Outsider Art Festival’s Festival Director Heini Merkkiniemi has won AGMA’s Mediator of the Year award!
By giving out the Mediator Awards (Välittäjä-palkinto), AGMA wants to highlight the intermediaries in the creative economy whose valuable work is often hidden, but without whom many creatives and content would not get exposure and reach their audiences. The role of the Mediator Awards is to encourage and to show appreciation and praise. AGMA, the Association of Agents and Managers in Creative Industries of Finland represents agencies and managers working in all creative industries.
The arguments for choosing Merkkiniemi as the Mediator of the year include:
“Heini Merkkiniemi is the Festival Director of the Outsider Art Festival OAF. OAF has organised several pop-up events and showcases around the world, including New York, London, Paris and Berlin. In total, Heini and OAF have represented 60 Finnish outsider artists around the world during 2019-2024.”
“Heini Merkkiniemi is doing pioneering work as a mediator and internationaliser of outsider art through her work with Pertti’s Choice and Outsider Art Festival. Heini promotes the effectiveness and equality of the creative industries and is creating new openings, networks and structures. Heini is a multidisciplinary professional whose work is creative, ethical and transnational. Heini’s pioneering work has brought visibility and opportunities to outsider art on a whole new scale.”
Huge congratulations to Heini, and many thanks to AGMA for bringing outsider art to the fore!
Picture: Heini Merkkiniemi and Kalevi Helvetti / Pertti Kurikka. Photo by Teemu Kuusimurto.
Read Heini’s award interview on AGMA’s website here (only in Finnish): https://www.agma.fi/post/haastattelussa-2024-heini-merkkiniemi
