We are honoured to have received the Annual Art Act award, chosen by rap-star Paperi T from a short-list prepared by a jury of leading figures from the Finnish institutional art world. The jury was chaired by Raija Koli, the Director of FRAME Contemporary Art Finland.
For more on SAFE HAVEN HELSINKI see www.ARTISTSatRISK.org
From ArtHelsinki’s PRESS RELEASE:
“The Annual Art Act selected by Paperi T
The Annual Art Act award rewards people or organisations that boldly promote contemporary art both in Finland and abroad, challenge norms and increase the appreciation of art. The prize of €5000 is funded by the Finnish Fair Foundation.
This year ArtHelsinki has invited rapper and lyricist Paperi T to choose the winner from a list of preliminary selections made by the ArtHelsinki Advisory Board in cooperation with the Finnish Art Galleries Association.
The winner will be announced on the opening day of ArtHelsinki, 7 September 2016.
The roles of both the person chosen to make the selection and the actual winner are both highlighted in the selection process. Since the person making the selection changes each time, the winner also represents different fields of contemporary art and reflects the personal nature of art. The aim is to highlight the versatility of art and how it manifests itself in our everyday life.”
Safe Haven Helsinki is a residency programme for artists “at risk” co-organised by PM (Perpetuum Mobile ry) and HIAP (Helsinki International Artist Programme) and funded by the City of Helsinki. The programme is curated by PM. In the course of this programme and its predecessor “On the Move / Nordic Fresh Air”, also run by PM/HIAP since 2013, PM has invited artists and musicians including Erkan Özgen (Diyabakir), Jowan Safadi (Haifa), Ramy Essam (Cairo) and Issa Tuoma (Aleppo) among others.
