Art, culture & entertainment

Nordic Niceness? Public Art Beyond Consensus

Bringing together artists, academics and cultural actors from across the Nordics, the conference explores public art as a site of negotiation, contestation and belonging.

Date

4.12.2026

Location

Hanaholmen, Espoo

Event type

Free of charge

Language

English

Nordic Niceness?
Public Art Beyond Consensus

Date and time
4 December 2026
9:00-15:00 Finnish time (EET, UTC+2)

Location
Hanaholmen, Espoo, Finland
The Conference will be streamed online

Nordic Niceness? Public Art Beyond Consensus asks what happens when art refuses to be “nice”. Bringing together artists, academics and cultural actors from across the Nordics, the conference explores public art as a site of negotiation, contestation and belonging. Through discussions on representation, access and power, it examines whose stories shape the Nordic narrative and which voices remain at its margins. At a time of growing political polarization and social division, the conference considers the role of public art in creating space for friction and dialogue.

View the conference programme here:

Programme

The conference in Hanaholmen is the second gathering in a series that started in Oslo in spring 2026. The third conference will take place in Reykjavik in 2027.

The event is organised by FORCE (Freedom, Open-Dialogue, Resilience, Collaboration, and Empowerment), a platform aimed at strengthening support for artists, with a focus on those working in public spaces, in collaboration with Hanaholmen – the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre, The Finnish-Norwegian Cultural Institute, and the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency (Kuvi).

Attendance is free, but places are limited. Lunch will be available at an additional cost. Registration is required; the registration will open in October on this webpage.

The conference will be streamed online.

Accessibility at Hanaholmen