Breaking news! We delighted to announce that all the winners of the open call competition themed Courage will be exhibited at the Sanoma House from October 4-29, 2023. Free entry.

Sanoma House is open Mon-Fri from 7am to 8pm, Sat-Sun from 9 am to 8 pm.

We live in turbulent times: climate change, pandemic, war, and constant violation of human rights. All this calls for courage. Courage can come in many forms, whether it be the ability to face pain or grief with strength or the quality shown by those who take risks and face danger. According to the jury member Emanula Mirabelli, “courage is the primary engine to fight injustices all over the world and to conquer new achievements for everyone”.

Opening October 4, 2023 at 5 p.m.

The opening ceremony inaugurated by the Artistic Director of the festival Rafael Rybczynski, and speeches by renowned scholar and photographer Stefan Bremer and groundbreaking talent Svante Gullichsen.

The exhibition is supported by Finland’s biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

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Helsinki Photo Festival (#HelPhoto) is an annual event showcasing international photography in the Greater Helsinki area. More info on artists, exhibitions and events: www.helsinkiphotofestival.com

#helsinkiphotofestival #helphoto23 #courage #photography #photographers #sanomatalo #artexhibition #contemporaryart #nordicvillage #helsinki #finland #taide #valokuvaus #valokuvataide #konst #discoverfinland

Curated photo exhibition in Unioninkatu 44!​

In collaboration with the Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS, Helsinki Photo Festival is overjoyed to present a photo exhibition at the fence of Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden. The curated group exhibition will present the international winners of the theme Courage and take place outdoors at the garden’s fence on Unioninkatu 44 until October 30, 2023. The exhibition is accessible 24/7 to the general public.

Photo Festival is a visual arts event focused on photography opened August 5 and will end October 30. The sixth edition on the theme Courage is exhibited in the metropolitan area. The event is held annually bringing every edition a new art experiences to Greater Helsinki. In a period of 12 weeks curated photography exhibitions can be discovered in public spaces, popup events and at cultural institutions. The festival presents 50 artists from 24 countries with new works which have not been shown before in Finland.

The winners are from a variety of genres and were selected by an international jury. In 2023, the festival received 462 submissions comprising a total of 6555 images from 67 different countries. From these submissions, the jury chose 40 winners for the international open call category, along with an additional 10 emerging talents from the Nordic region. 

The exhibition at Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden featured the before-mentioned 40 international open call winners.

#courage #photography #helsinki #finland #helsinkiphotofestival #helphoto #luomus

Kyrö x Kimmo Syväri popup exhibition

Kyrö – like most of the Finnish population – was conceived and born in a sauna. The stars were aligned as a bottle of rye whisky was opened. The five friends having a sauna and the sip from the bottle started to ponder why no one in Finland was making rye whisky despite rye playing such a huge role in Finnish history and tradition. So, they decided to start a distillery making rye whiskies. The idea seemed like a great one even in the morning, and that is where the story of Kyrö began in 2012. Kyrö has since the beginning had a strong and somewhat controversial visual brand identity. No brand truly comes to life without a unique visual presence. And for that visual presence, the black and white butts, the picturesque take on the small town of Isokyrö, all the Kyrö people and fun stuff, the delicious product photos, the whole deal, Kyrö owes a big thanks to Kimmo Syväri.

Kimmo Syväri is a Helsinki-based photographer, entrepreneur and creative thinker. He has been closely involved in the visual storytelling of Kyrö Distillery Company since 2013, almost from the very birth of the company.

“I wanted to portray the brand in an authentic yet personal Finnish way. Finnishness to me is quirky, odd and a bit dangerous. You know the moment when Dorothy realizes she is not in Sweden anymore type of thing? Kind of “after all, you never know when you are going to die so might as well embrace the moment”- mentality. I feel I was very fortunate to land this collaboration. The right people came together at the right time. I just happened to be there with them.”

Indeed, it’s all about great minds thinking alike: it takes a dreamer and a darer to recognize others with the same take on life. After all, a great visual would be a lot less without the story, and the story would not be complete without the visual interpretation of it.

In collaboration with Kyrö Distillery Helsinki Photo Festival presents a popup exhibition with Helsinki-based photographer and creative thinker Kimmo Syväri. He has been closely involved in the visual storytelling of Kyrö since the beginning of 2012. The exhibition is open now for public and ends February 18th at our popup space in the West Terminal 1 in Jätkäsaari.

www.kyrodistillery.fi
www.helsinkiphotofestival.com

Exhibition will take place at the Helsinki West Terminal T1 (Länsiterminaali T1) in Jätkäsaari from February 2-18, 2023 (Sun-Wed 11.00-18.00, Thu-Sat 11.00-23.00).

Beside Kyrö x Kimmo Syväri popup exhibition do not miss the opportunity to see Lynch's perplexing but alluring photographic art in person this spring! We will close our door February 28, 2023!

This year, Helsinki Photo Festival celebrates its sigth anniversary with two extraordinary exhibitions: the retrospective show featuring artists from more than fifty countries and the must-see Infinite Deep exhibition by David Lynch! The retrospective exhibition of the festival presents all the themes displayed from 2018 to 2022: Love, Anarchy, Trust, Fearless and Believe

The exhibition will take place in Helsinki’s iconic Länsiterminaali T1 (West Terminal T1), where the vibes are certainly in concord with the atmospheric Infinite Deep. Designed by Gunnar Taucher, the building was completed as a port warehouse in 1941. In 1992, it was decided to convert the building into a passenger terminal serving Tallinn's shipping traffic and it was opened on May Day 1995. Currently, the building is planned to be demolished by end of 2023 and be replaced by a new, taller terminal building by 2026. Meanwhile, the Helsinki Photo Festival converted it for several months into a cultural hub - a democratic space for celebrating photography and visual culture.

#helsinkiphotofestival #helphoto #davidlynch #photography #helsinki #finland #kryrodistillary #kimmosyvari