ArtShortCut, Tampere Art Museum, TR1 Kunsthalle and FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange invite two of the founding members of the U.S. artist group Guerrilla Girls, Frida Kahlo and Käthe Kollwitz to perform in Finland April 26–27, 2011. Visiting Tampere and Helsinki, the Guerrilla Girls Nordic Tour aims to create debate about gender equality in the Nordic art scene.

Founded in New York in 1985, the Guerrilla Girls is a riotous group of artists known internationally for their campaigns exposing gender discrimination in the art world. With past performances in more than a hundred universities and museums, the founding pair will lecture in Tampere (26 April) and Helsinki (27 April) as well as in Gothenburg (20 April), Sweden during their Nordic tour.

Wearing gorilla masks and using names of dead women artists as pseudonyms, the Guerrilla Girls are known for their provocative statements, irrefutable information and outrageous visuals. Humorous yet factual campaigns have raised issues of discrimination and gender equality in the fields of art, film and politics worldwide. The themes highlighted by the group are as topical in Finland today as they were in the United States 25 years ago.

Producers for the Guerrilla Girls Nordic Tour are Kira Sjöberg (ArtShortCut) in Finland and Josefina Posch (Snowball Cultural Productions) in Sweden. The events in Finland are arranged in collaboration with Tampere Art Museum, TR1 Kunsthalle in Tampere and FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange.

Other collaborative partners are the subject of Gender Studies at the University of Helsinki and Gallery Kalhama & Piippo Contemporary in Helsinki, Eternal Gallery, MediaPyhät, Organisation of students of gender studies at Tampere University (NaMi), Queerilla Club and Tampere University of Applied Sciences in Tampere. Partners in Gothenburg are Konstnärsnämnden, IASPIS, Göteborgs Stads Kulturnämnd, Västra Götalandsregionens Kulturnämnd, Göteborgs Konsthall and Konsthögskolan Valand.

PROGRAMME: THE GUERRILLA GIRLS NORDIC TOUR

Guerrilla Girls - Tampere
Tuesday 26 April

The Finnish Labour Museum Werstas (auditorium), Väinö Linnan aukio 8
6-8pm

Frida Kahlo & Käthe Kollwitz (Guerrilla Girls)
Free entry

Guerrilla Girls - Helsinki
Wednesday 27 April

University of Helsinki, Metsätalo (lecture hall 1), Unioninkatu 40
4.30-6.30pm

Frida Kahlo & Käthe Kollwitz (Guerrilla Girls)
Free entry

Contact details:

Guerrilla Girls in Helsinki
Kira Sjöberg, Producer
ArtShortCut
kira(at)artshortcut.com
+358 (0)40 770 7781

Guerrilla Girls in Tampere:
Johanna Kangas
Tampere Art Museum/TR1 Kunsthalle
johanna.t.kangas(at)gmail.com
+358 (0)40 500 8440

Press material and images:
Mona Berg
FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange
mona.berg(at)frame-fund.fi
+358 (0)40 5033 380

Guerrilla Girls in Tampere and Helsinki - event on Facebook