Open Call for 2028 at Gallery Forum Box
The Forum Box open call for exhibitions in 2028, together with the separate Lux Helsinki – Lux Galleries exhibition open call for the turn of the year 2027–28, is open from 10 August to 7 September 2026.
Artists, curators, and working groups can apply for exhibition time at Forum Box. The exhibition selection at Forum Box is made by an exhibition working group consisting of member artists from the cooperative. In addition, during the same application period, you can submit an exhibition proposal for an exhibition to be presented as part of the Lux Galleries programme of the Lux Helsinki light art festival. More information about the Lux open call is available below.
EXHIBITION SPACE
You can apply for exhibition space:
- as a single 300 m² entity for a solo or group exhibition, project, or performances.
- one or two of the gallery’s three exhibition spaces for a solo exhibition, project, or performance.
The gallery space is divided into three different exhibition rooms. From the entrance, the spaces are: Permanto on the right, Monttu on the left, and Parvi in the back (see floor plan link at the end of the application instructions). You must apply for the spaces by these names. The space will be handed over as it is at the beginning of the exhibition agreement period. Please consider the original nature of the space (e.g., temperature, humidity, surface materials, etc.) when applying. If you apply for exhibition time for only part of the space, the Forum Box exhibition working group will select other exhibitions for the remaining space. Please note that exhibitions in other spaces may include, for example, sound installations. All exhibition spaces can be blacked out with the artist’s own curtains, but the windows of the gallery facade may not be covered or blacked out. For more information about the space, please contact Forum Box staff.
The Permanto space has three continuous walls, and the room height is 5.6 meters. The space is approximately 65 m².
The Monttu space is divided by stairs; the room height is 5.6 meters. The space is approximately 70 m².
In the Parvi space, the ceiling is lower, with a room height of approximately 4.2 meters, but there is versatile wall space, and Parvi is also the largest of the spaces at 90 m².
EXHIBITION PERIODS
The standard exhibition period, including installation, is five weeks. For 2028, it is also possible to apply for shorter project-based exhibitions and performances. as well as, through a separate application, for a shorter exhibition presented during the Lux Helsinki festival.
Options:
–5-week exhibition period
–Other time preferences are also accepted and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
– Lux Helsinki – Lux Galleries exhibition period (separate application)
Other space and time requests will be agreed upon on a case-by-case basis. However, the hourly rate for multi-art events is used as the basis for pricing.
Minimum Interval for Forum Box Exhibitions
The minimum interval for solo exhibitions held at Forum Box is five (5) years. An artist can apply for exhibition time when five years have passed between the artist’s previous exhibition and the requested exhibition period. The minimum interval applies to solo exhibitions occupying the entire space or a part of it (Permanto, Monttu, or Parvi), but not to Mediabox exhibitions.
Restriction
Forum Box requires that an artist does not exhibit their work in the Helsinki metropolitan area in a solo exhibition or similar event 12 months before or concurrently with their Forum Box exhibition. Forum Box has the right to mediate works exhibited in the exhibition for 3 months after the exhibition ends.
The gallery also houses an independent media art space, Mediabox, whose program Forum Box curates in cooperation with AV-arkki. For a solo exhibition, no other exhibitions or projects will be in the gallery besides the Mediabox exhibition, only Forum Box’s cross-art evening events and possible discussions and private events. Note! Forum Box rents its gallery spaces for private events outside of gallery opening hours and always subject to the conditions of the current exhibition.
FEE FOR EXHIBITIONS OR PROJECTS
Forum Box aims to improve the financial position of artists, with the goal of being a completely rent-free exhibition space for artists. Forum Box has implemented rent reductions since 2020 and aims to be completely rent-free in 2028. However, the exhibition spaces currently have the rental prices listed below. Possible rent refunds and reductions after accepting the exhibition period are possible depending on Forum Box’s financial situation and received grants.
EXHIBITION RENTS 2028 (incl. VAT 25.5%):
Four-week exhibition rents:
- €280 for the entire space / €100 for a part of the space (Permanto, Monttu, or Parvi)
Two-week exhibition rents:
- €175 for the entire space / €90 for a part of the space (Permanto, Monttu, or Parvi)
One-week exhibition rents:
- €125 for the entire space / €70 for a part of the space (Permanto, Monttu, or Parvi)
The usage fee collected by Forum Box for the exhibition space includes, among other things, communication, marketing, exhibition supervision, and art sales. The rent does not include, for example, artwork insurance, transportation, or opening reception catering. Forum Box charges a 40% commission (+ VAT 25.5%) on art sales.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLYING
The application deadline is Monday, September 7, 2026, at 1:00 PM (afternoon), Finnish time. We do not process late applications.
