POSITIONING: A Symposium on Curatorial Thinking in the Nordic-Baltic Region & Beyond
29 September – 2 October 2025
PUBLICS, in collaboration with Amos Rex and Kiasma, launches the first edition of POSITIONING, a four-year symposium series dedicated to curatorial thinking and publicness.
This large-scale international gathering brings together artists, curators, and cultural workers from across the Nordic-Baltic region and beyond to share ideas, commission new works, and open dialogue between local and international contemporary art practices.
Venues: Amos Rex, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, and PUBLICS.
Program
Monday 29 September 2025 at PUBLICS
This day is fully booked.
13:30 Welcome notes intro Paul O’Neill & Annabelle Antas
14:00 Lisa Rosendahl – ‘Something Moves In the Space Between’
14:30 Nkule Mabaso – ‘Curating Photography and Other Discourse Gaps’
15:00 Moderator Paul O’Neill with Respondent + Final word Max Hannus
15:30 Coffee + Onigiri Musubi
16:00 For the Record 1 – Moderator Taru Elfving
Nella Aarne
Satu Herrala
Kaisa Karvinen
Itha O’Neill
Evelyn Raudsepp
Eveliina Tuulonen
17:20 PUBLICS: Thank you
Tuesday 30 September 2025 at Amos Rex
9:00 Nari Tea
9:30 Welcome Intro Paul O’Neill + Kieran Long
10:00 Catherine David – ‘documenta X 1977-2025‘
10:40 Moderator Paul O’Neill with Respondent + Final word Bassam El Baroni
12:10 Nick Aikens with Charles Esche – ‘ L’Internationale: A Mission Statement in Times of Emergency ‘
12:55 Museum Why Network – Christian Skovbjerg + Evelyn Raudsepp + Anne Thomasen
13:15 Moderator Marti Manen with Respondent + Final word Giovanna Esposito Yussif
13:40 For the Record 2 – Moderator Antra Priede
Ramiro Camelo
Marcia Harvey Isaksson
Solvita Krese
Sten Ojavee
Satu Oksanen
Ingrid Orman
15:00 Nari Tea ‘Steeping Points’
15:30 Maria Lind – ‘A WALK IN THE FOREST’
16:10 Liisa-Rávná Finbog – ‘Geažideami: Curating a decolonial aesthetics (from a Sámi perspective)’
6:40 Moderator Paul O’Neill with Respondent + Final Word Nkule Mabaso
17:00 PUBLICS brief Introduction to artists – Film Screening:
Unconditional Love, Agnė Jokšė, 2021
Birth of a Grenade, Shubhangi Singh, 2022
A Night We Held Between, Noor Abed, 2024
Wednesday 1 October 2025 at Amos Rex
9:30 Nari Tea
10:00 Intro to days schedule and morning speakers Paul O’Neill / PUBLICS
10:15 Serubiri Moses
10:55 Moderator Marcia Harvey Isaksson with Respondent + Final Word Ute Meta Bauer
11:25 For the Record 3 Moderator Marti Manen
Miina Hujala
Piia Oksanen
Irina Mutt
SunnySide
Anne Szefer Karlsen
Sakari Tervo
13:45 Mia Wennerstand – Reading from ‘All Your Names Are Fiction‘
14:05 Ann Mirjam Vaikla – ‘Curatorial | Corporeal’
14:35 Valentinas Klimašauskas – ‘On Inventing Friends & Generosity’
15:05 Moderator Max Hannus with Respondent + Final Word Solvita Krese
15:30 Nari Tea Nari ‘Steeping Points’
16:00 Mi You
16:30 Tom Holert – ‘Curatorial Thought and Epistemic Politics’
17:00 Moderator Bassam El Baroni with Respondent + Final word Kieran Long
17:30 Outro Toast with Paul O’Neill
18:00 Live Performance – Natalia Beylis with Lau Nau and Cucina Povera (Marja Ahti and Olli Aarni)
Thursday 2 October 2025 at Kiasma
This day is fully booked.
10:10 Welcome by Kiira Miesmaa + Intro to day’s schedule and morning speakers Paul O’Neill
10:30 Cătălin Gheorghe – Curatorial transformations
Biljana Ciric – ‘Positioning‘
11:30 Moderator Antra Priede with Respondent + Final Word Marti Manen
12:30 Exhibition intro by Saara Karhunen & tour ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’
10:00–18.00 Screening – ‘The Future Futures Talk Show, 2024′
13:00 For the Record 4 + Moderator Anne Szefer-Karlsen
Anne Julie Arnfred
Mélanie Bouteloup
Taru Elfving
Bilge Hasdemir
Helen Kaplinsky
Nontobeko Ntombela
14:20 Ute Meta Bauer -‘The Curatorial – Architectures of Discourse‘
15:00 Moderator Paula Toppila with Respondent + Final Word Serubiri Moses
16:00 Mariam Elnozahy – ‘Art After Defeat‘
16:30 Annie Fletcher – ‘Self-Determination: A Global Perspective’
17:00 Moderator Paul O’Neill with Respondent + Final Word Bassam El Baroni
17:20 Final Words Bassam El Baroni with Paul O’Neill / PUBLICS Team
