[아츠앤컬쳐] An exhibition of the five shortlisted artists for the Ars Fennica Prize 2023 – Finland’s biggest visual arts award and one of Europe’s largest – opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma on 8 September. Anne Barlow, the Director of Tate St Ives and this year’s judge will select the winner on 22 November 2023. Presented by the Henna and Pertti Niemistö Art Foundation, the bi-annual €50,000 prize is given in recognition of an exceptional body of artistic work.

The five shortlisted artists for the Ars Fennica Prize 2023 are:

• Henni Alftan (Finland)
• Tuomas A. Laitinen (Finland)
• Lap-See Lam (Sweden)
• Camille Norment (Norway)
• Emilija Škarnulytė (Lithuania)

The shortlisted artists were chosen by an award committee appointed by the Foundation, which was chaired by Leena Niemistö, Vice Chairman of the Henna and Pertti Niemistö Art Foundation, and included Eija-Liisa Ahtila, artist and filmmaker, Leevi Haapala, Director of Kiasma, and Kai Kartio, Director of Amos Rex. The committee also selects an international art expert to judge the shortlisted artists and select the prize recipient. Visitors to the exhibition will also be able to vote for their favourite artist, and following the conclusion of the exhibition, the audience award will be presented. 
 

Ars Fennica 2023 judge
 
Anne Barlow is Director of Tate St Ives where she oversees its programme of exhibitions, collection displays, artist residencies, new commissions, learning and research. Barlow was formerly Director of Art in General, New York, and held curatorial roles at the New Museum, New York and Glasgow Museums, Scotland. Across these roles, she has organised numerous exhibitions and published and lectured widely. She was also the Curator of the 5th Bucharest Biennale, Co-Curator of the Latvian Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale, and most recently curated the Samdani Art Award at the 2023 Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh. Barlow has acted on selection panels and juries nationally and internationally, including the British Pavilion Selection Committee and the 58th Venice Biennale. 

Curated by Piia Oksanen, Curator of Exhibitions at Kiasma, the Ars Fennica Prize 2023 exhibition will be on view from 8 September 2023 – 28 January 2024, and is organised in collaboration with the Henna and Pertti Niemistö Art Foundation. 

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma is part of the Finnish National Gallery, along with the Ateneum Art Museum and the Sinebrychoff Art Museum. www.kansallisgalleria.fi