State Art Prize to Kuopio, ANTI Festival awarded for social impact

The State Arts Committees award annual prizes to deserving artists, groups and artistic communities. Arts Promotion Centre awarded ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival for social impact in the arts. The prize is €50 000.

The Arts Promotion Centre’s reasons for the decision:

ANTI Festival is a multi-arts festival focusing on the performing arts that has been held in Kuopio since 2002. ANTI has shown how art can address challenging social issues and make them visible to large audiences through art.

Artistically, the ANTI Festival has an impact both locally and internationally. An internationally profiled contemporary art festival in the heart of North Savo produces high quality artworks for all citizens of the city. The event, widely visible in the city centre, is proof of how sets of live art works can shake up our understanding of the world and leave a lasting mark on the way we interact as human beings.

In her award speech, ANTI Festival Executive Director Elisa Itkonen thanked, among others, all the people of Kuopio – and also those from elsewhere – who have participated in the 22-year learning process and enjoyed the art of the festival. Special thanks go to the City of Kuopio for its courage to act as a platform and stage for the ANTI Festival.