Celebrating ten years of connection, creativity and a more inclusive arts sector
Ten years ago, a group of artists and cultural professionals came together around a shared vision: to create a more inclusive Finnish arts and cultural sector where international artists and creative professionals could gain greater visibility, access opportunities and participate on equal terms.
What began as a collective effort to address the challenges faced by international artists in Finland has grown into Globe Art Point (GAP), an organisation dedicated to advocacy, collaboration and information networks. Over the past decade, GAP has worked to strengthen connections across the cultural sector, amplify the voices of international creatives and contribute to a more diverse, equitable and inclusive arts environment.
On 28 September 2026, Globe Art Point officially marked its tenth anniversary. On 22 October, we gathered with members, artists, partners, colleagues and friends at Botta in Helsinki to celebrate this milestone, reflect on our journey and look towards the future.
From the early conversations at Café Musiikkitalo to a growing network of more than 30 full and supporting members, almost 400 creatives in our online database and a team of four employees, our story has always been about people coming together to make change possible.
As we celebrate ten years, we look back at the people, milestones, projects and shared experiences that have shaped Globe Art Point into the organisation it is today.
From an Idea to an Organisation: Where It All Began
Every organisation begins with a reason to exist. For Globe Art Point, that reason was the recognition that international artists and cultural professionals in Finland possessed valuable skills, knowledge and creative practices, yet did not always have equal access to the professional networks, opportunities and structures needed to develop their careers.
Finding one’s place in a new cultural environment can be challenging. Beyond developing an artistic practice, international creatives often have to navigate unfamiliar institutions, funding systems, professional networks and working cultures. Language barriers and limited access to established networks can make these challenges even more difficult.
At the same time, the Finnish arts and cultural sector had much to gain from the experiences, perspectives and artistic practices of people from different backgrounds.
The question was not whether international artists had something to contribute. It was how to create better conditions for their contributions to be recognised, supported and included.
In September 2016, artists and cultural professionals came together in Helsinki to establish an organisation that would address these concerns. Originally founded as International Artists’ Center Finland ry, the association was built on the belief that a more open and inclusive arts sector would benefit not only international artists but the wider cultural community in Finland.
Among the founding members were Circo Criollo, European Theatre Collective Association, Osuuskunta SummArt, Sivuvalo multilingual literature project, Teatteriyhdistys Metamorfoosi, and individual artists and cultural professionals Paola Livorsi, Marek Pluciennik and Tomi Purovaara.
These founding members brought different artistic practices, experiences and networks to the initiative. What united them was a shared understanding that creating opportunities for international artists required collective action.
The early work involved bringing people together, identifying shared needs, building relationships and establishing an organisation that could advocate for change while creating practical opportunities for artists.
It was an ambitious undertaking, but the vision was clear: international artists and cultural professionals should be able to participate in Finnish arts and culture as active contributors, colleagues and professionals.
Photo of very first moments of the founding meeting in 2016. Image credit: Tomi Purovaara
Building a Meeting Point: From Café Musiikkitalo to Globe Art Point
Before there was an established organisation, there were conversations.
One of the important memories from GAP’s early history is the first meeting at Café Musiikkitalo in Helsinki. It was a modest beginning, but one that reflected something central to the organisation’s development: the willingness of people to meet, exchange ideas and work towards a shared goal.
As the initiative developed, the name Globe Art Point became increasingly associated with the work of creating connections between international artists and the Finnish arts and cultural sector.
The name reflected an outward-looking vision: a meeting point for different artistic practices, experiences and cultural perspectives and the idea to close the “GAP” between interantional creatives and local opportunities.
Over time, GAP’s role grew beyond creating opportunities for artists to meet one another. It began developing ways to share information, provide practical support, strengthen professional networks and bring attention to the structural challenges affecting international creative professionals.
The organisation’s development was never simply about becoming bigger. It was about building the relationships, knowledge and capacity needed to make its mission more effective.
The first meeting at Musiikkitalo remains a reminder that meaningful organisational change can begin with a relatively small group of people willing to take the first step.
