The project examines Finland's role in Cold War art exhibition diplomacy through international art exchange. It analyzes exhibitions as instruments of political influence, builders of cultural connections, and agents shaping the global art world. Focusing on exhibition exchange in ‘neutral' Finland, the study reveals how art moved across national borders and built bridges over political divides. It shows that exhibitions also produced effects beyond state-driven aims, rooted in the meanings of art and audience interpretations. The project offers new perspectives on art history and the involvement of Europe's peripheral regions in the cultural Cold War. It highlights the role of art in broader geopolitical contexts and challenges prevailing notions of exhibition practice by demonstrating that art was not only a cultural phenomenon but also an active medium of geopolitical and symbolic power—one that still operates within contemporary hybrid influence.

2025

2029