oOh!media plays host to international art exchange program

Some of Finland’s most critically acclaimed artwork will be displayed in shopping centres throughout New Zealand as part of an international art exchange between the NZ Urban Art Foundation and the Arts Centre Finland.

The International Urban Art Exchange program will see works of 14 Finnish and New Zealand artists exhibited on oOh!media’s large-format Evoke Screens at 18 shopping centres around New Zealand for two weeks, starting tomorrow, January 18.

Twelve New Zealand artists will also have their work exhibited on a 50-metre square outdoor digital screen at the Teatteri Theatre in Turku, on the southwest coast of Finland, during the summer Video Arts Festival Turku, (VAFT) in June.

oOh!media New Zealand’s General Manager, Nick Vile, said he hoped the exhibition would engage the community and enliven their everyday shopping experience.

“This campaign will give Kiwi’s a rare chance to see art from across the globe taken out of the galleries and into the every day at large scale,” he said.

“It is also a fantastic opportunity to promote the exciting work the NZ Urban Art Foundation is doing in this space in association with the Arts Centre Finland and further demonstrate how Out of Home is evolving from existing as an advertising platform to a being a public space media delivering engaging content to citizens.”

Creative Director of The Urban Art Foundation, Andrew Hagen, said the exhibition, in collaboration with oOh!media, was bringing national and international art to our doorstep.

“For the past two years, we have been focused on taking art created by New Zealand artists out of the archives and displayed in contemporary, easily accessible, outdoor digital media sites for people to view as a source of enjoyment and education,” he said.

“The IUAE takes this concept to the next level, and we’re so excited to have the support of oOh!media to help make this possible.”

The IUAE exhibition, which will run from Saturday 18 January until 9 February 2020, will also feature on three large digital screens inside the NZ Academy of Fine Arts Gallery in Wellington. It will then run from June 29 until July 12 in Turku.

The New Zealand artists taking part in the exchange include; Karl Maughan, Derek Cowie, Heather Straka, Elizabeth Thompson, Paul Martinson, John Walsh, Liam Barr, Grant Sheehan, John Pule, Graham Fletcher, Sara Hughes, and Dick Frizzell.

The Finnish artists taking part in the exchange include; Annika Dahlsten, Markku Laakso, Minna Sjöholm, Sirpa Särkijärvi, Erika Adamsson, Heikki Marila, Ulla Jokisalo, Wäinö Aaltonen, Susanna Majuri, Jaana Paulus, Ulla-Maija Kallinen, Kati Immonen, Rosa Liksom, Heli Kurunsaari and Manno Kalliomäki.