On April 29, Finnish artist Hans Rosenström’s site-specific sound installation Out of Silence, inspired by Arvo Pärt’s music and the architecture of the park complex designed by Louis Kahn, will open at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park on Roosevelt Island. The installation was created in collaboration with the Vox Clamantis ensemble and is dedicated to Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday.
“Arvo Pärt’s music has inspired many artists from different artistic fields, and this project exemplifies this perfectly,” noted Anu Kivilo, CEO of the Arvo Pärt Centre.
Out of Silence is a spatial journey, with the sound unfolding sequentially across a dozen hidden speakers that encourage movement through the park. Hans Rosenström has combined three elements that are also important in Arvo Pärt’s music: the power of the human voice, silence, and the profundity of presence. All sounds in the installation were recorded by the Vox Clamantis ensemble in October 2025 at the Arvo Pärt Centre.
According to Jaan-Eik Tulve, artistic director of the Vox Clamantis ensemble, the collaboration with Hans Rosenström and project curator Alina Girshovich was exceptionally interesting and, for the ensemble, also unique. “Hans conveyed his vision of the soundscape verbally, and we set about implementing it through improvisation. Since modal thinking and horizontality play a very important role in Arvo Pärt’s music, we agreed on a certain modality and the horizontal development of musical energy. The rest happened in the moment,” said Jaan-Eik Tulve.
The piece runs approximately 15 minutes and can be experienced every hour from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Four Freedoms Park in New York.
“Entering the installation evokes a sense of belonging, and, much like Pärt’s music and Kahn’s architecture, offers a moment of solace within an often disconnected world,” remarks the installation’s curator, Alina Girshovich.
Estonian Cultural Attaché in the United States, Madli-Liis Parts, added that Out of Silence convincingly demonstrates how Estonian music speaks to an international audience beyond the traditional concert hall and resonates not only with music enthusiasts. “The sound installation, inspired by Arvo Pärt’s work, creates a unique meeting place between music, architecture, and urban space, offering the New York audiences the opportunity to experience his sound world directly and personally. The event, which has been years in development, once again confirms the importance of supporting opportunities for creators from different countries, as well as professionals from various cultural and artistic fields, to meet and visit places that are meaningful to Estonia,” noted Madli-Liis Parts.
The installation Out of Silence will be open at Four Freedoms Park in New York from April 29 to June 21, 2026. It is open daily except Tuesdays, when the park is closed to visitors.
The project is supported by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, the Estonian Ministry of Culture, the Saastamoinen Foundation, the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York (FCINY), and the Consulate General of Finland in New York.
About Hans Rosenström
Hans Rosenström (born 1978, Lohja, Finland) studied at the Malmö Academy of Fine Arts in Sweden and the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. He is best known for his site-specific sound installations. Using a variety of different mediums—from the ephemeral yet tactile qualities of sound, the intricacies of language, to architectural constructions and light— he aims to build sensitive and nuanced environments that invite viewers to become part of the work, to sense their own presence, and to reflect on their interconnectedness with the world around them.
Rosenström’s works are featured in many art collections, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York, the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, and the Espoo Museum of Modern Art. In 2020, he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Media Art.
New York’s Four Freedoms Park
Located on the southernmost tip of Roosevelt Island across the river from the United Nations, Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park commemorates the former president and the basic human freedoms he championed globally. The park’s architectural design was created by architect Louis Kahn.
More information about the park: https://fdrfourfreedomspark.org/