Behind the Blackboard Project

As part of my curatorial and socially engaged practice, I co-developed the Behind the Blackboard Project, a series of long-term workshops designed for school students aged 12–16 in different countries. The project created creative spaces where young people could re-imagine their surroundings and transform their ideas into reality. Over the course of one to three months, participants identified issues within their school communities, developed solutions, and implemented them through artistic and activist methods.

What made the project powerful was that the students themselves became both creators and agents of change. In several cases, they also documented their journeys on video, which we later transformed into short documentaries.

Between 2015 and 2017, the project was carried out in:

Helsinki, Finland – at Kaisaniemi and Keinutie Primary Schools (2015)
Chattogram, Bangladesh – at Ambition Ideal School & College (2016)
Nepal – at Shree Rajeshwori Higher Secondary School, Sipapokhare, Sindhupalchowk, and Dibya Joyti English Medium School, Bungmati, Lalitpur (2017)

Each location brought unique challenges and inspiring solutions:

In Helsinki, students used participatory video to address conflicts in their class. On May Day, they launched a campaign by releasing a thousand balloons printed with messages about school issues, sharing their concerns both inside the school and at the bustling Helsinki University metro station.
In Chattogram, students responded to poor peer communication by creating a dedicated social space that also functioned as a student-run library.
In Nepal, where students were studying in temporary shelter schools after the earthquake, participants built soundproofing from local materials to improve classroom acoustics—turning resourcefulness into resilience.

Behind the Blackboard was realized in collaboration with artists and educators including JP Kaljonen, Lauri Ståhlberg, Rabin Maharjan, and Muna Bhadel. Together, we produced a series of socially engaged works presented as three single-channel video installations (30 min / 16:9 / HD), created across Finland, Bangladesh, and Nepal between 2015–2017.

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