The Below Zero art prize for Finnish artists emerging on the international scene is awarded for the third time this year. The Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, Beaconsfield London, and Serlachius Museums have published the shortlist for the 2023 prize. The shortlisted artists are Flis Holland, Felicia Honkasalo, Raisa Raekallio & Misha sen Val (duo), Nastja Säde Rönkkö, and Noora Schroderus.
This year the jury received a total of 70 applications. The continuing high number of applicants signals that this is a desirable and interesting opportunity for artists.
“This is a great opportunity for developing one’s artistic practice and creating new work with a well known London-based art organisation and to continue that work in Finland with the Serlachius Museums”, said Karoliina Korpilahti, Programme Director of Arts at the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland.
The jury consisted of David Crawforth, Co-director Beaconsfield London, Karoliina Korpilahti, Programme Director Arts, Finnish Institute UK+Ireland, Naomi Siderfin, Co-director, Beaconsfield London, Pauli Sivonen, Director, Serlachius Museums Finland, and Hannele Tilles, Independent Curator.
More about the artists:
Flis Holland is a Finnish-British trans artist who uses sci-fi to talk about crisis and to explore new ways of relating to each other. In their works they use live performance, video, and texts, and mobile phone apps and accessibility supports are often included in their work as integral content. flisholland.live
Felicia Honkasalo creates installations that exist as one entity in the realms of different media, usually consisting of text, photography, performance, sculpture and video. Her methodology is a mix between research and artistic ethnography, and she has long been interested in the borderlines between life and death, human and animal, and what it is that makes us human. www.feliciahonkasalo.com
Raisa Raekallio & Misha sen Val (duo) are a Lapland-based artist couple who enjoy making paintings, drawings, performance art pieces and more together in their old wooden house in Kittilä. Their collaboration started in 2013 following a shared sensitivity for art, films and music; a devotion for the forest; and a deplorable sense of humour. www.raekalliodelval.com
Nastja Säde Rönkkö is an artist currently based in Helsinki, Finland, with an MFA Fine Art from Slade School of Fine Art (2011). She works with video, performance, installation, participatory art, internet, and text. Her projects investigate the relationship between the digital era, power, humanity and the future of our planet. www.nastjaronkko.com
Noora Schroderus background in sculpture and her feeling for three-dimensionality imbue all her works, regardless of whether they are textiles, hair, or photographic portrayals. She explores household materials, settings, and contexts, choosing her materials and approach meticulously and exploring their potential. Her works have in common serial thinking, a slow process of preparation, and the presence of humour. nooraschroderus.com
