Mia Kivinen named artistic director of Lux Helsinki
Light art curator and expert Mia Kivinen has been named as the new artistic director of the Lux Helsinki light annual light art festival. Kivinen will take up her position in September and will be responsible for the artistic direction of Lux Helsinki starting at the end of next year for a five-year term from 2028 to 2032.
Lux Helsinki is the largest light art festival in Finland and one of the most significant in Europe. The festival, which has been held since 2012, brings Finnish and international light art to Helsinki’s darkest season and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. The festival is organised and produced by Helsinki Events Foundation.
Kivinen has extensive and diverse experience in curating, producing, researching and teaching light art. Having acted as the event’s consulting curator since 2022 and been involved in various aspects of the festival since 2015, she is already familiar with Lux Helsinki.
Kivinen graduated with a master’s degree in Lighting Design from the Theatre Academy of Finland in 2005 and a master’s degree in Curating on the Praxis master’s programme at the University of the Arts Helsinki in 2018. She has worked in various roles within the field of light art for around two decades and has also been active in other areas of contemporary art.
Kivinen has curated light art for festivals, exhibitions and public spaces, both independently and as part of collectives. In addition to Lux Helsinki, his recent projects include curating what is possibly the world’s smallest light art festival, Thesmallest, in Puu-Vallila, Helsinki; acting as a consultant curator for various festivals; and serving as the curator responsible for the internationalisation of FLASH, the Finnish Light Art Association. Kivinen has extensive international connections: she has also helped to establish residency and networking projects, such as the Lýsa network of Nordic light festivals and curators.
Kivinen teaches light art and site-specific art at Uniarts Helsinki, among others, and she has lectured on light art and its curation in Finland and internationally. In addition, she writes and conducts research on the history, special characteristics and development of light art.
In her new post, Kivinen will seek to strengthen Lux Helsinki’s artistic concept, content, site-specific nature and international status. She sees the festival’s strength as its ability to combine an artistically ambitious programme with a visually impressive urban event that is open to everyone. She also considers it essential to strengthen and expand the light art community and to spark discussion within it.
“The choice of Mia Kivinen as artistic director is a brilliant step towards the future of Lux Helsinki. She combines visionary curating, extensive international networks and a knowledge of Helsinki’s urban space and the light art field. Under Kivinen’s leadership, Lux Helsinki will continue to grow as an artistically high-quality and cherished urban event, and an internationally acclaimed light art festival,” says Sami Ylisaari, CEO of Helsinki Events Foundation.
The next Lux Helsinki will be held from 30 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. The festival will spread across Helsinki over eight days and invite city residents and visitors alike to experience the winter city through light art.
Photo: Saara Autere