Venice Biennale 2024

60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is held 20 April – 24 November, 2024. Pavilion of Finland will present The pleasures we choose, a multifaceted collaboration by artists Pia Lindman, Vidha Saumya, Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen, curators Yvonne Billimore and Jussi Koitela, and architectural designer Kaisa Sööt.

The pleasures we choose is a multifaceted collaboration by artists Pia LindmanVidha SaumyaJenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen, curators Yvonne Billimore and Jussi Koitela, and architectural designer Kaisa Sööt. Commissioned and produced by Frame Contemporary Art Finland, it premieres at the Pavilion of Finland at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.

Blurring the boundaries between art, architecture, and social commentary, the Pavilion of Finland brings together three artists for whom art, life, and activism are intertwined. Embraced as a collective project, The pleasures we choose evolved through the exchange of shared and individual experiences to create areas of diverse ‘occupancies’ where visitors are encouraged to reassess and (re)consider societal expectations. 

Lindman, Saumya and Wallinheimo-Heimonen’s practices are acutely informed by their embodied experiences of structural, environmental and social imbalances. Articulated through a wide range of materials and processes – including drawing, needlework, sculpture and healing – their works celebrate the pleasure of the personal as a powerful means of reimagining the world as we know it.

The main supporter of The pleasures we choose is the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland. Other supporters include the Kone Foundation, The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, AVEK The Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture, The Church Media Foundation, Fin­nish Fe­de­ra­tion of the Vi­sual­ly Im­pai­red and the Embassy of Finland in Rome.

Venice Biennale

Venice Biennale, founded in 1895 and held biannually, is the oldest and most prestigious international forums for presenting contemporary art. Commissioning and producing the exhibition for the Aalto Pavilion of Finland, designed by architect Alvar Aalto in 1956, is Frame’s most extensive international project. Finland participates in two pavilions – the national Aalto Pavilion and the Nordic Pavilion – that are both located in the historical biennale park, Giardini di Castello.

Selection process

The exhibition in the Pavilion of Finland is commissioned and produced by Frame Contemporary Art Finland. Frame has a varying practice for selecting artists featured at the Venice Biennale. For the 2022 biennial, Frame invited the artist based on previous open calls. For the 2019 and 2017 biennials, Frame invited proposals in open calls. Frame’s Head of Programme curated the exhibition in 2015.

“Selection is always a result of a careful process and deliberation. Every selection practice has benefits, so we rotate them. Choosing the artists or curators directly without an open call gives more time for fundraising and also producing the artworks. Still, it’s important to organise an open call regularly”, Frame’s Director Raija Koli says.

Three artists and two curators sitting next to each other and smiling at the camera. Starting from left is artist Pia Lindman, a white-skinned person with grey and brown hair, wearing a red shirt underneath a black cardigan. Next is artist Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen, a white-skinned person with blonde hair, wearing a blue, white and red patterned knitted shirt and a blue cardigan on top. Next is artist Vidha Saumya, a person with light brown skin and wavy, dark brown hair and a bright blue shirt. Next to her are two curators, Jussi Koitela and . Jussi is a white-skinned with blonde hair, wearing a bright orange jacket and Yvnonne is a white-skinned person with ash-blond hair, wearing a bright lavender sweater over a pink shirt.

Artists and curators of the Pavilion of Finland in the 2024 Venice Biennale: Pia Lindman (left), Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen, Vidha Saumya, Jussi Koitela and Yvonne Billimore. Photo: Jo Hislop / Frame Contemporary Art Finland

Three artists sitting next to each other and smiling at the camera. On the left is Vidha Saumya, a person with light brown skin and wavy, dark brown hair and a bright blue shirt. In the middle is Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen, white-skinned with blonde hair, wearing a blue, white and red patterned knitted shirt and a blue cardigan on top. An elbow crutch is resting on her lap. On the right is Pia Lindman, with white skin and grey-brown hair, wearing a red shirt underneath a black cardigan.

Artists

Pia Lindman, Vidha Saumya and Jenni-Juulia Wallinheimo-Heimonen

The exhibition brings together three artists having crafted a transdisciplinary practice in which art, life and activism are consciously intertwined.

Get to know the artists – Link opens in new window

Curators

Yvonne Billimore and Jussi Koitela

The exhibition in the Pavilion of Finland is curated by Yvonne Billimore and Jussi Koitela.

Get to know the curators – Link opens in new window