PUBLICS with The Centre for Curatorial Thinking invites you to

POSITIONING A Symposium on Curatorial Thinking in the Nordic-Baltic Region & Beyond

29 September – 2 October 2025

Venues:
Amos Rex
Museum of Contemporary Art KIASMA
PUBLICS

PUBLICS expands The Centre For Curatorial Thinking activities to create a series of new annual large scale international symposia focusing on contemporary art’s relationship to Curatorial Thinking and PUBLICNESS in, across and in relation to Finland, Nordic-Baltic region and beyond. 

POSITIONING is a four-year project taking the form of four large scale cooperative symposia (Curatorial Thinking, Learning, Instituting, Collaborating) alongside a series of artist commissions and public reading groups exploring Curatorial Thinking across Finland, the Nordic-Baltic region and internationally.

The series of symposia happens in collaboration with a network of museum institutions, local art organisations and actors in Helsinki and the curatorial network of 100+ cultural actors in the Nordic-Baltic regions actively taking part in The Centres programme already since 2023.

The new Annual Nordic-Baltic Symposia creates a space for much-needed dialogue between diverse local and international contemporary art scenes and practitioners generating new opportunities for Finnish artists and cultural workers in the Nordic-Baltic region. In 2025 the symposium will be mostly held in the wider Helsinki region.

PUBLICS hosts The Centre For Curatorial Thinking symposia to instigate dialogue between local, regional, and international thinkers, with the following steering group: Pilvi Kalhama, Executive Director, EMMA, Espoo Museum of Modern Art; Prof Mick Wilson; HDK-Valand, University of Gothenburg; Prof Bassam El Baroni, Department of Art and Media, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Aalto University; Marti Manen, Director, Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Stockholm; Antra Priede, Vice-rector for Academic Affairs, Art Academy of Latvia; Kati Laakso, Executive Director, Finnish Culture Institute in New York; Anne Szefer Karlsen, Professor Curatorial Practice, University of Bergen, Norway;  Maria Arusoo, Director, Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art (Kaasaegse Kunsti Eesti Keskus) and Solvita Krese, Director, The Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (LCCA).

In 2025, the first edition of the POSITIONING symposia takes place in Finland with partners locally and across the Nordics who partner with PUBLICS in co-hosting, co-commissioning and co-curating the symposium including and not exclusively :-

• Museum of Contemporary Art KIASMA, Finland
• Amos Rex, Finland
• University of Bergen, Norway
• School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Aalto University, Finland
• Museum Why Network
• Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Sweden
• Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art (Kaasaegse Kunsti Eesti Keskus), Estonia
• The Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art (LCCA), Latvia
• IHME Helsinki, Finland
• IMMA – The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ireland

Please save the dates and join us. More announcements coming up soon!

PUBLICS Partners with Saastamoinen Foundation 2023-2028.

https://saastamoinenfoundation.fi/