I am Katja Juhola (born 1975), a curator, visual artist, and the founder and creator of the International Socially Engaged Art Symposium (ISEAS) https://iseasfinland.com/. Currently, I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Lapland, Faculty of Art and Design. I’ve been active in the field of art for over 25 years and have held more than a hundred exhibitions, both in Finland and internationally. Over the years, I have completed more than 15 major social art projects in Finland and five abroad. I served as the chairperson of the Raseborg Photography Center from 2014 to 2017, and of the Länsi-Uusimaa Art Society from 2021 to 2023. I have also curated several exhibitions.

Drawing and painting have always been among my primary tools as a professional artist. Through color and form, through the rhythm of line and hue, I express thoughts and emotions that often cannot be captured in words. Painting has often been a kind of necessity for me — a way to uncoil something hidden deep within. As I paint, inner tensions dissolve and take on a visual form, becoming something outside of myself. But I also have another way of working with color — one that is still intuitive, yet more structured. In projects like my Forest exhibition series, I begin with a plan. I know what I want to convey. Still, even with a clear direction, it often feels as though I’m reading the map, while intuition and coincidence take the wheel. That balance between control and surrender, between concept and instinct, is where much of my creative energy is found. I carry this same approach into my performances and installations, where I use color and form much like I do in painting — only now, the canvas becomes my own body or the space itself. Whether through movement, materials, or atmosphere, I paint with presence, creating immersive experiences that extend the visual language of my two-dimensional work into lived, shared moments.

In my socially engaged art, I have increasingly moved toward activist practices. I explore the possibilities of influencing reality through my own actions. While the process is central to my work, I also place great value on the visual and aesthetic impact of the final artwork. For me, it’s not only about the journey — the finished piece also matters. I see visual expression as a way to invite engagement, spark emotion, and provoke reflection. My core values are rooted in the principles of equality and an ecological lifestyle. I believe in the power of art to drive social change. For me, “touch by art” is no longer just about experiencing an art object — it is about participating in its creation, and in doing so, producing something new that can destabilize hegemonic structures. I have participated in several international symposia and deeply value the intense collaboration between artists of different cultures, as well as interdisciplinary work between art and science. These exchanges have been vital for expanding my own thinking and practice. I believe that dialogue between artists is essential for creating a critical and productive dimension in art. I view the socially engaged art symposium as a form of activist art. I see art as something that emerges through dialogue — a process that creates what Chantal Mouffe describes as an “agonistic public space,” where differing opinions can coexist without the need for a broad, unified consensus. For me, organizing the symposium is a personal act of activism, and its significance lies in preserving the freedom of art outside the constraints of institutional frameworks.