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

Meet the Open Call Finalists at Helsinki Photo Festival 2023

The 40 international winners for the theme Courage at Helsinki Photo Festival 2023 are now selected and can be found listed below. All finalists will be showcased in exhibitions around Greater Helsinki from August 4-October 30, 2023. Some exhibition sites will start at the beginning of the festival while a few will start later. We will give more information about locations and program schedule in the upcoming weeks.

The Nordic Village, a talent platform dedicated to artists from the Nordic countries is proud to announce 10 Nordic winners. The Nordic Village photo exhibition will take place for the third time in 2023 at Hanaholmen, Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre in Espoo.

Congratulations to all winners!

Open call winner / International / Helsinki Photo Festival 2023

Rebecca Bowring / CH
Chantal Pinzi / IT
JJ Lorenzo / ES
Lys Arango / ES
Sitara Thalia Ambrosio / DE
Uschi Groos / DE
Alon Skuy / ZA
Annamaria Belloni / IT
Byron Smith / US
Verena Andrea Prenner / AT
Hendra Eka / ID
Emanuele Occhipinti / IT
Rolf-Göran Åström / SE
Julia Wimmerlin / UA
Filippo Venturi / IT
Robin Hinsch / DE
Giles Clarke / GB
Pierpaolo Mittica / IT
Alisa Martynova / RU
Yannis Zindrilis / GR
Seok-Woo Song / KR
Ernst Coppejans / NL
Ingeborg Everaerd / NL
Beniamino Pisati / IT
Alice Mann / ZA
Karianne Bueno / NL
Cindy Blažević / CA
Alan Gignoux / US
Magda Gibelli / VE
Elisa Mariotti / IT
Alain Schroeder / BE
Catherine Lemblé / BE
Sarah Mei Herman / NL
Fernanda Soto Mastrantonio / CL
Antonio Pérez / ES
Florence Goupil / PE
Patrick Junker & Jonathan Terlinden / DE-FI
Laara Dashti / FR
Thomas Victor / DE
Natalya Saprunova / RU

Open call winner / Nordic Village / Helsinki Photo Festival 2023

Björn Nilsson / SE
Haakon Sand / NO
Rolf-Göran Åström / SE (Winner, both internationally and Nordic)
Sofi Lundin / SE
Mikkel Hørlyck / DK
Aija Svensson / FI
Maija Bondar / FI
Emmi Roosling / SE
Darina Rodionova / FI
Maja Nydal Eriksen / DK

Nordic Village Finalists announced at Helsinki Photo Festival 2021
We are pleased to announce the winners of Nordic Village of the theme Fearless at Helsinki Photo Festival 2021. All selected artists will be exhibited from Jul 7-Sep 30 at the Art Park at Hanaholmen – Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre in Espoo.

The international jury of experts congratulates the winners.

Nordic Village is a talent platform fostered by Helsinki Photo Festival to support emerging Nordic photographers. The platform exhibits visual artists from the countries of the north to a broad audience in Finland and internationally. The program includes educational activities with experts and artists from the Nordics.

More information about the program schedule to be released in the coming weeks. Helsinki Photo Festival takes place from July 7-September 30, 2021.

Open Call winners 2021 – Nordic Village I Fearless I #helphoto21

Ingerid Jordal / NO
Maria Konstanse Bruun / NO
Angelika Kollin / EE
Lisa Pram / DK
Marie Bentzon / DK
Anne Lass / DK
Sari Soininen / FI
Jussi Puikkonen / FI
Kicki Lundgren / SE

Open Call winners 2021 – Nordic Village & Intl. I Fearless I #helphoto21

Siri Ekker Svendsen / NO
Linda Bournane Engelberth / DZ-NO
Rebecca Simons / FI
Anna Kuokkanen / FI
Cletus Nwadike / NG-SE
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The most voted artists were:

Cletus Nwadike (NG-SE) “Girls struggle in Nigeria”

Anna Kuokkanen (FI) “From the shadows of human trafficking to an activist – Itohan Okundaye’s story”

Rebecca Simons (FI) “Letters from the past”

Linda Bournane Engelberth (DZ-NO) “Outside the Binary”

Jussi Puikkonen (FI) “Arctic Drifting”

See you at the exhibition at the Art Park at Hanaholmen – Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre in Espoo. 
 

