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NO NIIN: at the Cusp of Art, Criticality and Love

NO NIIN is an online monthly magazine at the cusp of art, criticality and love. It functions as a platform for commissioning writers of any background to express their thoughts in the form of essays, exhibition reviews, interviews, images, poetry & memes about the arts scene in Finland. On the magazine’s website, the readers can also find artist statements, manifestos, visual-essays, playlists, event calendars, reviews of screenings, seminars and workshops. Since our time in Finland, we have sensed a major gap in media coverage around the activities of contemporary art. This lack of coverage reminds one of a family that lives together but doesn't speak to each other. We believe, for an arts scene to be intellectually lively there is an urgent requirement for its members to present their challenges & observations. Without that, we are trapped in a cycle of continuous artistic productions, many of which remain unexamined artistic lives. At the moment, many Finland based critics, historians, writers, & art workers are redefining the contexts of art & art making. To document these concurrent histories we need a cost-effective & accessible platform that connects ideas of our time in a coherent manner, in order to enable conversations that develop over time & invite responses to past issues. NO NIIN offers an opening into the nuanced arts scene of Finland, to understand: How does it work? What defines it? Who are the agents and authors shaping it? How will it change in the future? We publish on the themes of: Art Education, Art Writing, Art Market, Inclusion & Diversity; Love; Exhibition Making; Open Calls; Home; Migration; Artistic Labour & Value; Publicness; Friendship; On Revolt; Graphic Novels & Comics; Policing and Surveillance; Drawing Now; Art & Feminism; Discontent: Black, Queer & Feminist Parables; Critique of Art Criticism; Archive; Representing Climate Change in Contemporary Art; Art at the End of Capitalism; Failure; Publishing.

In 2021, NO NIIN embarked on publishing monthly issues of the magazine. We built a practical, flexible, and cohesive infrastructure by creating a transparent and equitable work system. In the two years (2021-22) of publishing, NO NIIN has formed a substantial online presence with local and international subscribers and social media followers. NO NIIN has filled a void of a publishing space where what art workers do, gets documented and reflected upon critically and analytically. The magazine has articulated difficult questions, calling for more imaginative and unorthodox approaches to countering the status quo. It has created a writing and publishing environment that makes intellectual discourse accessible, alive, and connected to the wider world. In the 15 issues published until December 2022, NO NIIN has collaborated with over 300 artists, writers, researchers, and curators in Finland and abroad. We have published 50 in-depth essays/articles/opinion pieces, reflective essays, and letters; 45 exhibition/publication/film/performance reviews; 35 interviews with artists, curators, filmmakers, and cultural producers; 16 poems and short stories; 12 podcasts and playlists; 60 commissioned artworks used as NO NIIN covers, illustrations for essays and interview portraits. Every issue includes editorial texts written by Elham Rahmati and Vidha Saumya that articulate their thoughts and ideas about and around contemporary art and cultural scene in Finland as well as global socio-political topics. NO NIIN has collaborated with institutions such as the ‘Baltic Circle Festival’, ‘Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki’, ‘Saastamoinen Foundation’, ‘Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy’, ‘Mad House Helsinki’, ‘Node Center for Curatorial Studies - Berlin’, ‘Urban Apa’, ‘Kritikbyrån’, ‘Juxtapose Art Fair’ and ‘Niin & Näin’.

In June 2022, NO NIIN launched its first print publication - NO NIIN Volume 01, of which 200 copies were printed. The magazine launch organised at Galleria Huuto saw an attendance of over 200 people. Shortly after, we sold out all copies of Volume 01, confirming the demand for such a publication. The magazine was acquired by Frame Contemporary Art Finland, Saastamoinen Foundation, Myymala 2, Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum, Turku Art Museum, and Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland. The magazine was distributed also through Nide Kirjakauppa and Amos Rex Museum Shop.

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