Joensuu Artists' Association Celebrates 80 Years with a Special Exhibition in Helsinki:
JUHLAT

Joensuu Artists' Association Celebrates 80 Years with a Special Exhibition in Helsinki

22 artists were selected for the JUHLAT exhibition. Curator and painter Mikko Paakkola emphasizes that the essence of the exhibition is what is most important: making art. The association is not just an organization – it is a community of people for whom visual art is at the center of life.

Participating Artists:

Kerttu Ahlholm, Ihva Aula, Reetta Gröhn-Soininen, Tuija HP, Satu Juvonen, Merja Malkki, Riikka Mattinen, Jukka Niskanen, Juha Pitkänen, Miia Rosenius, Marjaana Rotko, Pia Saari, Jukka Suhonen, Leila Tanskanen, Tarja Tella, Vilhelmiina Tikka-Rissanen, Harri Turunen, Riitta Turunen, Silja Uuttula, Arja Valkonen-Goldblatt, Heidi Vasara, and Sirpa Ylhäinen.

Curator Mikko Paakkola:

“If you ask artificial intelligence about the Joensuu Artists' Association, you’ll get a polished answer about collaboration, visibility, and local engagement — but not the essential point: its members create art. This is what the exhibition is all about.

Behind the art lies context: the environment, the city of Joensuu, its people — and importantly, education. This exhibition showcases the diversity of Finnish art education, which isn't about teaching tricks or techniques, but about enabling artists to face the world through their own tools.

This is a manifesto of individuality. Forget jeans or tracksuits — here, artists stand figuratively naked, as themselves, in their own voice.

The educational backgrounds represented stretch across Finland, with a strong focus on the Karelia region, often bypassing the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts — and perhaps that’s a good thing. What we see here may well be the seed of a future University of the Arts in Eastern Finland.

We need art — now more than ever. It is essential to national resilience. History has shown us many times that the most vital reserves are not in granaries, but in the cultivation of the spirit.”

Welcome to the JUHLAT exhibition at Suomenlinna!