A Finnish artist’s multimedia installation turns a 19th-century British fort into a meditation on loss, resilience and the uncertain future of life on Earth.
Inside the walls of Fort Burgoyne, a 19th-century military fort overlooking the English Channel, a new exhibition by Finnish artist Nastja Säde Rönkkö turns its gaze towards an uncertain future.
From 1 to 31 August, Rönkkö’s Survival Guide for a Post-Apocalyptic Child will be on view, filling the site with video, sculpture and sound. The work, intimate in tone yet global in scope, reflects on what it means to survive — not just physically, but emotionally — in a world marked by disruption and change.
At the heart of the exhibition are 26 short films, each one exploring a different facet of life after collapse. Some address practical matters, like finding food in the wild. Others deal with more internal struggles, such as heartbreak or isolation. A few look further ahead, speculating about life on other planets. The tone shifts between poetic, personal reflection and stark confrontation with ecological and societal breakdown.
‘Survival Guide for a Post-Apocalyptic Child was created for everyone living in this era of radical social upheaval, climate change, and inner transformation,’ Rönkkö said. ‘The underlying idea behind the piece is that an unstoppable chain of events affecting all life on Earth has already begun. An irreversible political, social or environmental chain reaction has thrust us into the midst of a world-changing event. What should we remember about the present era? What should we learn and pass on? How can we dream up new ways of living?’
Born in Helsinki and working across video, writing and performance, Rönkkö has spent much of her career exploring how humans relate to one another and to the world around them. She was named Finland’s Young Artist of the Year in 2019, and received the Below Zero Art Prize in 2023.
The exhibition, curated by Arly Bean, is presented with the support of Arts Council England, the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, and FRAME. It debuted at the Lönnström Art Museum in 2022 and later travelled to the Helsinki Art Museum. This is its first appearance in the United Kingdom.
In addition to the installation at Fort Burgoyne, related events and screenings will take place at several venues: the Live Art Development Agency in London, Quench Gallery in Margate, Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, and as part of the Folkestone Triennial Fringe.
Rönkkö’s work does not offer solutions, but it does offer space — to consider what has already changed, what might still be salvaged, and how we might care for one another in the ruins.
Satellite Screenings and Events:
● Wednesday 16th July, 7pm – Nastja Säde Rönkkö in-conversation with Gemma Rolls-Bentley + screening of select videos at the Live Art Development Agency, London
● Thursday 14th August, 7pm – Nastja Säde Rönkkö in-conversation with
Giulia Casalini at Quench Gallery + screening of select videos at Quench Gallery, Margate
● Saturday 9th August, 1-4pm – Survival Workshop with Cormac Martin
● Friday 15th August – Late Night opening + Foraged Feast with Dr Legumes
● Friday 12 – Sunday 14th September – Installation of select videos inside Prospect Cottage, Dungeness
Nastja Säde Rönkkö: Survival Guide for a Post-Apocalyptic Child opens on the 1st of August, 2025 until the 31st of August 2025 at Fort Burgoyne Dover
©2025 Nastja Säde Rönkkö
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