IHME Helsinki 2025: Audience workers

There are three audience workers for IHME Helsinki Commission 2025: Nelia Bechkalo, Verneri Salonen, and Vilja Salo. Our audience workers play an important role as facilitators and guides for IHME Helsinki Commissions. They are there to answer questions and people can discuss the Commission with them. Each one comes from a different educational and experiential background, bringing valuable expertise and perspectives to the exhibition.

Nelia is a culture and education professional, as well as an interpreter. She is from Poltava, Ukraine, and has lived in Finland for a year. She has international work experience and a deep understanding of the significance of art and cultural events in fostering dialogue between nations. Nelia is inspired by the transformative power of learning and creativity:

I believe that art connects people across linguistic boundaries.

Verneri is a multidisciplinary artist based in Helsinki. Through his art, he explores an inner longing for connection, meaning, and responsible belonging in the world.

Being an audience worker with IHME Helsinki feels meaningful, as it is a way to promote art with an emphasis on ecological awareness and shared responsibility at a time when our bond with nature and the systems that sustain life is under threat.

Vilja has studied art history at Åbo Akademi University, where her interests focused on various aspects of sustainable development, such as equality in art and architecture, sustainable urban planning, and protection of our built heritage. Vilja’s interest in Ukrainian culture began in 2018, when she got to know about Marija Primatšenko’s art on an internship. Now, she sees working with Zhanna Kadyrova’s The Forest as a natural continuation of that interest. For her, meaningful encounters and open conversations are at the heart of audience engagement:

I believe that Zhanna Kadyrova’s touching and timely work, The Forest, as well as the environment around Vanhakaupunginkoski Rapids, invites us to see humankind’s impact on nature in a highly multifaceted way. It also encourages us to reflect on the value-based choices that are deeply intertwined with the tangible cultural heritage, reconstruction, ecological values, and environmental concerns.

IHME’s audience workers are on the spot at the Power Plant Museum in Helsinki to share information about Zhanna Kadyrova’s The Forest. Visitors can also explore the work on free guided tours:

• Wednesdays at 18:00 (in Finnish / English)
• Sundays at 12:00 (in Finnish / English)
• Sundays at 14:00 (in Ukrainian)

Guided tours for groups can also be arranged at other times—contact us to schedule a free visit: saara.moisio@ihmehelsinki.fi

The Forest is on view at the Power Plant Museum until October 2:

• Tue–Fri, 15–20
• Sat–Sun, 12 –17