Yrjö Sotamaa

Yrjö Sotamaa, (b. 1942, Helsinki) is a Finnish designer. Sotamaa is Professor of Design Innovation in the School of Design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. He was president of the University (known in Finnish as TAIK) from 1986 until 2008. He received his MA in Interior Architecture and Furniture Design from the University of Art and Design Helsinki where he studied with Kaj Franck and Antti Nurmesniemi.

Carreer

Sotamaa entered the service of the TAIK in 1975 as Head of Department of Interior Architecture and Furniture Design. In 1969-70 he was a Visiting Professor at Purdue University in the USA by the invitation of Victor J. Papanek and was a close collaborator of Papanek for several years. During the time in Purdue he also collaborated with Buckminster Fuller. In 1972-73 he studied nomadic cultures and handicrafts in East Africa.

During his time as president of TAIK, Sotamaa had a visible role in the development of the Arabianranta area of Helsinki where the University is situated, under the notion of the Living Lab, first put forward by MIT Professor William Mitchell, in terms of a research methodology for sensing, prototyping, validating and refining complex solutions in multiple and evolving real life contexts. [ [http://www.helsinkivirtualvillage.fi/Resource.phx/adc/opiskelu/livinglab/livinglabinenglish.htx Living Lab ] ]

Sotamaa has played a key role in the creation of the Finnish national design policy and the reinforcement of the position of design in the Finnish Innovation System. [ [http://www.research.fi/en/innovationsystem Finnish Innovation System ] ] He has also played an active role in renewing the Finnish university system and is the initiator of the Helsinki Innovation University, named Aalto University, which will be operational on 1.9.2009. [ [http://kv.kyweb.org/2008/02/15/the-innovation-university-student-seminar-on-internationalisation-2622008/ Innovation University ] ]

Sotamaa serves as a scientific advisor to universities in China, Korea and Denmark. He is Guest Professor at Tongji/CAUP University, Shanghai and Visiting Professor at Nottingham Trent University, UK.

Sotamaa holds a number of expert positions. He is Chairman of the Executive Board of the Art and Design City Helsinki ADC Ltd and the Council of Creative Industries in Finland, and a Member of the Round Table of Design in Finland. As Chairman of the Finnish Information Society Forum and as a Member of the Information Society Forum of the European Union (1995-99), he participated in research on the evolution of the information society and in the planning of future strategies. He was recently the Vice-Chairman for the National Committee preparing the new Governments Art and Artist Policy Programme for Finland.

Sotamaa has had a prominent role in the development of Finnish cultural life and higher education policies. He was Vice-President of the Finnish Council of University Rectors in 1997-2003. He is currently Chairman of the Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation TWRB and member of the Executive Boards of many culture organisations including the Asko Foundation and the Väinö Tanner Foundation.

Sotamaa was elected in 2001 the first President of CUMULUS, the International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media (2001-2007). He is Chairman of the Foundation of the Finnish Institute in Japan, and a Founding Member and Chairman of the Japan-Finland Design Association JFDA (Finland). He also serves on the Advisory Boards of the Finnish Cultural Institutes in Rome and Madrid. He is a Member of the Finnish-Swedish Academy of Industrial Design and the International Advisory Board of Shanghai Institute of Visual Art, Fudan University.

Production

Professor Sotamaa has worked throughout his career towards creating a better understanding of the importance of design. The means for this have been exhibitions, lectures, numerous articles and publications as well as strategy reports. Strengthening the role of design trough national level policy work has now expanded to EU level. A major area of his work is development of design education and research to better meet the needs of the economy and society. The underlining theme of the professor Sotamaa´s activities is related to forwarding sustainable development through design and international collaboration and the highlight of this work is the Kyoto Design Declaration in 2008. Professor Sotamaa has been also actively involved in university policies and produced a number of publications and articles of university autonomy, academic quality systems and internationalizing university education.

The production of Professor Sotamaa includes two major international exhibitions: Varde and Q - Designing the Quietness. Varde was produced by six major Nordic Design Universities with the support of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Over 300 students of the six schools were addressing the future challenges of the world and producing visions of the future through their works. The exhibition was first presented in the Royal College of Art in London and toured around the world in 2004-2006 in Rome, Berlin, Budapest, Barcelona, Sapporo, Taipei, Seoul, Linz and Helsinki. Q -Designing the Quietness was a major event of the Feel Finland program in Japan in 2003 and was first presented in the Living Design Center Ozone in Tokyo and later in 2004 in Fiskars Design Village, Finland. A book on the theme of the exhibition was published in 2004.

Professor Sotamaa´s major publications include works of university autonomy, academic quality, art and design policy. The Economic Autonomy of the Finnish Universities (Yliopistojen taloudellinen autonomia, Finnish University Rectors Council, 2002) laid foundations on the expansion of the autonomy and the reform of Finnish Universities in 2008. The other university publications include: Quality in Focus (Laatu polttopisteessä, Finnish University Rectors Council, 2002). Sotamaa was chairperson of the expert groups writing both of the publications. The policy reports include Art is Opportunities (Taide on mahdollisuuksia, ehdotus valtioneuvoston taide- ja taiteilijapoliittiseksi ohjelmaksi, Ministry of Education, 2002), which was a proposal to governments Art and Artist policy. Professor Sotamaa was vice chairperson of the expert group writing the proposal. The second policy work resulted to Design 2005!, Government Decision-in-Principle on Finnish Design Policy (Ministry of Education, 2000).

Sotamaa is author of the Kyoto Design Declaration, which was approved by CUMULUS Association in 2008, and in which the global community of 140 Art and Design institutions committed themselves to sustainable development. He has also published Ateneum Maskerad, Forms and Transformations of Finnish Design (University of Art and Design, 2001, chairman of the project).

Professor Sotamaa is an active writer and has been columnist for the Finnish business daily newspaper Kauppalehti Presso and Kauppalehti since 2004.

Awards

Sotamaa has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Estonian Academy of Arts. He is an Honorary Member of the Finnish Association of Designers (ORNAMO) and Graafiset muotoilijat (GM), as well as of the Royal College of Art in the UK. He is a Member of the Comite d´honneur of Ecole Supérieure d´Arts Graphiques et d´Architedcture Interieure-Design ESAG-Penninghen, France.

Sotamaa was awarded the MTV3 Finland Culture Prize in 1999, the Albert Gebhard Medal of the Graphic Designers Association, Finland in 2003, the Sign of Honor of the Latvian Academy of Arts in 2006, the Prix Met de Penninghen, Ecole Superiéure d´Arts Graphiques et d´Architecture Interieure-Design Esag-Penninghen in 2007, and he was a Nominee for the 2002 World Technology Award in Design. He was also awarded the Most Beautiful Book of the Year 2000 Prize. He is listed in the "Who is Who in the World" and "International Who is Who of Professionals".

Sotamaa has been decorated with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, Japan; the Golden Medal of the City of Helsinki, Finland; Commander, Order of the Lion of Finland; Commandeur in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau, Netherlands; Knight, First Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland.

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