Helsinki Photography Biennial

Art is a reflection of the world around us, how we live in different environments and interact with many kinds of people. If you live in a busy city, perhaps you know how what I’m talking about. It’s hard enough to stop and smell the roses, let alone stop and speculate how our surroundings often figure prominently in the creative process. This year the 12th annual Helsinki Photography Biennial aims to capture the underlying theme of how cities influence art through “urbanity and the city”.

Held in March and April, the Helsinki Photography Biennial is an elite event that highlights some of the most prominent and remarkable photographic work from Finland and abroad. Most of the exhibitions will be at the Helsinki City Museum, such as the two tiered exhibition “No Exit- Urban Space” and “No Exit- Urban Being”.

This year’s ‘urbanity and the city’ theme provides a foundation for the festival and its works, showing how the city inspires art and how it’s expressed in different forms. The exhibitions explore the myriad aspects of the city, from its outlying boundaries to its cultural core.

This year for the first time, the last month of the festival will expand out of the museum venues and onto the streets of Helsinki. Galleries and public spaces will feature both photography and moving images installments, two mediums critical in both Finnish and contemporary art. Seminars, meetings, workshops, and other happenings will take place throughout the month of April, including interactive exhibitions such as street art and public video projections.

Judging from past events, the Helsinki Photography Biennial instills a sense of wonderment to all who attend. The highly visible exhibitions catch your eye and engage you in provocative thoughts. If art is truly a reflection of who we are, then we can expect some pretty enlightening portraits at the HPB12.

http://www.hpb.fi