Award-winning international art experiences
Maija Hirvanen: Hum. Photo: Pekka Mäkinen.
ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival brings together inspiring, edgy, and boundary-pushing live art experiences of the moment. ANTI Festival is a unique way for artists and audiences to connect, gathering friends of live art to create and shape everyday spaces annually in Kuopio. Saastamoinen Foundation, together with ANTI Festival, strengthens the vitality and appreciation of live art through the ANTI Festival International Prize for Live Art.
The pioneering ANTI Festival International Prize for Live Art aims to raise the profile and appreciation of live art, both in Finland and internationally.
ANTI Festival is an international contemporary art festival held annually in September throughout Kuopio. All festival events are free and open to the public. The festival, with over 20 years of history, is Finland’s leading live art event. Live art is an umbrella term for innovative performance art that encompasses performative, participatory, and present-moment-based approaches to art-making that cross the boundaries of different art forms. At ANTI Festival, new art forms, urban culture, and reaching diverse audiences are combined with educational and research perspectives.
The prize, established by ANTI Festival and Saastamoinen Foundation, was first awarded in September 2014. The world’s only international live art prize has a total value of EUR 30,000. The winning artist or artist group receives a cash prize of EUR 15,000 and a production grant of the same amount to bring a new work to the following year’s ANTI Festival.
The winner is selected by an international jury composed of leading art and culture professionals.
