Kirsi Pitkänen
Artist Kirsi Pitkänen is the chief curator of the 2025 M_itä? Biennale of Contemporary Art in Kuopio. In her own artistic work, she has focused in particular on performance and installation art. Her works have been exhibited at the Shanghai World Expo, ANTI Contemporary Art Festival, the international SLUSH event and Mänttä Art Week. Pitkänen's performances are characterised by improvisation and interaction with the audience. He prefers to perform in public places among people. Spontaneous encounters and surprise are important to her performances. Casual passers-by react differently to his work than the art public.
Kirsi Pitkänen was the Provincial Artist for Visual Arts in Central Finland in 2014-2016. Since 2015, Pitkänen has focused on coordinating and curating public art projects, especially in the built environment. He is responsible for large-scale artistic projects in areas such as Jyväskylä's Kangas area and the Ahvenisto hospital project in Hämeenlinna. Working on building projects has influenced his artistic production. The works have incorporated materials familiar from the construction projects and have a strong spatiality and experientiality.
In 2018, the City of Jyväskylä awarded Pitkänen the AVOin kaupunkiympäristö award. According to the jury, Pitkänen's vision, drive and ability to push boundaries is an excellent example for all professionals working in the field of urban environment development.
"I am very excited to start working with the M_itä? Biennale of Contemporary Art in my beloved hometown of Kuopio. Through my own artistic work and experience, I approach curating an exhibition perhaps a little differently, through spatial storytelling. I know the local art scene well and enjoy working with large-scale ensembles, which is what the Biennale is. I want the exhibition to be a holistic, experiential whole."