Spring in Kiasma

While the Ateneum premises are being emptied, Chiasma is gradually being filled with works of contemporary art. In order to open the new building providing a full range of contemporary art by the end of May, hasty preparations for exhibitions and productions has already been under way for quite a while.

Just after the New Year, the new museum building will be swarming with people preparing for the opening festivities at the end of May, as well as arranging exhibitions and launching activities . "The new building is loaded with information technology which will be tested during the spring", says Esa Niiniranta, the new Media Technician of the Museum of Contemporary Art. "Managing bit flows and ensuring network operations will be important tasks during the spring. Technical requirements for exhibitions can be almost anything. In fact, it is not a question of having the latest technology, but more a question of being able to fulfil the artists suggestions. After all, the only boundary in art is the imagination. All exhibitions will be mounted individually. In-house communication systems also pose a specific challenge. In the Ateneum building, the premises for the Museum of Contemporary Art were small and compact, even in physical terms: people were close to each other which made communication fairly easy. What requirements do the size of the building, interdependent activities and the fact that the staff is scattered around the building set to the system? It is exciting to develop new ways to keep people, i.e., those in charge of exhibition planning, technical issues as well as information officers, theatre staff plus other numerous issues and persons up-to- date. The future is interesting, the setting gorgeous, and the staff professional", says Niiniranta.

Conservator Siukku Nurminen waits for the construction dust to settle in Kiasma. Besides organising the move into the new building in spring, she will also have to attend to her every- day duties as a conservator. The condition of the pieces has to be maintained, inventories have to be made and the acquisition of new equipment has to be discussed because of rapid developments in the field. There are still many issues to be considered: incorporating the old, established practices of the Finnish National Gallery into the new practices of Kiasma, for instance, in transportation and storage. Although the building is functional and solutions provided by modern technology are carefully planned, such as transporting even large works around the building, additional space is scarce. "Nevertheless, it is lovely to start work afresh, in a new, economical and beautiful building."