Free Art School’s lecture series

Free Art School’s lecture series comes to HAM this autumn

In addition to its art course and other activities, the Free Art School also arranges lectures for students on Fridays, inviting a variety of artists and other experts to come and discuss painting. This autumn, five of these lectures are set to be held at HAM Helsinki Art Museum and open to the public, as part of the Free Art School’s 90th anniversary programme.

The speakers for these lectures will be Art Historians Riikka Stewen and Juha-Heikki Tihinen, Curator Jurriaan Benchop and Painters Anna Tuori and Joel Slotte.

The lectures will explore topics such as how artists relate to painting and whether a painting is just what is within the frame or something broader? The artists’ lectures will explore personal takes on romanticism, surrealism and modernism. Docent Juha-Heikki Tihinen will also give a lecture on 90 years of the Free Art School.

The lectures will be held in Finnish, with the exception of that of Benchop, which will be in English, and will take place in the HAM hall on Fridays at 14:00.

Guest speakers:

Fri 12 September Riikka Stewen

The mystery and marvel of paintings.

Is a painting just what is within the frame, or in the wider space, or perhaps something more conceptual, existential, even?

Riikka Stewen is an art historian who teaches art history and theory at Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts. In her research, she explores the layered nature of memory and time, and how images and stories move through time and history. She has a particular interest in the proximity of art and philosophy, as well as the idea of material existence as a basis for the commonality of living beings.

Fri 19 September Juha-Heikki Tihinen

The Free Art School turns 90

Painting instruction, exhibitions, and publishing at the Free Art School 1935–2025.

Juha-Heikki Tihinen is an art historian who works as a curator for the Pro Artibus Foundation. He has had an extensive career as a writer, critic, curator, teacher and researcher.

Fri 26 September Anna Tuori

Modernism for better or worse

Tuori explores her own relationship with modernism, concretism and constructivism, which have interested her throughout her career and life. In this lecture, she will discuss the transformation of freedom into dogmatism, and what good still remains.

Anna Tuori is known for her paintings that express things difficult to put into words. A cosy, dream-like atmosphere is broken by something strange and twisted fighting its way up from below the surface. The term ‘uncanny’, popularised by the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, is also a common descriptor of Tuori’s paintings.

Fri 3 October Jurriaan Benschop (lecture in English)

Lecture topic: How do artists relate to painting?

Jurriaan Benschop is a Dutch writer and curator who is based in Athens and Berlin. His book Why Painting Works (2023) navigates the diverse landscape of contemporary painting. For his previous book, Salt in the Wound,hetravelled across the European continent, to speak with contemporary artists about their work and artistic roots. He contributes on a regular basis to The Brooklyn Rail, Arterritory and Artforum. As a visiting lecturer, he has travelled to art schools in Europe and the USA, offering talks, critiques and writing workshops.

Fri 10 Oct Joel Slotte

The appeal of romanticism and surrealism

Slotte explores how trends spread into visual culture and his own art.

Visual Artist Joel Slotte creates figurative oil paintings that examine our collective imagery and everyday anecdotes. His paintings feature an abundance of symbolism and references to popular culture and art history, as well as symbolism stemming from folklore and myths.