We are excited to introduce our PUBLICS Youth Advisory Board 2025:
Aino Kaatra, Amran Ahmed, Casper Langenskiöld, Daryna Taushan, Evgeniia Volosnikova, Mariia Zenina, Nea Lähdekorpi, Parinaz Estebsary, Viivi Auerlehto.
What We Are Working On
PUBLICS Youth Advisory Board 2025 is working towards a publication together with Index Teen Advisory Board and Praksis Teen Advisory Board, as part of the Future Future: Reaching Out project, which looks at how art institutions connect with wider audiences, and more specifically, how they engage and interest young people in the arts.
Our board’s focus this year is on printed matter, publishing, and editorial and curatorial practices. We are thinking together about publishing as an artistic practice, a means of making public, a tool for collaborating, a collective act, a critical intervention, a process shaped by conversation and the dynamics of working together.
Together with a diverse range of cultural practitioners and creatives engaged in the world(s) of publishing and printed matter, we are exploring different formats and models, publishing infrastructures, and a wide range of practices.
As in previous years, this project is about thinking and working together, learning and practicing through collaboration and with curiosity.
Stay tuned as we develop and share our work and activities!
Bios
Aino Kaatra (she/her), 20, is currently studying Social and Economic History at the University of Helsinki, with a minor in Comparative Literature. Literature plays a central role in both her academic and personal life, alongside her passion for visual arts. Aino has been drawing and painting from a young age and is currently exploring printmaking and figure drawing.
Amran Ahmed (she/her), 20, grew up between Norway and Kenya, a duality that shapes her multifaceted perspective on identity, culture, and human behavior. With an academic focus on psychology and human development, she’s equally passionate about the arts, social issues, and creative expression. Through poetry, journaling, and reading, she explores the intersections of self, society, and emotion.
Casper Langenskiöld, (he/him), 18, passionate about filmmaking, photography, writing, and political issues—especially those related to nature and climate change. He sees the arts as a powerful tool to reflect and engage with the world around him.
Daryna Taushan (they/she), 19, is an artist and designer originally from Ukraine, now based in Helsinki and studying at Aalto University. Their interdisciplinary work explores the intersection of visual culture, design, film, music, and linguistics—translating perception into visual palpable things.
Evgeniia Volosnikova (she/her), 20, is passionate about creativity in its many forms, especially videography and photography. She enjoys reading, visiting art exhibitions, and exploring different ways of expressing ideas and emotions through art.
Miya Zenina (she/her), 20 years old, is a first-year audiovisual communication student in Helsinki. She is a multidisciplinary creator whose work spans music, visual arts, and digital storytelling. Influenced by digital culture and liminal aesthetics, Miya is also passionate about publishing and editorial work as a means of preserving and sharing emotions and ideas.
Nea Lähdekorpi, (she/they) , 21, studies Global Development Studies at the University of Helsinki with a minor in Comparative Literature. They are particularly interested in how market forces influence which stories get published, and the hidden narratives behind publishing decisions.
Parinaz Estebsary (she/her), 20, is a Persian artist from Iran with a lifelong connection to music. She plays the Qanun as her main and first instrument . Alongside music, she has always been engaged in graphic, visual arts and photography, combining both forms in her creative journey.
Viivi Auerlehto (she/her), 20, is an artist and a future art educator. Her deepest passions are visual arts—especially painting and drawing—storytelling, and nature. These elements shape both Viivi’s artistic expression and her vision for future creative work.
PUBLICS Youth Advisory Board is supported by Erasmus+ Activ Ungdom.