My World II

Highly educated immigrant women, the story-sharers, share their experiences of inclusion in the My World II jewelry exhibition. The works are created through collaboration between the story-sharer and a professional in the jewelry field.

In the exhibition process, the duo works from the perspective of the story-sharer’s experience of inclusion. The end result is a story and a jewelry piece or pieces, which are presented equally together in the exhibition.

The story-sharers come from different parts of the world. Some of them have only recently moved to Finland, while others have lived here for a long time. It is very difficult for immigrant women to find employment in Finland. The challenges of employment significantly affect integration, language learning, and self-image. The stories are powerful, telling of continuous perseverance, resilience, dreams, and the importance of studying the language.

The story-sharers have come to Finland for various reasons: as refugees, due to a spouse's job, or because they met a Finnish partner abroad and the family moved to the partner’s homeland. For some, a job opportunity was the reason for moving to Finland. Others came because of gender equality, as women in Finland can build a career while having a family.