The Association of Photographic Artists is a membership organisation for professional artists who use photography as their primary medium. It is one of the member organisations of the Artists’ Association of Finland (AAF) alongside Artists’ Association MUU, the Association of Finnish Sculptors, the Union of Finnish Art Associations, the Association of Finnish Printmakers, and the Finnish Painters’ Union.
The association offers its members advocacy, information, advice, training, and art mediation services. Additionally, as a member, you gain access to the services of the Artists’ Association of Finland, including legal advice. The annual membership fee is 110 € for regular and candidate members, 50 € for pensioner members, and 200 € for community members.
The Association of Photographic Artists accepts new members twice a year. In the autumn, applications must be submitted by 30 September at the latest, and in the spring by 30 April. Memberships approved in the autumn start at the beginning of the following January, while those approved in the summer start at the beginning of July of the same year. Individuals who are Finnish citizens or who reside and work permanently in Finland are eligible to apply for membership.
The board of the association approves new members based on the recommendation of the membership committee. According to the association’s rules, both individuals and legally recognised organisations can be accepted as members.
The professional achievements of a visual artist are demonstrated by:
- The artist’s education or other equivalent experience and achievements in the field
- Active exhibition activity in the last five years, especially solo exhibitions in spaces dedicated to visual art
- Success in an open national or international group exhibition or art competition and/or being accepted in a selection made by a specialist or expert body, i.e., jury selection
- The production of publications based on artistic work
- Other activities as a visual artist, such as involvement in artist groups, artist organisations, as an expert, art educator, etc., can be considered as achievements.
An applicant may be accepted as a candidate member before fulfilling the membership requirements if the applicant has completed a degree at an art institution or otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge and skills. The candidate member must apply for full membership within five years, or the membership will expire. To be accepted as a full member, the candidate member must demonstrate their artistic activities and the development of their practice during the trial membership period. A candidate member receives the same benefits as a full member, but they do not have voting rights at the association’s annual meeting.
In the application, you are required to provide:
- A carefully completed electronic application form
- Contact information (NB: this must be included in all attachments)
- A CV focused on artistic work
- An electronic image portfolio, including an artist’s statement
Attachments
An electronic image portfolio (PDF, max 5 MB) and an artist’s statement as part of the portfolio.
The portfolio showcases your artistic work. It must include 10-20 images of your artworks that reflect your current production. Each image should have information about the artwork (title, technique, size, year of completion, and for installation photos, the presentation context). Additionally, you can include the artistic concepts behind your works in the portfolio. The portfolio may also contain exhibition installation images, exhibition plans, or documentation of publications. Do not include clippings, reviews, or recommendations in the application.
The artist’s statement is a brief description of your artistic work (maximum 1,000 characters). Write the artist’s statement in the first person. It should help the reader to understand your artistic work. Write a few sentences about your relationship with art in general and explain why you make the kind of art you do. Clearly highlight the core concept and vision behind your artistic practice. You may also describe your relationship with photography and/or elaborate on how you present your works.
Apply for membership using the electronic form.
The application form is open year-round, and you can submit your application at any time. However, please note the final submission deadlines: 30 April and 30 September.
Before submitting: Please ensure that all required sections are included in the application and that all links are working. Incomplete applications will not be assessed!
A note to applicants: The Association of Photographic Artists continuously develops the peer review process, provides guidelines for reviewers, and enhances transparency for applicants. Our goal is to establish practices that promote equality and consistency in decision-making.
The Association of Photographic Artists is one of the member organisations of the Finnish Artists’ Association. Applicants should consider which artists’ association best supports their artistic work. When it comes to photography, we also assess whether an artist using a camera as a tool qualifies as a photographic artist or whether, for example, the Union of Journalists might be a more suitable option. As a rule of thumb, the membership committee considers documentary projects based on an artist’s own artistic work as art, whereas commissioned projects are regarded as journalistic work.