A Defining Milestone: The €240,000 Finnish Cultural Foundation Grant
For a young organisation, securing resources to turn a vision into sustained work can be a defining moment.
In 2018, Globe Art Point received a €240,000 grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation for its GAP LAB & GAP INFO initiative, titled Living Lab and Databank for New Finnish Art and Culture. The grant was the largest awarded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation that year.
This was a significant milestone for GAP. It provided an opportunity to develop practical initiatives that could help make the Finnish arts and cultural sector more open, connected and accessible to people from different backgrounds.
GAP LAB and GAP INFO were built around the understanding that inclusion requires more than good intentions. Artists need access to information, professional connections, spaces for collaboration and opportunities to engage with the institutions and people shaping the cultural field.
The initiative sought to foster mutual understanding and collaboration between artists from different backgrounds, the public and arts institutions.
It also reflected an important recognition: international artists are not simply a group that needs to be integrated into an existing system. They are professionals whose knowledge, practices and perspectives can contribute to the development of Finnish arts and culture.
The funding helped establish an important foundation for GAP’s work and ambitions. It demonstrated the value of investing in initiatives that address gaps in representation, access and professional opportunities.
For an organisation that had begun with a group of people working towards a shared vision, the grant represented a significant step towards pursuing that vision on a broader scale.
Making Creative Talent Visible: The GAP Creatives Database
One of the most visible expressions of Globe Art Point’s mission is GAP Creatives Database.
The database was developed in response to a fundamental challenge: talented international artists and cultural professionals were living and working in Finland, but their work, skills and professional profiles were not always easy for the wider cultural sector to discover.
Visibility matters. It can influence whether an artist is invited to collaborate, considered for a project, connected with a potential partner or discovered by someone looking for a particular artistic skill.
The GAP Creatives Database provides a platform through which creative professionals can introduce their work and make their practices more visible.
Over the years, it has grown into a community of almost 400 creatives, representing a broad range of artistic disciplines, professional experiences and cultural backgrounds.
The database reflects a broader understanding of inclusion. Making the arts sector more accessible requires creating ways for artists to be found, heard and recognised, rather than expecting them to navigate existing networks without support.
For potential collaborators and others working in the cultural sector, the database offers an opportunity to discover creative professionals whose work and perspectives may otherwise remain outside their immediate networks.
For artists, it provides an opportunity to present their practice as part of a wider community of creatives in Finland.
As we look towards the next decade, the question is not simply how much further the database can grow, but how its potential can be used to create more meaningful connections and opportunities for the people represented in it.
Growing Together: Membership, Partnerships and Collective Action
Globe Art Point has never been a story of one organisation working alone.
From its founding members to the associations, individual creatives, institutions and partners that have joined its journey, collaboration has been central to its development.
Today, GAP brings together more than 30 full and supporting members. These members form an important part of the organisation’s community, contributing different experiences, expertise, artistic practices and perspectives.
Member associations have played a particularly important role. Organisations working across different artistic disciplines and cultural communities often understand the needs of their own members closely. Bringing these organisations together creates opportunities to identify shared challenges, exchange knowledge and work towards common goals.
Collective representation can also help make issues affecting international artists more visible within the wider cultural sector.
Over the past decade, GAP has developed relationships with ministries, grant-makers, policymakers and organisations across the Finnish arts and cultural field. Its partnerships have also expanded beyond Finland and the Nordic countries to the European level.
These relationships are important because the challenges facing international artists cannot always be addressed through individual projects or isolated interventions. Questions of access, representation, working conditions and professional opportunities often involve broader structures and institutions.
Through collaboration and advocacy, GAP works to contribute to conversations about how those structures can become fairer and more inclusive.
Growth, in this sense, is not only about expanding a network. It is about strengthening the relationships that make collective action possible.
From Visibility to Advocacy: Three Pillars of Our Work
Over the past ten years, Globe Art Point’s work has developed around three closely connected areas: advocacy, collaboration and information networks.
