lead a company called Recover Laboratory that creates surreal holistic artworks, drawing from the steamy crossroads of contemporary circus, visual art and experience design and further mixing them with other art forms. I also freelance for other companies, one of my recent employers being Race Horse Company and The Center for Everything. Currently I’m also working for a mysterious start-up called EVE Ltd, that is building artificial intelligence with a heart.
Nice to meet you! Where are you now?
I’m at a place that is many things. I’ve been isolating for the last few days and I’m certainly not sure what is happening around me, but what I know for sure is that there’s this constant bubbly feeling of possibilities. I can feel it in the air. And in the music. I feel like anything might happen. And I am pretty certain that a lot of that anything is, indeed, happening here.
On their website, they introduce themselves like this:
“Institut for (X) is a culture, business and education platform founded in 2009. It is an independent and not-for-profit culture association arising from citizen initiatives.”
Mission
Best possible neighborhood for all.
Facilitate and enhance cultural activities, combining artistic creativity with business, public debate and public education.
A dynamic organisation and a laboratory for urban experiments, where initiatives grow organically.
The (X) is continuously redefined by the members of the platform, which include:
600+ active members
90 studios & workshops
43 businesses
15 associations
5 networks
The outdoor spaces and park areas are public and we invite everyone to use and co-produce them.
Everyone at (X) pay rent and organise through neighbourhood meetings. The administration is reduced to an absolute minimum, and everybody are janitors.
The platform produces events and products of cultural and commercial nature, with an estimated yearly turnover of DKK 20 mill.” (approximately 2.7 million euros)
That’s pretty impressive. So, why are you there?
Last summer I pumped into an interesting opportunity called “New Horizons Leadership Programme”, an initiative by the Baltic-Nordic Circus Network. Soon I started the journey along with a cool bunch of creative minds from the Nordic and Baltic Countries.
I work mainly with multidisciplinary projects and I’ve got an endless thirst to dive into impactful initiatives. We’ve been lately working on launching a new platform, and a venue in Helsinki. After my initial plan of going to Russia didn’t work out, my friend nudged me to find out more about “Institut for X”, a place that has been coming up as kind of a benchmark and success story for creative communities.
So then, dear Typhaine and Lina set a date with Vivian and Mads from X and soon I found myself booking flights to Denmark. So, here I am!
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What are some things you’re seeking to dive into while there?
I believe in a sweet spot or arts, adventure and business and I want to build ways to facilitate this. I've been leading different creative organizations for several years, and I feel like it's the time to change the gear. Or direction. Or the car.
I see the creatives struggle with resources constantly, and I’m tired of witnessing a burnout after another. At the same time the world is thirsty for meaningful experiences. I believe something more can be done here in terms of building durable bridges. I’ve got a feeling that (X) has found a way to succeed in this.
A list of things that interest me here
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Business models - Financially and socially sustainable ways of combining arts and business
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Community and innovation management - Great things seem to grow organically here. What has the journey been like to get here, what’s happening on the backstage?
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Well-being & joy - How to make space for creativity and to do all this without burning out?
Cool, thanks a lot! I notice you’d have more stuff to talk about, but we’re running out of space this time...
No worries, you can dive into more in my next posts! Bye!
Bye!
Photos:Institut for X and Inna Huttunen
Published on 6.04.2021
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NHLP has been made possible with the support of Nordisk Kulturfond and Nordic culture Point, Nordic Council of Ministers, and Lund Municipality
