Friends of Finland Juried Exhibit
Finlandia Art Gallery, now part of Finlandia Foundation National, hopes to strengthen connections with the broader community of Finnish, Finnish American, and Friends of Finland across the country. To achieve this, the gallery launched a juried art exhibit of contemporary, folk and traditional arts, inviting submissions from artists nationwide. Teaming up with Kristine Holohan, a Finlandia Foundation member and arts advocate, who served as co-curator and juror, the gallery issued a call for entries. The response was remarkable, with 50 artists submitting over 160 pieces of art.
“The range of media and styles in the submissions was outstanding, including textiles, painting, ceramics, fashion design, photography, digital art, jewelry design, mixed media, and more,” said Carrie Vander Veen, Gallery Director of Finlandia Art Gallery. “We are thrilled by the interest in our inaugural Friends of Finland exhibit and hope to host more juried shows like this in the future. One of the greatest benefits of these events is building community, and through this exhibit, we are truly expanding our Friends of Finland network!”
“This show includes a great deal of variety,” says juror Joyce Koskenmaki. “Twenty five years ago it was more possible to give particular characteristics to art by Finnish or Finnish American artists; now there is not as much emphasis on art related to nature etc. This work is all very contemporary. We enjoyed jurying this exhibition and wished we could have had room to include everyone.”
The jury for the exhibit included three experienced artists and long-time art advocates: Kristine Holohan, Joyce Koskenmaki, and Cynthia Cote.
Co-curator and Juror: Kristine Holohan (she/they) is a Finnish-American artist, organizer, and cultural strategist. Her work in visual Arts focuses on nature, community, healing, resource-sharing, and advocacy for an equitable society. Holohan is a second-generation Finnish-American living in New England. She works with Finlandia Foundation National, is a former board member of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter and current member of the Finnish Heritage Society of Canterbury, CT Finlandia Foundation chapter.
Juror: Joyce Koskenmaki is a retired college professor whose work has been shown nationally and internationally. She now lives in Hancock and has researched the characteristics and nature of Finnish art.
Juror: Cynthia Cote: Cynthia Cote is the Founding Director and Curator of the Copper Country Community Arts Center (est 1992) in Hancock Michigan. She is also a studio artist working in various mediums including drawing, mixed media, fiber arts, and site specific installations.
It was a festive night December 5th at the Finnish American Heritage Center. Full of celebration, reverence for Finland’s independence and traditional and contemporary expressions of culture, the audience was treated to a night to remember!
The inaugural Friends of Finland juried exhibited included work from across the country including Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Virginia, Wisconsin, Canada and of course, both peninsulas of Michigan! Awards were presented at the gallery reception.
The Juror’s Award went to Roddy MacInnes from Denver, Colorado for his submitted photographic works.
Roddy MacInnes, New Finnish Church, Brown County, South Dakota, Archival digital photograph, 2023, 24”x30”
Roddy MacInnes, Before the Storm (homage to Kalle Päätalo) Jokijarvi, Finland, Archival digital photograph, 2023, 24”x30”
Roddy MacInnes has been teaching photography at the University of Denver since 2001. He considers himself to be an autobiographical photographer. In that capacity, he has been documenting his life through photography since 1964. He received a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Bachelor of Arts in Photography from Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland. His latest photography project, Honeymoon in Finland was inspired by an album of photographs he discovered in an antique mall in Denver, Colorado. A North Dakota woman of Finnish descent made the photographs in 1917. Through this project, Roddy is exploring issues surrounding the relationships between photography and community.
Helen Belopavlovich, Boreal, Acrylic paint and matte chalk paint on wood board, 2024, 61.75” x 48.5”
The 25 & Under and the Audience Choice awards were presented to Helen Belopavlovich. The jury choose Helen’s work for the under 25, and commended her for taking on such an ambitious painting, the painting is 4ft x 5ft! With 340 online votes submitted for the Audience Choice award, Helen was the winner receiving 55 votes!
Born, raised, and based in Hancock, MI, Helen draws inspiration from the natural world around them and their connection to the trees. They channel their love of Upper Michigan into drawing and painting, focusing on the connection between themself and the ecosystem. Helen attended Rabbit Island School in July 2019 and helped to hold an exhibition of the art later that year at the Portage lake district library, Houghton, MI. “Attending rabbit island school really kicked off my drawing and art, as well as my local high school art classes,” says Belopavlovich. “I found a love of pine trees and the creative process of art, and drawing became a daily practice.” Helen plans to continue to work through their love of trees and Upper Michigan by creating more scenes of the beautiful, natural, and historical world around them. They can often be found practicing the Finnish language, or spending time in their family garden.
Lisa Fitzpatrick, model for the artwork, Lisa Sisu by artist Alison Aune, travelled from Duluth, MN to share and sing an original climate change story in the oral tradition of the Kalevala
Two gallery patrons model their matching shirts in front of Scotty by Carol Phillips, 2022, Oil on wood, diptych
Friends of Finland will be on display at The Finlandia Gallery November 21 – January 28, 2025.
The Finlandia Art Gallery is located in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy Street, Hancock. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. Please call 906-487-7309 or email gallery@finlandiafoundation.org for more information.