Helsinki Biennial announces the appointment of Blanca de la Torre and Kati Kivinen as head curators of its third edition, taking place in summer 2025. The biennial continues to promote and commission thought-provoking, ambitious international contemporary art while making connections between artists from Finland and around the world. Helsinki Biennial is strongly committed to responsible exhibition-making.
Blanca de la Torre is a curator, art historian and researcher whose professional work lies at the intersection of visual arts, political ecology, ecofeminism and sustainable creative practices. Her curatorial hallmark is the developing of sustainability guidelines to reduce the ecological footprint of projects, shortening distances between theory and praxis. De la Torre has previously served as chief curator of the Cuenca Biennial in Ecuador, and has curated exhibitions widely in Europe and Latin America. Her experience further opens up Helsinki Biennial’s geographical perspective.
Kati Kivinen (PhD) is an art historian and curator, currently holding the position of Head of Exhibitions at HAM Helsinki Art Museum. In her curatorial practice, she examines contemporary artistic approaches in relation to diverse cultural processes and socio-political and ecological issues, within the specific framework of an art exhibition. Some of her recent curatorial projects include Coexistence – Human, Animal and Nature in Kiasma’s Collections (2019, in collaboration with S. Hacklin & S. Oksanen), and Fragile Times at Galerie im Körnerpark in Berlin (2020, with Dorothee Bienert).
“We share a longstanding interest in ecological issues and think of sustainability in a holistic way. Our shared curatorial practice includes creating sustainability guidelines that steer exhibition-making from start to finish”, de la Torre and Kivinen say. “We both find it exciting to work in the context of Helsinki – a city that has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. We are very much looking forward to making a shared contribution to this.”
Arja Miller, Director of HAM Helsinki Art Museum and Helsinki Biennial says:
“We are thrilled to welcome Blanca de la Torre and Kati Kivinen as head curators of Helsinki Biennial’s third edition. Their curatorial practice is aligned with HAM’s future-orientated vision: we want to create a platform for art that wholeheartedly welcomes everyone to engage with the transformative potential of art, and encourages responsible action towards sustainable exhibition-making. Helsinki Biennial is both internationally ambitious and locally meaningful, and presents art in dialogue with the beautiful nature of Helsinki’s archipelago.”
