Frame received altogether 128 applications for the Open Call organised over the summer for the Finnish Pavilion exhibition at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale. This October, the jury members will face the exciting task of selecting a short list of applicants for the next phase.
Charles Esche is a curator, writer and the Director of the Van Abbemuseum in the Netherlands. Esche is an advisor at the Jan van Eyck Academy and a professor of contemporary art at the University of Art in London. Esche was the artistic director of the Jakarta Biennial, Sao Paulo Biennial, Istanbul Biennial, and Riwaq Biennial in Palestine, among others.
Asrin Haidari is the Curator of Contemporary Nordic Art at Moderna Museet and curated the Nordic Pavilion exhibition at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Haidari co-founded and co-directed the art institution Mint in Stockholm. Previously Haidari served as Artistic Director for the Luleå Biennial and worked at Tensta Konsthall.
Anna-Riikka Hirvonen is the Director of audience engagement at the Oulu Art Museum in Finland, where she focuses on promoting contemporary art on both national and international stages.
Outi Pieski is a Sámi visual artist based in Ohcejohka (Utsjoki), the Finnish side of Sámi. Pieski’s paintings and installations delve with the Arctic region and the interdependence of nature and culture. Pieski has exhibited internationally for over two decades, most recently at Tate St Ives; Gothenburg Biennial; Gropius Bau, Berlin; the Biennale of Sydney; Gwangju Biennale, and the Finnish Pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale.
The jury is chaired by Juha Huuskonen, Director of Frame and Commissioner of the Finnish Pavilion.
The upcoming exhibition in 2026 is a collaboration with the Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture, and it will be presented also in the city of Oulu, Finland as part of the Oulu2026 programme.
Charles Esche (Photo: Monique van der Steen), Asrin Haidari (Photo: Ikram Abdulkadir), Anna-Riikka Hirvonen, Outi Pieski (Photo: Ari Karttunen) and Juha Huuskonen