Vapaa '25 Showcases 12 Recent Graduates in Painting
Press Release, March 2025
This May, twelve painters will graduate from the Free Art School, Finland’s only institution solely dedicated to painting. Their graduation works will be showcased in the Vapaa '25 exhibition at Puristamo, Cable Factory in Helsinki, from May 3 to May 18, 2025.
The opening reception will take place on Friday, May 2, from 5 to 8 PM. Everyone is warmly welcome!
The Free Art School educates painters and upholds the role of painting at the core of contemporary artistic and societal discourse. The school both preserves and renews the traditions of painting, guided by the unique principles of art itself. The final year marks the culmination of the four-year painting program and concludes with a spring exhibition. During this year, students primarily work independently under the mentorship of professional artists and other art experts of their own choosing.
The graduating painters are: Moona Aho, Eino Aitamurto, Albert Eronen, Vappu Holma, Pinja Kanon, Alex Keyriläinen, Marika Maijala, Eevi Oittinen, Maria Rasinkangas, Aaron Sirainen, Aino Suikkanen, and Mirja Väyrynen.
A special exhibition catalogue for Vapaa '25 will be released at the opening reception. It features an introduction by art historian Helen Korpak on the graduates’ work, as well as an essay by the Free Art School’s Vice Principal, Hannaleena Heiska. The graphic design of the renewed publication series (first updated in 2022) is by Pekka Toivonen.
Anniversary Year
In 2025, the Free Art School celebrates its 90th anniversary. The school remains guided by the same founding principles: the intrinsic value of painting and artistic independence. Established in 1935 by Maire Gullichsen, the Free Art School is a private institution dedicated to painting, located at Cable Factory in Helsinki. Its four-year painting program is unique, focusing intensively on painting while also offering complementary studies in visual art techniques, art history, and theory. The school is owned by the Free Art School Support Association, composed of artists and other visual arts professionals.
The school’s Principal is painter Elina Merenmies, and the Vice Principal is Hannaleena Heiska. Other faculty members include artists Eveliina Hämäläinen, Aura Hakuri, Teemu Mäenpää, Stiina Saaristo, Kim Somervuori, Pauliina Turakka Purhonen, Erno Enkenberg, Tuomo Laakso, and Aki Turunen, along with Adjunct Professor Juha-Heikki Tihinen.
To celebrate the anniversary year, a special exhibition will be organized in collaboration with HAM Helsinki Art Museum, and a 90th anniversary book will be published together with HAM and Parvs Publishing Company.
Press Contact and Image Requests
Meri Karppanen
Director of Administration
meri.karppanen@vapaataidekoulu.fi | +358 40 922 3171
We warmly thank our Vapaa '25 partners: Artek, Farbe, Tempera, Parvs Publishing Company, Yön Sahaus, Cover Story, Olvi, and Putte’s Bar and Pizza.
