Thursday Lecture Series, Autumn 2026 by Catalysti X Art School Maa
An online lecture & artist talk series featuring Catalysti members - free and open to all.
Catalysti x Taidekoulu MAA collaboration is an online Thursday Lecture Series inviting transcultural artists, curators, and cultural professionals based in Finland or elsewhere in the world to talk about their research and practice in an open and free to all discussion.
Previously the series emphasised on the critical reflection and gaps in mainstream art education through a series of questions, one of which was: Which histories are missing from the curricula?
This fall the Thursday Lecture Series explores the role of contemporary art and the work of the artist in society as situated within the current ecosocial and sociopolitical context we live in. The main question of the series is: What is at Stake? with an emphasis on borders (physical, conceptual, legal), displacement, site-sensitivity and history, migration, memory, emotional landscapes, political body, rituals, food politics and cultural heritage through the lecturers’ gazes.
The artists and curators invited are of diverse professional backgrounds and arrive to the series from different schools of thoughts spanning philosophy, comparative literature, visual arts, filmmaking, performance art, art education, anthropology, academic and artistic research, curation, aesthetics, transdisciplinary design, writing, food art research, sculpture, archival research, and feminism.
The lectures offer audiences a direct contact with cultural professionals, artists, and curators whose work challenges the status quo in contemporary art and society.
TIMES, DATES and COMMITMENT
The lectures are held on Thursdays from 10.00 to 11.30am online on the Zoom platform.
Art School Maa follows equity guidelines against any form of discrimination. We require reading our guidelines for working together before attending the event.
HOW MUCH AND WHAT ARE YOU PAYING FOR
The Lecture Series is free of charge and open to all.
HOW TO REGISTER
For single attendance, request the link by sending an email to info@taidekoulumaa.fi.
In order to sign up for all future lectures, send us an email to info@taidekoulumaa.fi saying you wish to be added to the lecture mailing list.
GUIDELINES FOR WORKING TOGETHER
Art School Maa is a community for art and education that creates spaces for critical thinking and artistic practices. We seek new ways of expression and challenge our ways of working together. In order to share space in a way that supports , we will have to navigate different voices, practices and experiences. Maa’s guidelines are a starting point for doing this.
ABOUT CATALYSTI
Catalysti Ry is a non-profit art association founded in 2013 in Helsinki. Formed as a network of transcultural artists, they work at the intersection of activism and artistic production. They promote member activities, organise exhibitions and events, provide networking opportunities, employment possibilities, and promote knowledge sharing between members that want to develop their craft. Diversity, inclusion, and equity are the pillars on top of which Catalysti was created and still functions today. Since its establishment, Catalysti has initiated, produced, and participated in over 200 art events. Since 2020, their main focus has been to further democratise their operations and move towards a more sustainable multi-voiced organisation.
Lecture with artist Alejandra Alarcón
Lecture with artist, art researcher, and philosopher Joana Quiroga
A lecture & conversation with visual artist and educator Efi Savvides on her project “Richmond Village”, an unauthorised settlement at the British
Lecture with anthropologist and artistic researcher Jay Mar Albaos
Lecture with writer and curator Julia Fidder moderated by Olga Spyropoulou
Lecture with art worker, curator and producer Micol Curatolo
Lecture with artist and researcher Sepideh Rahaa
A reading & conversation with author Myriam Diatta moderated by Dahlia El Broul on "Doing Creative Work from Your Political Body"
30.04.2026 Artist talk with Onur Tayranoğlu
“How can performance practice function as a lens for exposing, questioning, and intervening in the social, political, and cultural structures that produce reality?”
23.04.2026 Talk with Helen Kaplinsky
“Reclaiming Historical Femininity in Practice and Criticism”
16.04.2026 Artist talk with Moe Louanjli
“Aesthetics of Code: Typography as Poetic Event”
