The Finnish Institute in London and Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall have published the shortlist for the Below Zero art prize. The winner will be announced in late November. The shortlisted artist are Jonna Kina, Sini Pelkki, Eeva-Liisa Puhakka, Anssi Pulkkinen and Minna Pöllänen.
The prize was established by the Finnish Institute in London, Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall and an anonymous benefactor. The prize offers a platform for a residency at Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall and a new commission mentored by Beaconsfield. The aim of the prize is to support new talents and create opportunities for collaborations between Finland and the UK. The prize will be awarded for the first time.
The jury received 95 applications in total. The high amount of applicants indicates that the project has been interesting, and that there is a need for developing international art collaboration in the future as well.
“This is a unique opportunity for a Finnish artist to internationalise their career and get support from a well known British art organisation”, says Pauliina Ståhlberg, the director of the Finnish Institute in London.
The jury consisted of critic Mika Hannula, curator Hannele Tilles, the director of the Finnish Institute in London Pauliina Ståhlberg and Beaconfield’s Artist Directors and curators David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin. The jury focused on artists, who have not been awarded prizes before and who would significantly benefit from a remarkable commission in the UK.
More about the artists:
Jonna Kina is a visual artist and Master of Arts, who works with installation, film, photographs, text and sound. Her works are conceptual and structural. www.jonnakina.com
Sini Pelkki is a Helsinki-based visual artist and Master of Arts. In her works Pelkki examines interlocking spaces, time, rhythm and sound. www.sinipelkki.net
Eeva-Liisa Puhakka is a visual artists and a Master of Arts living in Berlin. Her focus areas are media and video art, installations and environmental art. The central themes in her works include time, memories and history. www.eeva-liisa.net
Anssi Pulkkinen is working on a PhD in Arts in Helsinki. His central themes are space, architecture and the distortions of daily reality, which he examines in the means of sculpture, installation and moving image. www.anssipulkkinen.blogspot.com
Minna Pöllänen is a Tohmajärvi-born artist, who lives and works in London. In her works she uses various techniques, including textile, photographs, drawings, installation and performance. www.minnapollanen.com
