A 20-day residency examining how Estonia and Finland's contemporary art scenes were shifting from the post-Soviet period toward EU integration and market capitalism. Ten curators with a minimum of two years' professional experience took part, selected from an open call that closed August 15, 2015.
In Estonia, the group focused on the country's non-profit-heavy exhibition ecology (commercial galleries remain scarce), visiting artist studios — including Jaanus Samma, who went on to represent Estonia at the Venice Biennale — and meeting institutional leaders including architectural historian Mart Kalm and several museum directors, in and around Tallinn and Tartu. Partners on the ground included the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC).
In Finland, curators tracked a wave of institutional change reshaping Helsinki's art ecosystem, including HAM's reopening as the Helsinki Art Museum and the early, contested development of the Guggenheim Helsinki. The program also looked at how Finland funds its artists, visiting artist-led spaces and residencies with partners Checkpoint Helsinki and HIAP (Helsinki International Artist Programme).
As with later editions, each curator was asked to submit a project proposal for their home city after the residency, with funding awarded to one winning proposal. Ten curators took part, from China, Poland, the UK, Spain, Turkey, the USA, Germany, the Netherlands, and Brazil.
