New Steering Group Appointed for the Finnish Painters Project
The Finnish Painters project concluded its three-year pilot phase at the end of 2024. Building on the foundation created by the pilot, the project will continue in 2025.
As a key first step, the Board of the Finnish Painters’ Union has appointed a new steering group to guide the project’s future direction. The group includes the Chairperson of the Board of the Finnish Painters’ Union, the Chairperson of the Exhibition Committee, and two external experts, ensuring a diverse and informed approach to the project’s objectives.
Finnish Painters Project Steering Group 2025
Hanna Johansson
Hanna Johansson is an art historian and contemporary art researcher. She is a professor of contemporary art studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki. Johansson has specialised in the relationship of contemporary art to the environment, landscape, and nature. She has also written extensively on contemporary art phenomena, from abstract painting to new forms of sculpture, public art, and works containing moving images.
Over the years, she has held many positions of trust, including roles at IHME Helsinki and the Finnish Art Society. Currently, she is a member of the Frame Contemporary Art Finland and L-G Nordström Foundation boards and the administrative council of the Uusimaa Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Mikaela Lostedt
Mikaela Lostedt holds an MA in Art History. Lostedt has worked for over a decade in the commercial gallery field with contemporary art as curator, manager and director. Promotion of artists’ careers and international projects have been the focus of her work. Today, she is the director of the Pro Artibus Foundation.
Siiri Haarla
Siiri Haarla is a visual artist and the Chairperson of the Finnish Painters’ Union board. Starting her third term in 2025, she is an experienced leader and facilitator in the artist-run sector of the Finnish art scene. Along with her art practice as a painter, Haarla works as a doctoral researcher and teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts at the Art University Helsinki.
Sampo Apajalahti
Sampo Apajalahti is a visual artist holding the trust position of the Finnish Painters’ Union exhibition committee Chairperson. He holds the position for a second term, initially taking it in 2022. Before that, in 2021, he was curated to the finnishpainters website. Apajalahti studied at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts from 2009–2018.
Photos taken by:
– Photo of Mikaela Lostedt: Heikki Räisänen
– Photo of Hanna Johansson: Emma Savolainen
– Photo of Sampo Apajalahti: Irene Suosalo
The Finnish Painters Project The Finnish Painters project promotes the international visibility and networking of Finnish painters and transparency of access to international activities. The project aims at a space where Finnish contemporary art and painting are internationally recognized and in demand.
The Finnish Painters project is provided by the non-profit organisation Finnish Painters’ Union, with the support of the Saastamoinen Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The painters presented on the finnishpainters website are curated members of the Finnish Painters’ Union.
More information:
Producer Saija Koponen
Finnish Painters project
[email protected]
+358 44 722 0734
