We’re pleased to introduce Catalysti’s new board members, who were elected in May’s Annual Meeting for the coming term. The board works in dialogue with the Co-Artistic Directors to support, dream, and strategise about Catalysti’s future activities. Feel free to reach out to board members and cc- if you sense synergies in thinking, or if ideas for collaborations are sparking.
Meet the board members:
Οlga Spyropoulou (Chair)
https://ospyropo.wixsite.com/portfolio
IG: olga_spyropoulou
Performance artist and writer
Οlga Spyropoulou (she/her) is a performance artist and writer who works to advocate for long-term, sustainable, and ethical artistic collaborations and labour practices in the Finnish Live Art scene. She’s been a Catalysti board member since 2021. Commitment, trust, and accountability are crucial elements in her performances, which also take into consideration vulnerability, and the indeterminacy of collective processes. Her ongoing research examines how legal contracts operate as a commitment that originates from distrust, and a form to bring people together both in private and institutional contexts. She holds an MA in Theatre Studies and has studied the MA in Live Art and Performance Studies program at UniArts Helsinki.
Olga says, “I am really excited with the new shape that Catalysti is taking with the addition of our new artistic directors, and looking forward to the platform’s future”.
Chih-Tung Lin (Vice-Chair)
IG: wendylasts
Curator and artist
Chih-Tung Lin (she/they) is a curator and artist, and Co-Artistic Director of Catalysti (2022-23). Chih-Tung graduated from the Praxis Exhibition Studies MA at University of the Arts Helsinki in 2021. They curate, do performance art, and make illustrations, but mostly their practice lies between these mediums. They often deal with social relations, roles, and play in their works. In joining the board, they wish to share their learnings and reflections on the previous years’ Co-Artistic Director work, and contribute to the long-term development of the organisation.
Aman Askarizad (Treasurer)
IG: aman.askarizad
Visual artist, photographer, and producer
Aman Askarizad (he/him) is a visual artist, photographer, and producer based in Vantaa. As a multidisciplinary artist, he is interested in using different media to create works, situations, and conversations that unravel power dynamics and highlight the ethics of encountering others. His research focuses on the politics of representation in art and music. He is motivated to explore the possibilities within art circles to promote inclusivity and collaborative efforts. As a new board member, he’s driven to promote inclusivity and tackle challenges posed by power dynamics and hierarchies through open dialogue and collective problem-solving.
Dahlia El Broul (Vice-Member)
IG: dee.fishes
Visual artist and curator
Dahlia El Broul (she/her) is a visual artist working at the intersection of curating, education, production, and illustration. She’s pursuing doctoral studies at HFBK (the Fine Art University of Hamburg), and has been a Catalysti board member since 2019, and the Chair from 2020-2023. Before completing her MA in Curating, Mediating, and Managing Art at Aalto University, Dahlia worked in New York City for more than eight years as a children’s book illustrator, independent curator, and educator. She’s worked for the educational department in Documenta 14 in Kassel, and as a Programmes Officer for Frame Contemporary Art Finland. She has experience managing and facilitating creative teams in exhibition, publication, and event production contexts in institutions such as EMMA and HIAP.
Yunjia Liu (Vice-Member)
IG: j.hermit.yunjia.liu.guitarist
Guitarist, composer, singer, and producer
Yunjia Liu (she/her) uses the stage name J. Hermit, and is a guitarist, composer, singer, and producer with a deep love and strong passion for many styles of music. Her work is influenced by philosophical ideas related to minimalism, Taoism, and yin-yang, and her compositions draw inspiration from nature. She also works on multidisciplinary projects in the fields of theatre, dance, painting, and poetry. She has a BA of Music (Classical Guitar) from the University of Melbourne, and an MA of Music (Guitar Soloist and Composition) at University of Music Detmold. As a new board member, she’s interested in multidisciplinary collaborations, and pursuing music-scene opportunities for the association.
Nadja Pärssinen (Vice-Member)
IG: flowwowproductions
Choreographer and dancer
Nadja Pärssinen (she/her) is a choreographer, dancer and movement teacher based in Southern Finland. Her works often involve dialogue between movement and music, interdisciplinary art forms, and linguistics. Her choreographic thinking is inspired by contact and compositional thinking, task and process orientations, lightness, playfulness and stepping towards the edge of the unknown. She is an initiator of the FlowWowProductions platform, and has been a Catalysti board member since 2019, and the Treasurer from 2022-2023.
Image details, from top left clockwise: Olga, Chih-Tung, Aman, Yunjia, Dahlia, and Nadja
Images courtesy of Veikko Kähkönen / Uniarts Helsinki; Noora Lehtovuori; Aman Askarizad; Helka Miettunen; Katrin Kawinkel; and Nadja Pärssinen.
