Artists at Risk

AR-Resident Olga Karpenko’s “Helsinki–Kyiv” exhibition opening soon in Helsinki!
Join us at Myymälä2 for “Helsinki–Kyiv”, the first solo exhibition in Finland by Ukrainian artist and AR-Safe Haven resident Olga Karpenko.

📍 Myymälä2,Uudenmaankatu 23 F, HELSINKI 00120
🗓 9–19 April 2026, Wed-Sat 12-18, Sun 12-17, Mon-Tue Closed
✨ Opening: 8 April, 17:00–19:00

Through watercolors, Karpenko presents a visual chronicle of her life across two cities, one where vital everyday infrastructure is protected, and another where it remains under constant threat, reflecting on the value of normal life itself. Her practice is rooted in attentive observation of urban spaces, natural elements and infrastructure as essential frameworks enabling human existence. Since 2022, her work has responded to life in Ukraine during war.
Learn more about the exhibition here: https://www.myymala2.com/?p=10606

Olga Karpenko is a Ukrainian graphic artist, a psychologist-consultant, who holds a Master of Mathematics and a PhD in the field of socionics. She also is the author of the monograph “Statics-Dynamics in Graphics and Picture Tests” (2018), which explores the concepts of statics and dynamics in graphics, painting and socionics.
Learn more about AR-Safe Haven resident Olga Karpenko: https://artistsatrisk.org/2026/03/24/ar-resident-olga-karpenko/

Thanks to The City of Helsinki, The Finnish Arts and Culture Agency, and the Ministry of Education and Culture for their support! We also warmly thank Myymälä2 and curators Ramiro Carmelo and Krista Mikkola for making this possible!

BERLIN this FRIDAY: Join us for dialogue and dance at the Humboldt Forum! Curator and artist Barış Seyitvan engages in conversation with AR’s Ivor Stodolsky and Marita Muukkonen followed by a DJ set by Alissa Zaddi.

Come along for a chat, a drink and dance at this informal format of a “Späti” - a Berlin street-side kiosk with beer and benches.

🎤 Späti: Art, Freedom and Protection - Conversation with Artists at Risk (AR) and Barış Seyitvan
🗓 Friday, 27 March 2026
⏰ 16:30 – 19:00
📍 Mechanical Arena (Foyer), Humboldt Forum, Schloßplatz, 10178 Berlin-Mitte.
🎟 Free admission

Barış Seyitvan is a former AR-Resident at AR-Safe Haven Helsinki and AR-ZKM Karlsruhe whose practice explores history, ecology, politics, migration and the transnational realities of the Kurdish experience. He was also an artist in the Artists at Risk Pavilion - UNESCO, Venice (watch the performance here: https://virtual.artistsatrisk.org)

Alissa Zaddi is a Berlin-based underground DJ known for her experimental and genre-blending approach to dance music.

Together with Solvej Helweg Ovesen, Program Curator of the Humboldt Forum, Bariş Seyitvan and AR’s directors will reflect on the Kurdish experience and the current realities of ethnic cleansing, exile and artistic freedom. Marita Muukkonen and Ivor Stodolsky will also describe Perpetuum Mobile (PM)’s ongoing quest to support artists at risk worldwide — including expanding AR’s work to new sister-programes such as Ecologists at Risk (ER).

A big thank you to the Humboldt Forum for its ongoing engagement.

Read about the event on Humboldt Forum’s website: https://www.humboldtforum.org/en/programm/termin/talk/art-freedom-and-protection-conversation-with-artists-at-risk-and-baris-seyitvan-161191/

✨ Artists at Risk (AR) Opening IrídiaFest 2026

Artists at Risk (AR) is honored to open the fourth edition of IrídiaFest 2026 in Barcelona with a conversation on art, protection and human rights.

In the opening session of the festival, Artists at Risk (AR) Co-Directors Marita Muukkonen and Ivor Stodolsky will join Anaïs Franquesa, director of Irídia, for a conversation about how art can sustain lives in situations of repression and violence, and why protecting artistic voices is essential in times of crisis. Together, they will reflect on culture not only as a refuge, but as a space for protest, responsibility and collective resistance.

The session continues with the Iranian writer Mahsa Mohebali and journalist, theatre director and actor Hossein Zoghi, both currently exiled in Catalonia and hosted by AR/ER-No Callarem – Barcelona. In conversation with Agus Morales (Revista 5W), they will discuss the current situation in Iran, culture as a form of resistance in the fight against censorship and the urgent need to bear witness despite the risks this may bring.

📍 Friday, March 13 at 18:30 — CCCB, Barcelona

✊💬 Come for the conversation — and stay for the music.

🎧 The festival continues Saturday, March 14 at Paral·lel 62, with a lineup bridging electronic music and Mediterranean traditions featuring Aïta Mon Amour, Faixa, DJ Hajar, and Baiuca.

👉🔗 More at this link:

https://www.cccb.org/en/w/activities/art-under-threat
A warm thanks to Anaïs Franquesa and the whole crew at Iridia, our partners NoCallarem and the CCCB, as well as Agus Morales and everyone who made this event possible!

Artists at Risk (AR) warmly invites you to an artist talk and film screening with a documentary film director, Tatiana Chistova on Tuesday, 10 March, at 5 pm at Rosebud Bookshop Postitalo Mannerheimintie 2, between Kiasma and the main Railway Station.
Join us for a discussion on the current situation in Russia, moderated by Iida Simes, Voima magazine, featuring film excerpts and works in progress by Tatiana Chistova, AR-Safe Haven Helsinki resident.
Drinks and snacks will be provided.
We warmly welcome you and look forward to seeing you at Rosebud Postitalo!
***
Screenings include excerpts from
Convictions Portraying young men refusing Russian conscription (2016) https://www.bezrindas.lv/ru/rpff-parliecibas/4623/
Bless You Exploring life during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) https://dafilms.com/film/13123-bless-you
Frau, Frau, Where is the Road to Pillau? Reflecting on experiences under occupation, past and present. (2012) https://artdoc.media/en/movie/frau__frau__gde_doro_2012_53
Khamidu. Here and There (work in progress) Revealing geopolitical and historical insights by spending a few days seeing the world through the eyes of a plumber during wartime.

The programme includes screeningsand a discussion with the audience.
Tatiana Chistova, from St. Petersburg, is a Russian director, editor, and scriptwriter currently based in Helsinki through the AR-Safe Haven programme with the support of World Organization against Torture (OMCT.) Her work explores memory, conscience, resistance, and human experience in times of conflict. You can read more about Tatiana’s work here: https://artistsatrisk.org/2026/03/02/introducing-ar-resident-tatiana-chistova/

Warm thanks to Rosebud and Voima for hosting the event. Tatiana’s residency is funded by the City of Helsinki, the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency, the Ministry of Education and Culture and OMCT.