Electronic applications must be submitted to opencall [at] forumbox.fi. We do not process paper applications at all.
The application must be submitted as a single PDF file, max. 4MB, which includes the application form and the required attachments.
Name the PDF file containing the application form and attachments in the format: Firstname_Lastname_Open Call_2028
Write OPEN CALL 2028 as the subject of the application email.
APPLICATION AND ATTACHMENTS
The application must include:
- Completed application form (application form available in fillable PDF format below).
- Exhibition / project plan (max 2 x A4), which indicates the duration of the exhibition, desired time, plan for using the space, possible idea or theme of the exhibition or project, and the works to be exhibited. The application must state if the space will be blacked out, if works containing sound will be exhibited, or if the exhibition or project involves other special arrangements.
- Artist’s / artist group’s / curator’s CV(s).
- Color images of recent works, preferably about 10 photos.
- Please note: The exhibition period during Lux Helsinki must be applied for using a separate application form. Applications submitted through the general application form will not be considered for the Lux Helsinki exhibition open call.
You may also include links to photos or videos in the application. The material sample must be directly viewable, not downloadable links (e.g., Dropbox). Processors of applications cannot be required to register or use their own email addresses to open links.
APPLICATION FORM FORUM BOX 2028 (.pdf)
Multiple PDF files can be combined into one for free using many online services in addition to Adobe Reader; search, for example, for “merge pdf files for free.” If necessary, PDF files can be compressed for free using many online services in addition to Adobe Reader; search, for example, for “compress pdf files for free.”
application form can only be used to apply for the Lux Helsinki exhibition period.
LUX HELSINKI OPEN CALL
During the same application period and under the same application guidelines, we are also inviting exhibition proposals for an exhibition to be presented as part of the official gallery programme of the Lux Helsinki light art festival from 30 December 2027 to 9 January 2028. Applicants may apply for the entire gallery, part of the premises, and/or the Forum Box façade. The exhibition period, including installation and deinstallation, runs from 20 December 2027 to 9 January 2028.
The usual Forum Box five-year minimum interval between exhibitions does not apply to the Lux Helsinki open call, and there is no waiting period. No exhibition rental fee will be charged to the artist for the use of the space.
Please note: The Lux Helsinki application form can only be used to apply for the Lux Helsinki exhibition period.
APPLICATION FORM LUX HELSINKI/FORUM BOX 2028
Name the PDF file containing the application form and attachments in the format: Firstname_Lastname_Lux Helsinki
Write LUX HELSINKI OPEN CALL as the subject of the application email.
EXHIBITION SELECTIONS
The exhibition selection implements Forum Box’s program policy in accordance with its strategy, which focuses on artistic content, diverse exhibition offerings, and improving artists’ working conditions.
The exhibition working group, selected by the cooperative’s board, is responsible for the diversity of Forum Box’s exhibition program together with the executive director. Exhibitions can also be realized outside the application process, but the open call serves as the framework for program selection. Every selected artist is offered the opportunity for low-threshold collegial peer support with a designated contact person from among Forum Box’s members during the exhibition process.
All applicants will be notified of the decision by email by the end of October 2026. If you have not heard from us by the end of October, please contact info [at] forumbox.fi or 050 524 1781.
ACCESS RIDER
Selected artists can send us their accessibility rider if they wish. The accessibility rider is a tool originally developed by artist Johanna Hedva to facilitate the work of disabled artists. An accessibility rider is an informal document that can include, for example, an artist’s needs, wishes, and limitations related to collaboration.
In Finland, the concept has been popularized by Jessie Bullivant and Jemina Lindholm as part of Frame Contemporary Art Finland’s Hospitality Practices program. The Access Riders publication can be downloaded for free from Frame’s website: https://frame-finland.fi/en/resources/access-riders/. In Finnish, Aku Meriläinen has explained the matter with his own example in this Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch9Uu88NYxp/.
VIDEO AND FLOOR PLAN
Please note: The architecture of the entrance has changed, see the floor plan below for the current situation. If the video does not appear, try opening the page in a different web browser.