Welcome to HIAP’s Open Studios for Spring 2026!

Time: Wednesday 24.6.2026 from 16.00-21.00

Place: HIAP Gallery Augusta, Suomenlinna B28 & HIAP Studios, Suomenlinna B44-45

Cost: Free entrance

The participating artists are Assem Attoun, Liisa Helander, Nseabasi Akpan, Paula Zvane, Krišjānis Elviks, Katie Watchorn, Luka Berchtold, Harriet Gillies, Juliana Irene Smith, Anastasia (A) Alevtin, Olha Drozd, Aistė Gaidilionytė and Kamilė Vasiliauskaitė. 

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Programme:

(we recommend taking the 15:30 ferry)

16:15–17:15 Tour: Short introductions by the residents | Meeting point: Gallery Augusta

17:30–17:45  Reading: Excerpt from Anticipated Collapse, a play-in-progress by Harriet Gillies | HIAP Studios | language English

17:50–18:10 Studio visit with Liisa Helander | HIAP Studios | language: English & Finnish

18:15–18:45 Learning Materials Lab: The table has landed from the sky by Paula Zvane | field outside the HIAP main building | first come, first served, join the table as space becomes available | language: English | the session will be documented on video

The event takes the form of a surreal and slightly unsettling communal meal. Through food, textures, and conversation, participants are invited to consider ideas of disgust, transformation, decomposition, and material intimacy.

The installation includes highly tactile bio-materials, sculptures, food elements, and storytelling. Participation is welcome at your own pace. Observing is as valid as tasting.

Ingredients may contain wheat, soy, beans, tea, sugar, vinegar, seeds, egg, mushrooms, and pickles. Please consider any allergies before participating.

19:00–19:45 Performance reading: ‘these tomatoes are so green, i need to write it down in burgundy ink’ with Anastasia (A) Alevtin, Yvonne Billimore, Death By Landscape | HIAP Studios | language: English | free to leave whenever feels right

The reading is the first in a series that tests the tunes and characters of a phytocrip radio play, which follows three friends who share a hospital ward and daydream about an allotment to tend to. Crip poetics of movement and fragmentarity, intervals, repetitions, pauses, blue lemon, blackcurrant and green tomatoes beginning to world the play.

20:00–20:15 Reading: Excerpt from Anticipated Collapse, a play-in-progress by Harriet Gillies | HIAP Studios | language: English

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HIAP’s Spring Open Studios is a great opportunity to get to know the Spring season’s residents and their artistic processes. There will be a tour of the Open Studios at 16.15-17.15 in English. The meeting point for the tour is in Gallery Augusta. 

The ferries run every 20 minutes to every 40 minutes. If you want to attend the tour, it’s good to catch the ferry from Kauppatori at 15.30. The event is informal, friendly, and open to all. We are looking forward to welcoming you all!

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HIAP Open Studios offers the unique opportunity to meet up and engage into conversations with the resident artists and curators, get to know more about their practice, and view the work that they are currently developing as part of their residency. This season’s event takes place on 24.6.2026, and allows a glimpse into various stages of artistic work, research and experimentation.

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Read more on the current residents:
www.hiap.fi/residents

Note: Parts of the event will be photo-documented. The images will be used by HIAP for communication purposes.