Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen
When I grow up, I will become a coat rack
Exhibition: 7.2.2025 – 13.4.2025 at 1646, The Hague, Netherlands
In Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen’s glittering and futuristic worlds, blind people drive cars and the elderly wish for care robots to protect them from their human caregivers. In the exhibition When I grow up, I will become a coat rack, she invites us to better understand the consequences of excluding disabled people from decision-making and technological innovation.
Wallinheimo-Heimonen is both an artist and an activist. She highlights unnecessary dependencies between the disabled community and medical and social infrastructures that perpetuate the lower status of disability in society. Adjusting, fixing, rehabilitating or converting people to what is supposed to be normal is no longer politically correct for any minority, and it shouldn’t also be the case for disabled people.
In her playful and humorous worlds where things can be different, she makes us think critically about the potential of inclusion and awareness. In addition, she points out the contribution technology could make if understood from a place of joy and pleasure and what would change if quality of life was prioritised over profit, efficiency and ableism.
This exhibition takes place at 1646, an art space in the heart of The Hague and is supported by the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux and the Alfred Kordelin Foundation.
Presented in collaboration with the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux, the exhibition is part of the pARTir initiative funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU programme.
PARTir is a collaborative initiative of the Finnish cultural and academic institutes aimed at creating a cultural roadmap towards responsible international mobility.
Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen
Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen (b. 1974) is a multidisciplinary artist and disability activist who works with textile art, installation, film and performance. In 2024 she was one of three artists selected to the Pavilion of Finland at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. In 2019 Wallinheimo-Heimonen received the Finnish State Prize for Multidisciplinary Art and in 2018 her short film about care robotics (Reflector of Living Will which comes to 1646) won the Best Screenplay at Pisa Robotic Film Festival. Wallinheimo-Heimonen´s work spans from sculpture and film to performance and activism within disability politics and policy. She has facilitated workshops in Finland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia and China and participated in exhibitions in Finland and abroad. In 2022, Wallinheimo-Heimonen worked in the Harbourfront Centre Toronto artist residency as part of the Nordic Bridges programme and participated in the 8th Biennial of Contemporary Art Fundación ONCE in Madrid. She holds a BA from Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Helsinki. She has osteogenesis imperfecta as a piquant characteristic.
Visit Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen’s website.
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Practical Info:
Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen
When I grow up, I will become a coat rack
7.2.2025 – 13.4.2025
1646 is located in the center of The Hague.
Boekhorststraat 125
2512 CN The Hague
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 70 212 58 60
(10am – 6pm Mon – Fri)
Accessibility
Everybody is welcome at 1646,. At Boekhorststraat 125 there is an eight cm step located in front of the entrance. The outer door is 95 cm wide. At number 127 the entrance door is 83 cm wide. The exhibition spaces are located on the ground floor and are accessible to wheelchairs and buggies. A ramp and assistance are available when needed.
If you require assistance during your visit, the team is just a call away during office hours at +31 685881236, or please email info@1646.nl.
For additional information on public transport options, parking details, doors and toilet dimensions please visit the 1646 website.
