Project

This interdisciplinary project, an effort of archaeologists, anthropologists, and teachers, explores histories and heritage of the Middle East and its people in today’s Finland.

The project opens up and discusses the complex trajectories of Middle Eastern objects that often have gone undocumented, entangled in notions of western colonialism. We develop and implement critical, hands-on pedagogical resources from stored-away Middle Eastern objects in Finnish museum collections through 3D digitisation and printing.

We explore biographies and dive into subjectivities, listening to the stories of those who have roots in the Middle East and live in Finland today. We look into how they perceive their material heritage. We develop pop-up museums within the heart of communities across Finland, pop ups that gather people around science and art, pop ups that weave links between people from here and there, around stories of the past, of the present and of possible futures.

The project is funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and carried out within the Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires at the University of Helsinki. It partners with the National Museum of Finland and the Finnish Heritage Agency, as well as other museum institutions.

Members

Rick Bonnie

Rick Bonnie

Project leader

Rick coordinates the project and is responsible for preparing a catalogue of Middle Eastern objects in Finland and the pop-up museums. He works since 2014 at the University of Helsinki and his specialisation is in the archaeology and heritage of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East with a strong interest in heritage studies, community engagement, and open science. His other focus has been on ancient water studies and Jewish religious rituals, and has done research, among others, in Israel and Jordan.

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Sanna Saari

Postdoctoral researcher

Sanna is responsible for creating education toolkits for high schools. She recently obtained a doctoral degree in biblical studies from the University of Helsinki and is an expert on Ancient Middle Eastern visual art. Sanna has taught in both comprehensive and high schools in Finland and has strong expertise in education training and teaching.

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Caroline Wallis

Postdoctoral researcher

Caroline is responsible for the anthropological research on migrant histories and experiences and the pop-up museums. Her research has focused on nationalism as a political philosophy and on the construction of collective identifications within such settings. She has also conducted research in historical anthropology, focusing on the political organization of ancient Meospotamian Empires, their religious landscapes and discourses on social justice. As a visual anthropologist, she gained strong experience in her work for the French filmmaker Yann Arthus Bertrand (‘A Thirsty World’, ‘Planet Ocean’).

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Annukka Debenjak-Ijäs

Project researcher

Annukka is responsible for the 3D digitization, preservation, and printing. Trained in archaeology, Annukka has gained extensive experience in photogrammetry and 3D scanning technology during her studies and later project at the University of Turku working with different archaeological museum collections.

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Rose-Marie Kivijärvi

Freelance producer

Rose-Marie is the Making Home Abroad documentary’s freelance producer. Her responsibilities include technical support (camera, sound, lighting), arranging interviews, and interpreting when required. Her professional background is in documentary film and education. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Visual Anthropology from Goldsmiths College in London in 2010 and her films have been shown in various festivals and tv channels.