The Academy of Fine Arts’ international mentoring programme offers a model that involves internationally successful artists, curators and art executives, with the aim of supporting recent MFA graduates and deepening their understanding of what it means to practice in an internationally networked art world.
Pilvi Takala
Photo: Ugo Carmeni
The international mentoring programme is delivered by Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts and supported by the Saastamoinen Foundation. It is a one-year mentoring programme for recent graduates of the MFA Programme at the Academy of Fine Arts who have completed their degree no more than two years prior to applying.
The programme aims to establish a supportive peer group for intensive learning, exchange, and professional development during the early post-graduation period. Facilitated and led by international mentors, the programme combines group-based mentoring, individual guidance, and excursions to key art scenes in Europe.
The programme includes personal mentoring sessions with the international mentors, as well as contributions from additional guest mentors throughout the programme period.
The mentors for 2026-2027 are curator and writer Raoul Klooker and artist Tarek Lakhrissi.
Application instructions for the 2026-2027 mentoring programme can be found here.
Mentors or previous years:
Mentoring artists in 2021-2023 were Angela Rosenberg and Hans Rosenström.
Mentoring artists in 2017-2019 and 2019-2021 were Angela Rosenberg and Pilvi Takala.
Mentoring artists in 2015-2017 were: Ahmet Öğüt and Pilvi Takala.