Free workshops at the Utopias Lahti 2026 festival

As part of the Utopias Lahti 2026 festival, free workshops for photographers will take place. The application deadline is April 20.

Workshop 1:
A SENSE OF PLACE
Teacher: Nina Worren (NW Gallery CPH)
Schedule: Thu 21.5. – Sun 24.5.2026

This immersive workshop is for artists using photography interested in place, presence, and perception. Working with their surroundings, the participants will use senses, memory, and intuition as tools for artistic exploration. Through individual and collective processes, participants will create a large-scale collage wall together – composed of images, texts, drawings, paintings, found materials, textures, and fragments. The wall will evolve over the three days, gradually blending individual works into a shared, common landscape. The sharing collage is inspired by the surrealist movement and their union of the dream and reality worlds. During the workshop, participants will also have an individual mentoring meeting with Nina Worren.

Nina Worren (DK/NO) is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and educator, working in the field of photography, video, text, and collage. In 2017 she founded NW Gallery & Project Room CPH.

Further information and application instructions: https://utopiaslahti.com/worren
 

Workshop 2:
PHOTOGRAPHIC PUBLICATION AND EXPERIMENTAL FORM
Teacher: Maarit Bau Mustonen (Multipöly)
Schedule: Fri 22.5. – Sun 24.5.2026

In this workshop, we will set aside the traditional photo book for a moment and explore experimental publication formats. What kind of thinking and working does an unconventional publication format invite? Which publication formats engage in an interesting discussion with one’s own photographs?

The workshop will involve experiments and sketches, drawing inspiration from examples of artists' books and experimental publishing. Participants will explore how the form and materials of a publication, together with photographs, build meanings and shape the viewing experience.

The workshop is aimed at students and professionals who are interested in the relationship between photography and publication. No prior experience of the subject is necessary.

The workshop will be led by Maarit Bau Mustonen (FI), an artist and a publisher based in Helsinki.She is the co-founder of the Multipöly collective, which focuses on experimental publishing.

Further information and application instructions: https://utopiaslahti.com/mustonen