Group exhibition by American artists with connections to Finland opening in Gallery Valo

Group exhibition by American artists with connections to Finland opening in Gallery Valo Heather Hietala: detail from HOPE, 2025. Wood fired ceramics, steel, upcycled glass underglaze Group exhibition by American artists with connections to Finland opening in Gallery Valo 09.10.2026 Heather Hietala: detail from HOPE, 2025. Wood fired ceramics, steel, upcycled glass underglaze Share on social media Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Continuum is exhibition by American artists supported by Finlandia Foundation National (FFN), and in collaboration with University of Lapland. The exhibition is displayed in Gallery Valo from October 16 through December 6, 2026. Continuum explores connections stretching across memory, migration, landscape, geography, history and identity. The works in the exhibition occupy a unique point along this continuum, connecting ancestral and contemporary experience, culture, material, and conceptual practices. Featured artists include Phyllis Fredendall, Heather Hietala, Tia Keobounpheng, Joyce Koskenmaki, Arno Rafael Minkkinen and Carrie Vander Veen. Some are Finnish American; others are friends of Finland whose lives and work have become deeply connected to Finnish culture and community. Each has taken inspiration from that connection in a different direction. — Continuum gives us an opportunity to showcase something that has been at the heart of our work for decades – the enduring connection between Finland and Finnish America, FFN executive director of FFN Tommy Flanagan says. Tia Keobounpheng: INGRAIN no 0, 2026. Pencil, colored-pencil, thread on wood. — Each of the artists in this exhibition intersects with our organization and our mission in a unique way, creating their own point along a continuum of art, culture, heritage, history, and identity that stretches across generations and across the Atlantic, Flanagan continutes. For some artists, like Upper Michigan native and longtime fiber arts professor Phyllis Fredendall, this exhibit furthers her long-standing personal and professional connections to Finland. — Each of these bodies of work grew out of my over 30-year relationship with Finland. Memory, place and family history are all expressed in wool, Fredendall explains.  Phyllis Fredendall Fredendall has been the first curator of the Finlandia Gallery, located within the FFN-owned Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, Michigan. She was succeeded by Vander Veen, who held the curatorial role for more than 20 years. Koskenmaki, Keoboupheng and Hietala have all had works shown in Finlandia Gallery, as have FFN Artists of the Year Eric Aho and Vaino Kola, who’s works will also be exhibited in Continuum. — Bringing these artists and their work to Finland for the first time is deeply meaningful, Flanagan expresses. — It allows us not only to celebrate what we hold dear, but to strengthen the connections that keep this continuum alive. Most importantly, we get to come together, in community, around the stories and experiences that connect us, Flanagan concludes. Gallery Valo, Arktikum Continuum 17.10.-6.12.2026 Vernissage 16.10.2026 18-20.00 Arktikum, Pohjoisranta 4, Rovaniemi Open Tue–Sun 10–18, closed on Mon and public holidays. Free entrance More info: Exhibition curator Clare Zuraw, Clare.Zuraw (at) FinlandiaFoundation.org FinlandiaFoundation.org/continuum LY / TTK / LH Read more All news 8.10.2026 H.M. King of Spain and the President of the Republic of Finland with their spouses visited the University of Lapland   Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain and the President of the Republic of Finland… 5.10.2026 New book highlights the remarkable life’s work of Professor Timo Jokela A book celebrating the 70th birthday of Professor Timo Jokela examines Jokela's significance as an artist, researcher, educator,… 1.10.2026 New publication explores the future of a sustainable wool sector in Lapland A new publication produced within the University of Lapland's VillaInno project brings together experiences, innovations and practical solutions…