Visual artists find the prize money of the prestigious art competition mostly offensive. The confusion is caused by the fact that the director of Kiasma and the executive director of the Finnish Painters’ Association sit on the competition jury.
Multi The visual artist, who was in the grip of the Korona era, rejoiced when the information about the art competition of the renowned and renewed Hotel Torni came.
According to the competition organizers, Solo Sokos Hotel Torni is the longest-running hotel in Finland, and the competition “seeks a work that enriches the current collection and customer experience with its fascinating expression”.
The dimensions of the “iconic and recognizable” competition work in the center of Helsinki have been defined as a total width of about 11 meters and a height of about 2.36 meters.
So a huge opportunity.
And a huge amount of work.
Self as they became acquainted with the rules of the competition, the smiles of many visual artists began to coagulate. According to the organizers, the selected artist or team will be rewarded with 5,000 euros and a one-day accommodation gift card for two people at Hotelli Torni. The prize money covers the artist’s prize as well as all expenses related to the implementation of the work, such as materials and travel.
Soon social media rumbled with messages. According to enraged visual artists, 5,000 euros is equivalent to the amount paid to an artist for a sketch in normal art competitions. The Painters’ Association stated that its members would not be encouraged to enter the competition if the prize money was not increased.
Insignificant in addition to the premium, professional artists were ravaged by the tight schedule. Proposals for the book had to be submitted by the end of February.
The work a panel of professionals was to be involved in the selection.
Among other things, it included the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma Leevi Haapala and the Executive Director of the Finnish Painters’ Union Alina Mänttäri.
So did they not know what conditions are required to take part in the competition?
“It is quite clear that there were many things wrong with that,” Mänttäri now says on the phone. “But I personally think it’s more important than looking for culprits to find a solution.”
Mänttäri admits that he was aware of the terms of the competition. He says efforts were made to raise the prize money in the preparatory phase, but hopes echoed in deaf ears.
“There were attempts from several quarters to say it was too low, but the race organizer hadn’t understood how to take it seriously enough,” he says.
The CEO estimates an appropriate remuneration for such extensive work at EUR 20,000, which would not include the materials. The amount would thus be more than four times the prize money of the competition.
Leevi Haapala
Kiasman director Leevi Haapala says that he knew the prize money of the competition, but did not know that it included all the costs related to the execution of the work. The size of the work also came as a small surprise to him.
“I have personally commented to the organizers on the size of the artist award and asked for it to be increased. I have not been drafting the conditions for the competition, ”he says.
According to HS, the prize money was not even EUR 5000 at the beginning, but was raised at the request of the artistic side.
Eventually the matter went sadly. Sokotel decided to cancel the entire race on Monday morning.
“We apologize from the bottom of our hearts for the resentment we have caused. We have had a good will to start building collaborations with artists and the art field and bring new art where it has a good chance to move people ” Juha Maatala says in a press release.
According to him, an “alternative solution” to the space is now being sought instead of a competition.
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