Open Call Apply Now!

Open Call

Open call for submissions 3–28 February 2026
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Aavistus Festival is an international biennial of audiovisual art and VJ culture that will be held for the fourth time October 1st till 4th 2026. It is a volunteer-run, artist-led independent festival, organised by the non-profit association Aavistus Festival ry.

Aavistus Festival is looking for VJ performances, audiovisual live performances, media art installations, single-channel video works, children's programme, projection mapping works, and talks and presentations to be presented at various venues in Helsinki, Finland.
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What we are looking for
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1. Relation to the festival theme "Attention, please!"
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2. Works with a strong & interesting idea, concept or message.
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3. Diversity in artworks: original ideas, styles and (innovative) techniques.
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Overall guidelines
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1. You may only submit one entry per each category, meaning a maximum of 7 entries in total.
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2. Submissions are free of charge.
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3. The festival will pay a fee per each selected performance/artwork. The fee is based on funding and ticket sales. The festival operates on arts and culture grants and spends majority of its funding on artist fees. The currently confirmed funding allows for a fee of 50-200 € per artwork/performance. The final amount will be confirmed as the grant decisions come in. Taxes and other deductions apply.
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4. Aavistus Festival does not cover the travel or accommodation costs.

5. The artist is responsible for following best practices in terms of copyright.

6. Aavistus Festival reviews the applications adhering to our values, rejecting all forms of oppression, othering and discrimination, including racism, apartheid, ethnic segregation, casteism, sexism, ableism, ageism, classism and elitism.

Categories and submission forms

‍VJ performance
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The VJ performance is a 30-60 minute plug-and-play gig at Aavistus' nightclub venue on Saturday, 3 October 2026.
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Link to the form

‍Audiovisual live performance
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The audiovisual live performance will last for 30-60 minutes. You or your group will perform both music and visuals in real time on stage with a seated audience either on Thursday, Friday, or Sunday of the festival week.
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Link to the form

‍Media art installation
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The media art or audiovisual installations will be exhibited at Aavistus Festival's pop-up exhibition at Helsinki City Museum on 1.–4. October 2026.
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Link to the form

‍Single-channel video work
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The single-channel video format artworks will be presented as a part of the festival programme dedicated to video and media artworks.
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Link to the form

‍Children's programme
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We are looking for playful media art installations and workshops aimed at children. This part of the programme will take place at Helsinki City Museum's Children's town.
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Link to the form

‍Projection mapping
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We are looking for concepts and sketches for projection mapping. The work will be projected onto a facade in Helsinki, appointed by Aavistus. Since the facade is yet to be confirmed, we are looking only for ideas and references of earlier work.
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Link to the form

‍Talks and presentations
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We are looking for lectures, presentations and discussions on VJ culture and AV art. All talk programmes will be fully free for the audience.
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Link to the form

Open call info session and Q&A on 9.2.2026
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Welcome to the Aavistus Festival 2026 open call info session and Q&A! The festival team will present the open call categories and submission guidelines as well as answer attendee questions.

When
‍Monday, February 9th at 17.00 (UTC+3)

Where
‍The event will be hosted online as a video call.
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Register for the info session by filling out this form

Open call FAQ
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Do you have questions about the open call? You can send them to us via email to info@aavistusfestival.fi or anonymously via this form.

You can also check out the previously answered questions.

Theme of 2026

Where does your presence lie?
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‍In the universe, everything is made from tiny particles, resonating on different frequencies. The transmission is subjective. The visual, auditory and digital messages are affected by interpretation, perception and external interference. Noise corrupts structure. It fuzzes signals and warps meaning. Eventually everything falls into entropy, or is found as order. Noise can be the starting point for meaning through pattern recognition. TV static can begin to look like images, the hum of a power plant can sound like music. Our minds seek patterns by instinct. This feature (not a bug!) is now being exploited for purposes beyond profit margins.

The attention economy is all around us. As the German designer Dieter Rams said, without curatorial attitude towards designing communication and our environment, we live in a world of “impenetrable confusion of forms, colours and noises”. The collapse of context in media has made the whole art reactionary.
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The curatorial theme for the 2026 Aavistus Festival, Attention, please!, explores the relationship between noise, pattern, attention and presence. We invite you to question what makes an audiovisual artwork deserve to desire one’s attention.

Where is the threshold of noise to pattern?
How to experience presence?
Is anyone even there?

‍Please, attention.

About Aavistus Festival
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Aavistus Festival is a biennial of audiovisual art and VJ culture in Helsinki since 2020. It showcases a diverse lineup of local and international artists, highlighting the creative possibilities of live audiovisual expressions.

Organised by the non-profit association Aavistus Festival ry, the festival plays a crucial role in promoting and advancing audiovisual art and VJ culture in Finland. It fosters collaboration among artists, designers, and technologists, while also spotlighting Finland's dynamic VJ scene on the international stage. The festival is driven by a dedicated team of local VJs and AV enthusiasts who curate a compelling program of performances, workshops, exhibitions, and discussions.

Aavistus Festival serves as a hub for innovation and creativity within the audiovisual arts community, enriching Helsinki's cultural landscape and offering audiences a unique opportunity to engage and get to know about the diverse world of audiovisual culture.

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Production team
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Festival director
‍Merle Karp
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Head of production
‍Raul Silvennoinen

Producers
Artturi Elovirta
Elif Eren
Antti Hietaniemi
Hannu Häkkinen
Jassir Kuronen
Ira Nääppä
Leo Pahta
Suvi Parrilla
Jacob Söderström
Viktor Teodosin
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Aavistus Festival ry board
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Chairperson
‍Antti Hietaniemi
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Vice-Chair
‍Jassir Kuronen
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Treasurer
‍Merle Karp
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Secretary
‍Jacob Söderström
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Board members
‍Artturi Elovirta
Hannu Häkkinen
Henri Miettinen

Substitute board members
Marie Dahlén
Elif Eren
Marko Miettinen
Viktor Teodosin