Together, these pillars reflect the different ways an organisation can support artists and contribute to a more inclusive cultural environment.
Advocacy brings attention to the conditions that influence who can participate in the arts sector, whose work is recognised and what opportunities are available to different groups of professionals. It involves contributing to conversations about fairer working conditions, representation and equal opportunities within Finnish arts and culture.
Collaboration creates connections between creative professionals, organisations and institutions. It makes it possible to share knowledge, develop partnerships and create initiatives that bring different perspectives together.
Information networks help artists navigate opportunities, understand systems and find relevant resources. Access to reliable information can make a significant difference when navigating an unfamiliar cultural and professional environment.
These three areas are interconnected. Providing information can help an artist access an opportunity, but it does not necessarily resolve the structural barriers that make opportunities difficult to access in the first place. Creating connections can open doors, but lasting change may also require institutions and decision-makers to reconsider existing practices.
This is why advocacy remains an important part of GAP’s mission.
The aim is not to separate international artists from the wider cultural community. It is to help create conditions in which people with different backgrounds and experiences can participate on more equal terms.
A diverse arts sector benefits from the exchange of ideas, artistic approaches and lived experiences. It becomes more capable of reflecting the society around it and responding to the different people who make up that society.
Ten years after its establishment, Globe Art Point continues to work towards that goal.
The People behind the Journey: Leadership, Continuity and Change
An organisation’s history is also the history of the people who have carried its work forward.
Throughout its first decade, Globe Art Point has been shaped by founding members, board members, managing directors, employees, volunteers and collaborators who have contributed their time, knowledge and commitment.
Leadership changes, responsibilities evolve and priorities develop as an organisation grows. Each period brings its own challenges and opportunities, and each contributes to the organisation that exists today.
Over the past ten years, Globe Art Point has been guided by three managing directors, each contributing to a different chapter of its development.
- Tomi Purovaara (2016–2019): As the first Managing Director, Tomi was part of GAP’s formative years, when the organisation was establishing its foundations and developing its early direction.
- Jaana Simula (2019–2024): Jaana led the organisation through its subsequent development, contributing to the continuation and growth of its work.
- Sarri Vuorisalo-Tiitinen (2024–present): Sarri currently leads Globe Art Point as the organisation continues to develop its activities, strengthen its networks and look towards its next decade.
Beyond its managing directors, GAP’s journey has depended on the contributions of board members, employees, volunteers, founding members and collaborators. Some have helped establish the organisation’s foundations. Others have contributed to securing resources, developing projects, strengthening partnerships, supporting members or expanding its reach.
As GAP enters its second decade, this history offers an opportunity to reflect on what has been learned, what should be carried forward and what new approaches may be needed.
Celebrating Ten Years at Botta: An Anniversary Built Around Stories
On 22 October 2026, Globe Art Point’s tenth anniversary celebration brought many of these different strands of its history together.
Held at Botta Events in Helsinki, the gathering was an opportunity for members, artists, partners, colleagues and friends to reconnect, reflect on the organisation’s journey and celebrate the people who have contributed to it.
Rather than focusing only on achievements and milestones, the programme placed people and their experiences at its centre.
The afternoon began with a special Human Library: Globe Art Point Edition, held from 14:00 to 16:00. The official anniversary celebration followed from 17:00 to 19:00.
The structure reflected an important part of GAP’s identity. Before celebrating what the organisation has become, we made space to listen to the stories of the people who make up its community.
The Human Library: Listening to the Stories Behind the Community
The human Library session with Julia Gagarina von Heiroth from HIAA. Image credit: Alex Ramirez
The Human Library offered visitors an opportunity to meet members of the GAP community as living books.
Instead of borrowing a printed book, participants could borrow a person’s time and listen to their experiences through a conversation. Each living book represented a different perspective, journey or aspect of life and work within the creative community.
The format encouraged curiosity, dialogue and a willingness to encounter experiences that might differ from one’s own.
