Teo Ala-Ruona (b. 1990, Kuopio, Finland) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Helsinki, working internationally within the expanded field of performance. His practice intersects performance art, theatre, and choreography, with a focus on trans embodiment and ecology. Grounded in critical theory and speculative fiction, Ala-Ruona uses the performing body as a reflective surface to examine the impact of social, sociopolitical, and historical structures of power.
His work has been presented at prominent institutions and events, including the Performa Biennial in New York, the Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, and the Finnish National Gallery Kiasma in Helsinki. He holds two master’s degrees: an MA in Art Education from Aalto University (2016) and an MA in Ecology and Contemporary Performance from the Theatre Academy of Helsinki (2018).
In Industry Muscle: Five Scores for Architecture, Ala-Ruona extends his artistic inquiry into the field of architecture, bringing together a multidisciplinary team to explore how trans bodies can reframe our understanding of the built environment. The project challenges modernist conventions and fossil-fuel-based cultural imaginaries through embodied, performative interventions.
