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Arts & culture

These self-portraits from Finland are everything that selfies are not
A drawing shows a woman's face, framed by a pink hood and blue scarf, in front of a tree branch. A hand holds up an unlit match in front of the face.
Arts & cultureVisual arts

These self-portraits from Finland are everything that selfies are not

Throughout history artists have expressed themselves through self-portraits. These Finnish and Finland-based artists have made an international splash with theirs.

Tagged in ArtCulturePhotographyThisisFINLAND MagazineVisual arts
Peek into one of Finland’s most famous buildings, in Paimio
A building with rounded contours, Paimio Sanatorium designed by Aino and Alvar Aalto, stands beside a forest with snow on the ground in Paimio, southwestern Finland.
Arts & cultureArchitecture

Peek into one of Finland’s most famous buildings, in Paimio

Created by renowned Finnish designers and architects Alvar and Aino Aalto, Paimio Sanatorium was built between 1929 and 1933. Our video visits this world-famous Finnish architectural landmark.

Tagged in ArchitectureArtCultureDesignHistoryWellbeing
Catching the pike: How Finnish author Juhani Karila reeled in a literary phenomenon
Finnish writer Juhani Karila, wearing glasses and a brown coat, looks over his shoulder toward the camera against a rough stone wall.
Arts & cultureLiterature

Catching the pike: How Finnish author Juhani Karila reeled in a literary phenomenon

Juhani Karila grew up in a corner of Lapland so quiet that his imagination became loud. Decades later, it has helped him become one of Finland’s most distinctive literary voices.

Tagged in CultureLaplandLiterature
8 questions on the Kalevala, the epic that shaped Finland’s identity
A painting by Akseli Gallen-Kallela shows Kalevala character Kullervo riding a white horse across a snowy landscape at night, raising a horn as a wolf runs beside him.
Arts & cultureLiterature

8 questions on the Kalevala, the epic that shaped Finland’s identity

The epic Kalevala relates ancient tales, mainly from the Karelia region, and has become a cornerstone of Finland’s cultural identity. Its poetry has reached readers all over the world, including J.R.R. Tolkien, who took inspiration from it.

Tagged in CultureFinnishnessHistoryLanguageLiterature
Meet Ida Elina, Finland’s modern kantele virtuoso
Päivi Kujanen smiles beside her custom-built kantele at the Alvar Aalto Studio in Helsinki.
Arts & cultureMusic

Meet Ida Elina, Finland’s modern kantele virtuoso

When a Northern Finnish child picked up a kantele mostly to annoy her sister, no one imagined she would become one of the instrument’s boldest contemporary voices.

Tagged in CultureFinnishnessMusicPerforming arts
Momentous Sámi exhibition arrives at Helsinki’s Kiasma Museum
A painting by Siri Baggerman shows a person dressed partly in Sámi traditional clothes sitting on a lawn chair in a snowy landscape with reindeer in the background; the person is using hand controls and goggles to fly a drone overhead.
Arts & cultureVisual arts

Momentous Sámi exhibition arrives at Helsinki’s Kiasma Museum

We Who Remain is the first comprehensive exhibition of Sámi art ever shown at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki. The Sámi are the only recognised Indigenous People in the EU area.

Tagged in ArcticArtCultureLaplandMuseumsSocietyTravelVisual arts
Sámi artist Lada Suomenrinne reclaims the remote in the far north of Finland
A photographic artwork by Lada Suomenrinne hangs on the dark wooden wall of a coastal building, with snowy hills and grey sea stretching into the distance.
Arts & cultureVisual arts

Sámi artist Lada Suomenrinne reclaims the remote in the far north of Finland

Lada Suomenrinne creates photography on Sámi land, drawing on experience that spans the Arctic and beyond. An interview with the artist accompanies a recent outdoor exhibition.

Tagged in ArcticArtCultureLaplandMuseumsSocietyTravelVisual artsWebpick
Hear Tytti Metsä play an ancient Finnish instrument with a timeless voice: the jouhikko
A smiling woman, Tytti Metsä, stands indoors near a window holding a wooden bowed lyre.
Arts & cultureMusic

Hear Tytti Metsä play an ancient Finnish instrument with a timeless voice: the jouhikko

Few Finns play the bowed lyre, or jouhikko, an instrument whose roots stretch back thousands of years. For Tytti Metsä, its breath-like, singing tone has become the centre of her musical expression.

Tagged in CultureMusicVideo

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