Helsinki Photo Festival’s Portfolio Reviews 2020
Portfolio Reviews are open to photographers of all levels to showcase their work and to get back professional feedback as well as networking with people who may be able to help you with your career development or lead to exhibitions, publications and much more. Opportunities for critique, guidance, and professional connection are available within a wide range of photographic markets, such as portrait, product, fine art, travel or fashion photography, among many others.⁣

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What Winners Receive
The first prize winner of this year’s Portfolio Review will be exhibited solo at Helsinki Photo Festival 2021. The winner and up to five runners up will be also featured in the festival’s online gallery. The winning portfolio and a few selected images of up to five runners up will be promoted on Helsinki Photo Festival’s social media channels, Facebook and Instagram, which can reach up to 5000 virtual followers alone. The highest voted portfolios may be also offered the opportunity to participate in the Helsinki Photo Festival limited edition print program in 2021. 

The Competition Criteria
When examining entries, the jury of reviewers will consider the following criteria:

Impact
The lighting
The story it tells
Consistency of the portfolio’s theme
Its technical quality
Creativity
Composition & style
Use of colour
Presentation
Innovative or unique approach to the subject matter

Helsinki Photo Festival’s Portfolio Reviews  were held August 28-29, 2020 at the Ateljee room of The National Museum of Finland.

43 artists from 3 continents applied to get review sessions with leading experts in the field of photography. Each review held was 20-30 minutes long. Experts were available for face-to-face meetings. COVID-19 travel restrictions prevented some of the jurors and participants from attending in person and many portfolio reviews were held online.

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The winners of the portfolio reviews of Helsinki Photo Festival 2020
Helsinki Photo Festival’s international jury is pleased to announce the winners of the festival’s portfolio reviews. The jury congratulates all winners and thanks all artists who participated in this year’s contest.  

1. 
Absolute winner for best portfolio submission and highest votes given by all experts!
David Barreiro (Spain) – A Breach of Margins
https://www.davidbarreiro.com/

2.
Sandro Livio Straube (Switzerland) – Berge bleichen
https://www.sandroliviostraube.com/

3.
Oskar Alvarado (Spain) – Where Fireflies Unfold
https://oskaralvarado.com/

4.
Laura Pannack (United Kingdom) – Baruch
https://laurapannack.com/

5.
Sonja Trabandt (Germany) – Uebermorgen Schnee (Tomorrow’s Snow)
http://sonjatrabandt.com/

6. Lotta Lemetti (Finland) – Kekta
http://www.lottalemetti.com/

The jury judging all portfolios included the following experts:

Elina Anttila (Director of the National Museum of Finland)
Maria Faarinen  (Chief Curator at The Finnish Museum of Photography)
Emanuela Mirabelli  (Photo Editor, Marie Claire Italy)
Rafael Rybczynski  (Artistic Director of Helsinki Photo Festival)
Stig Marlon Weston (Photographer and Director of the CYAN studio collective)
Nita Vera  (Photographer & PhD student of Photography at Aalto University)
Marianne Ager (Curator of Photography & Film, Brandts Museum of Art and Visual Culture, Denmark)
Karin Aringer (Head of Contemporary Art & Design Bukowskis, Sweden)
Alexa Becker (Acquisitions Editor for photography and art books for Kehrer Verlag)
Nela Eggenberger (Chief Editor at EIKON – International Magazine for Photography & Media Art)
Moritz Neumüller (Barcelona based Curator, Educator and Writer in the field of Photography and New Media)
Naoya Yoshikawa (Artists of Photography and Professor at Osaka University of Arts)

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