As a cultural institute, the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak have a direct influence on everything we do. Many organisations and artists we work with are directly affected and face uncertain times. Exhibitions, festivals, fairs and all sorts of events and jobs have been cancelled and the cultural agenda will be disrupted for quite a while, putting a financial and operational strain on a lot of players in the broad cultural field.
With all calendars emptied and plans changed, we want to help our community in a different way. Over the coming weeks, we’ll use our social media and website as a platform for culture, sharing and highlighting things we think you should know of. Artists we have worked with, interesting reads, organisations or venues we have collaborated with, our cultural favourites and tips, etc.
We encourage you to click, discover, enjoy, support and stick together in these unreal times.
Sara has selected 5 Finnish photographers doing interesting things, and who are definitely worth checking out.
Riikka Kantinkoski is a Helsinki-based photographer focusing on interior design, still life and lifestyle photography. Her works have often very subtle, natural yet an elegant feel to them. She has been working as a full-time photographer nearly twenty years, also expanding her expertise to prop styling and content creation. She has worked nationally and internationally, including clients such as Elle Decoration, Ferm Living, Marimekko, and many more.
Osma Harvilahti is a Paris-based Finnish photographer who has built a diverse career in art and fashion photography with a highly recognizable style through a vibrant color palette. Harvilahti has worked with well known international magazines and companies, such as Apartamento, Hermès, and Issey Miyake. He is also a co-founder and photography director at the multidisciplinary art space called The Community located in Paris.
Emma Sarpaniemi is a photographer based in Finland and the Netherlands. Her playful human compositions and use of color create collage-like worlds that mesmerize the viewer. Her works seem to reflect on identity and togetherness. In her graduation work, she places herself together with her friends – portraying oddity and beauty seem to be a keynote to her unique style.
Jussi Puikkonen focuses on people and variety of scenes in his photography. It seems like there is a natural continuity in his practise by finding connections between humans and their surroundings. In the series Afterparty he explores human traces in a landscape. Jussi is currently working on his second book. He was also a co-founder of « the world’s most melancholic magazine » Kasino A4. Puikkonen has been based in Amsterdam since 2007.
Aya Brace is a Finnish-Ghanaian fashion photographer based in Helsinki. She works on personal art projects as well as commissions, presenting fashion rather through a humanistic perspective. Her approach is to visualize change and beauty in the modern world through photography. She is also a co-founder of ISLA magazine, that focuses on ‘ongoing perceptions of womanhood’.