Timo Viialainen selected for the Jan van Eyck Academie residency for 2027
Artist, Academy of Fine Arts alum Timo Viialainen has been selected for a residency at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The residency programme is part of Saastamoinen Foundation and University of the Arts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts collaboration to strengthen internationalisation and career development of alumni through annually awarded residency stipends.
Timo Viialainen graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from the Sculpture Department of the Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts in June 2021. His artistic output takes form in sculptural works that activate the viewer, as well as performances that incorporate sound-based elements. As a performance and sound artist, he has appeared at numerous events in 22 different countries.
Viialainen is fascinated by contradictions and oppositions. In visual art, he is drawn to physical, time-resistant materials such as various metals, stone, and ceramics, which he sometimes combines with phenomena produced, for example, through electromagnetism. As a performing artist, he is interested in the activation of space and situation occurring in a moment. Viialainen’s works are included in the collections of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and Kiasma.
Viialainen was selected for an 11-month residency at the Jan van Eyck Academie from January 2027 onwards. The residency programme provides the artist with, among others, housing, studio facilities, staff support and advice as well as the community of the academy. The Jan van Eyck Academie is one of Europe’s most renowned international post-academic residency centres, hosting approximately 45 artists, designers, researchers, writers, and curators each year.
Each year, rotating jury of international experts makes a pre-selection of applicants from among the alumni of the Academy of Fine Arts, after which the residency centres make the final selections. In Spring 2026, the jury included:
- Sook-Kyung Lee, Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery and Professor of Curatorial Practices at The University of Manchester
- Laura Barreca, Professor of History of Art at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania and Director of Museo Civico di Castelbuono, Palermo
- Santtu Laine, a Finnish contemporary artist whose multidiciplinary practice combines biomaterials, installation, and sculpture as part of material-driven research approach.
The jury described the decision as follows: Timo Viialainen works with sculpture, performance and sound. The jury appreciated his multidisciplinary practice, well-structured portfolio and clear artistic intention. His diverse yet consistent educational background and practice were also noted. The residency can support the artist to develop his material research and experimentation, expanding his work to a broader international context.
International Residency Programme for Alumni of the Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts
The Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts and Saastamoinen Foundation’s residency programme supports the international work of the alumni of Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts. The programme grants stipends annually for international residencies where the artists can further their practice and expand their professional networks. The partner residencies include ISCP (New York), LIFT (Toronto), joint residency of Cove Park and Scottish Sculpture Workshop (Scotland), as well as the Jan van Eyck Academie (Maastricht). Additionally, the program allows for a stipend to the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten residency (Amsterdam) if an alum is accepted through the Rijksakademie’s own application process.
Each year, one artist is selected for each residency. Selections are made four times a year, twice in spring and twice in autumn.