Every year, the Helsinki International Curatorial Programme (HICP) offers one-month residencies in Helsinki for contemporary art curators. The programme in 2022 is co-organised by Frame Contemporary Art Finland and HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme in collaboration with Kunsthalle Kohta and Kunsthalle Seinäjoki.

The HICP curators-in-residence will live and work at HIAP’s international residency centre on the island of Suomenlinna, a 15-minute ferry ride away from the centre of Helsinki. HIAP offers the resident curators a combined workspace and accommodation. Frame provides them with a working grant (39 euros per residency day) and a travel allowance from and to the curator’s place of residence.

Both organisations provide the curator fellows with individualised assistance and networking support tailored to their project or research. The HICP curators have access to the international residency community and programme of events at HIAP, while Frame provides contacts with extensive networks of Finnish artists and other art professionals.

For this year’s open call, Frame and HIAP are collaborating with Kunsthalle Kohta and Kunsthalle Seinäjoki to offer two curators the possibility of collaborating on an exhibition, or another form of presentation of their curatorial research conducted during their residency. Residencies are organised in September and November 2022. Projects with the partners are produced later during 2023 and 2024.

The aims of the programme:

• To allow internationally active, professional curators the chance to connect with the Finnish contemporary art field and plan projects (exhibitions, public events, publications, or others) in collaboration with artists and partner organisations operating in Finland.
• To support curatorial research in its diverse and emergent forms.