For international artists and cultural professionals, a professional journey is often about more than artistic practice alone. It can involve navigating a new environment, building relationships, finding a sense of belonging and negotiating the challenges of working across different cultural contexts.
The Human Library provided space for these experiences to be shared in a personal and direct way.
It also reflected the importance of listening as part of building a more inclusive arts sector. Inclusion is not only about creating opportunities for people to participate. It also means making space for their experiences to be heard and taken seriously.
For Globe Art Point, beginning the anniversary with stories was a fitting way to celebrate ten years of work built around people, connections and shared experiences.
From Stories to Performances: An Evening of Reflection and Celebration
After the Human Library, the evening celebration brought together founding members, current and former representatives of the organisation, speakers, performers, partners and members of the wider creative community.
The programme combined reflections on GAP’s history with artistic contributions, creating space both to look back and to celebrate the creativity that continues to shape its community.
The evening included contributions from people who have helped establish the organisation, guide its development and support its work over the years. Their reflections offered an opportunity to recognise the collective effort behind GAP’s journey.
Artistic performances brought another dimension to the celebration.
Music, performance and other creative contributions reminded us that the arts are not only the field in which GAP works. They are also the means through which people communicate, build relationships, express ideas and imagine different possibilities.
Our sincere thanks go to the speakers and performers who contributed to the programme: Filiz Kurt Aksu, Pablo Alvarez, Gerry Stewart, Tomi Purovaara, Jaana Simula, Alan Guerra, Henri Terho, Laura Gazotti, Sofia Stupenkova, Wisam Abboud and Daniel Shaya.
We also thank our Managing Director, Sarri Vuorisalo-Tiitinen, for moderating the event and helping bring together the different voices and perspectives that shaped the evening.
Together, the Human Library, reflections and performances made the anniversary more than a celebration of an organisational milestone. They created an opportunity to recognise the people behind the work and celebrate the community that continues to give it purpose.
Ten Years of Gratitude: The People Who made It Possible
No account of Globe Art Point’s first decade would be complete without recognising the people and organisations who have contributed to its journey.
GAP’s development has been a collective effort. It has depended on people who saw the need for change, those who helped establish the organisation, and the many others who have contributed their time, expertise, resources and support over the years.
To our founding members, thank you for taking the first steps and laying the foundations for the organisation we are today.
To our full and supporting members, thank you for being part of this community, sharing your knowledge and helping shape the direction of our work.
To our board members, former and current managing directors, employees, volunteers and collaborators, thank you for the work you have contributed during different stages of GAP’s development.
To our funders and partners, thank you for recognising the value of this work and supporting initiatives that create opportunities for international artists and cultural professionals in Finland.
To the artists and cultural professionals in our Creatives Database, thank you for being part of a growing network that makes creative practices and professional experiences more visible.
To the speakers, performers, living books, readers and everyone who joined us at Botta, thank you for helping make our tenth anniversary a meaningful celebration.
And to everyone who has supported GAP in ways both visible and behind the scenes, we are grateful.
We know that it would be impossible to name every person who has contributed to this journey. Some have been involved from the beginning; others have joined more recently. Some have supported individual projects, while others have helped shape the organisation over many years.
Every contribution has formed part of the story.
Thank you for being part of the Globe Art Point story.
Looking Ahead: The Next Chapter of Globe Art Point
As Globe Art Point celebrates its tenth anniversary, the organisation is also looking towards a new chapter.
From 1 December 2026, GAP will be permanently based at Käenkuja 3a A in Helsinki, sharing office space with Cupore, the Centre for Cultural Policy Research. Read more here
The organisation’s first ten years have shown what can happen when people come together around a shared purpose. The founding members who gathered in 2016 could not have known every project, partnership or opportunity that would follow. What they created was the foundation for a community and an organisation capable of growing, adapting and continuing to work towards change.
We look forward to continuing to build connections, create opportunities and work towards a more inclusive arts and cultural sector in Finland, together.
Ten years behind us. A community beside us. More work ahead.
Here’s to the next chapter of Globe Art Point.
Images by Alex Ramirez