Art prize

Art prize of Nordea Art Foundation Finland

Nordea Art Foundation Finland supports Finnish art by awarding an art prize to one established artist in Finland each year. The winner of the first art prize was announced in June 2024.

The art prize is a recognition award that cannot be applied for, and the Art Foundation grants it based on a proposal made by an expert jury of art professionals. 

This year the jury consisted of Museum Director Emerita Maija Tanninen-Mattila (chair), art collector Timo Miettinen and Director of Pori Art Museum Anni Venäläinen.

The art prize is quite substantial: 25,000 euros. 

Art prize awarded to Josefina Nelimarkka, who embodies the interaction between humans and nature in her art

Josefina Nelimarkka. Photo: Karoliina Bärlund.

Josefina Nelimarkka is a multidisciplinary artist working with environmental questions and experientiality. In her installations, she explores the natural phenomena connected to weather, water and air by utilising scientific research. With the selection of Josefina Nelimarkka, the jury wanted to create a link and continuity to the collection of Nordea Art Foundation Finland. 

Josefina Nelimarkka works in Helsinki and London. She has graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki (2017) and the Royal College of Art in London (2016). 

Her works have been shown in many solo and group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. In 2023, Josefina Nelimarkka participated in the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai and presented her works at Finland’s COP28 Pavilion.

Josefina Nelimarkka: The Cloud of Un/knowing. Photo: Josefina Nelimarkka.

Through her art, Josefina Nelimarkka makes the viewer think about their relationship with nature and new solutions. In her works related to weather, water and air phenomena, she combines different materials, such as silk and glass, and uses video and sound created through digital means in real time. Josefina Nelimarkka’s recent projects have focused on investigating the role of clouds in atmospheric research in collaboration with climate scientists. 

Josefina Nelimarkka’s works are currently on display in The Cloud of Un/knowing exhibition at Amos Rex in Helsinki and the exhibition AIR at Paimio Sanatorium in Paimio.
 

Congratulations to the prize winner and many thanks to the prize jury!

The starting point of Josefina Nelimarkka’s art is the acceptance of uncertainty, which opens up new perspectives and enables new ways of thinking and seeking solutions. Her works reflect the time-bound nature of human actions, the tradition of Finnish art as a tool for examining natural phenomena and the relationship between humans and nature as well as art as a force for social change in the era of the climate crisis.

Chair of the jury Maija Tanninen-Mattila

Earlier scholarships

Contact Info

Mailing address:
Nordea Art Foundation Finland 
c/o Nordea Bank Oyj
Aleksis Kiven katu 7
 FI-00020 Nordea, Finland 

Director Kukka-Maaria Nummi
anu.kehusmaa [at] consult.nordea.com (kukka-maaria.nummiconsult.nordea.com)
Tel: +358 40 550 5516

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