Imagining otherwise : critical interviews with artists

The publication brings together interviews produced as part of the Praxis—Curating and Writing in Contemporary Art course Conducting Critical Artist Interviews run by Elham Rahmati at the Academy of Fine Arts at Uniarts Helsinki. Students were tasked with interviewing artists participating in the research exhibition Idiorrhythmic Imaginaries, curated by Henk Slager and held at the Kuva/Tila gallery from 5–21 December 2025.

Artist interviews offer a means of encountering artworks through the voices of the artists who create them, voices shaped by years of thinking, experimenting, researching, and refining. Yet artist interviews should not be treated merely as contextual additions or supporting material, as they constitute a key genre in their own right, positioned at the intersection of art history, inquiry, and dialogic aesthetics. Critical artist interviews differ substantially from promotional ones in their intentions, methods, and depth. Whereas the latter tends to highlight biography, networks, neatly packaged narratives, news about forthcoming exhibitions, or market positioning, a critical interview opens a space for genuine inquiry, engaging the artist in a process of reflection – a rare opportunity to explore the intellectual, cultural, and political contexts that shape their decisions. These conversations do not seek to present a seamless narrative. Instead, they welcome complexity, disagreement, vulnerability, and contradiction. They reveal not just what artists make, but how and why they make it.

Interviews were conducted by Heidi Backstrom, Tuija Huovinen, Amalia Kasakove, Isa Lumme, Lyenne Palü, Anna Stuart, Gabriel Thiam. Interviewed artists: Amanda Beech, Jaime Belmonte & Paola Fernanda, Sophie Durand, Kerry Guinan, Heidi Hänninen, Marleena Huuhka, Joanna Kalm, Noora Karjalainen, Kristiina Koskinen, Veli Lehtovaara, Dominik Schlienger, Kerstin Schroedinger & Angela Melitopoulos, Rut Karin Zettergren.

Read the publication online here

Imagining otherwise: Critical interviews with artists
Ed. Elham Rahmati
Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts
ISBN 978-952-353-504-6 (pdf)