The Young Hero Grant will be presented to Antti Sepponen at the opening on Thursday, 27 November, from 5 to 7 pm.

The 2025 Young Hero Grant of the Jouko Lehtola Foundation is awarded to Antti Sepponen (b. 1991) from Lahti. The grant includes a solo exhibition at Photographic Gallery Hippolyte, where Sepponen has documented his hometown of Lahti and captured everyday moments from surprising perspectives.

The Jouko Lehtola Foundation is awarding the Young Hero Grant for the third time. Film director Virpi Suutari selected this year’s Young Hero from a pool of 10 finalists. This time, the Jouko Lehtola Foundation chose the finalists in collaboration with the Association of Photographic Artists. In addition to the exhibition opportunity, the award includes a monetary prize of €5,000.

Suutari describes her choice as follows:

“Antti Sepponen photographs the ordinary in an extraordinary way. Beneath the everyday, something strange and invisible emerges—something we recognise. With his unconventional framing and raw use of light, he reveals the unseen beneath the mundane—the quietness and loneliness of people. Sepponen’s images are disorienting. They make us look more closely at those around us and the settings in which we struggle to get by. His photographs contain roughness and imperfection, but also a generous dose of humour and affection.”

The Young Hero exhibition at Photographic Gallery Hippolyte presents Sepponen’s series, in which he expresses his love for his hometown. In his works, he examines urban spaces through the eyes of a native Lahti resident, and the images invite viewers to encounter people in their authenticity and in the fleeting sensitivity of the moment. Through attention to detail, he uncovers unexpected situations in everyday life and constructs his distinctive visual interpretation of them. Sepponen’s visual narratives combine documentary precision with artistic vision. The series was created between 2012 and 2024. The exhibition is complemented by a pocket-sized catalogue and other related material.

During the exhibition, visitors will also have the opportunity to explore the other Young Hero Grant finalists in Hippolyte’s Studio Space: Joshua Cockroft, Venla Kaasinen, Minna Karhunen, Sylvester Kivelä, Anni Porrasmäki, Mortti Saarnia, Henrietta Soininen, Niko Tampio, and Atte Tolonen

Antti Sepponen (b. 1991) is a photographer living and working in Lahti. His work is characterised by curiosity and a desire to approach life with authenticity and humanity, often with a subtle twinkle in the eye. Sepponen undertakes both long-term independent projects and diverse commercial assignments. He graduated from the photography programme at Lahti Folk High School in 2012. Lahtiblogi, initiated in 2011, is a project by Sepponen and his friends. Since then, the blog has become a kind of cult hit with a dedicated following.

Sepponen’s exhibition has been realised in collaboration with the City of Lahti and with support from Artproof.

The presentation of the finalists has been made possible with support from Pro Av Saarikko.

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The Jouko Lehtola Foundation awards the Young Hero Grant every two to three years according to the following criteria: the recipient must be a promising young photographer who is not yet widely known, is under 36 years of age, works independently and originally, does not create images (solely) on commission, and has an “enthusiastic approach” to photography. The Young Hero Grant cannot be applied for; instead, the Jouko Lehtola Foundation awards it to a person of its own choosing.

The Jouko Lehtola Foundation manages Jouko Lehtola’s artistic oeuvre. Its purpose is to support young photographers oriented towards documentary photography, and to preserve, promote and disseminate knowledge of the artistic work of the foundation’s founder.

During the exhibition, Jouko Lehtola Legacy shirts and No Mercy books will also be available for purchase in the gallery.

For additional information and interview requests:
Jaana Novitskij
Administrator, Jouko Lehtola Foundation
+358 40 089 75 66
jaana.novitskij@gmail.com
http://joukolehtola.com

For additional information and press images:
Valokuvagalleria Hippolyte
+358 9 612 3344
info@hippolyte.fi
https://hippolyte.fi/

Jouko Lehtola Foundation
The Young Hero 2025: Antti Sepponen
28 November – 21 December 2025
Photographic Gallery Hippolyte

image: Antti Sepponen, Oil man (Vihdintie), 2013