Call for Competition: Mikkeli’s 14th Illustration Triennial

CALL FOR COMPETITION

Mikkeli’s 14th Illustration Triennial

13.6.–13.9.2026

The Mikkeli Art Museum, Grafia ry and Kuvittajat ry are organizing the Mikkeli’s 14th Illustration Triennial. The exhibition will showcase illustrations published in Finland after 1.1.2023 in the widest possible range. Illustrators, visual communication designers, comic book artists and students of the fields can participate in the competition. The theme, execution method and technique of the competition entries are free.

PRIZES

The following prizes will be awarded at the Mikkeli’s 14th Illustration Triennial:

1st prize, 4,000 euros, Grafia

2nd prize, 3,000 euros, Finnish Illustration Association

3rd prize, 2,000 euros, Mikkeli Art Museum

The winning works will remain in the Mikkeli Art Museum’s collection.

JURY

The works for the exhibition will be selected by a jury, whose members are Tony Eräpuro, Pauliina Mäkelä, Nina Pirhonen and Evi Rinkinen. The Mikkeli Art Museum is represented on the jury by Museum Director Matti Karttunen.

COMPETITION INSTRUCTIONS

The competition period is 12.1.–1.2.2026. Participation is done electronically at the address: https://kuvitustriennale.apurahat.net (Link opens 12.1.)

Only electronic images of the works can be sent to the competition during the participation phase.

The participation fee is paid in connection with registration in the online store.

The participation fee for the exhibition application is €25 / work. Four works may be entered for the price of three, for a total price of €75. The prices include VAT of 25.5%.

Only entries paid by the end of the competition period will participate in the competition.

A participant may enter a maximum of four works for the Illustration Triennial, which have been published between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2025.

For works created by more than one author, the names and contact information of all authors must be provided. The registration form must be filled out carefully; the information will be used in the exhibition catalogue. The entrant is responsible for the accuracy of the information.

During the competition phase, the works will be judged electronically. Physical copies will only be requested from illustrators selected for the exhibition. The postage will be paid by the sender of the works.

EXHIBITION

The Mikkeli’s 14th Illustration Triennial is open from 13 June to 13 September 2026 at the Mikkeli Art Museum, Maaherrankatu 18–20, Akseli Shopping Centre, 2nd floor, 50100 Mikkeli.

An exhibition catalogue will be published in connection with the exhibition, which will include a picture of each selected participant and participant information. The competition participant is responsible for complying with the copyrights of all works entered into the competition, the rights to display them in the exhibition and the publication permissions for the images. The catalogue will be distributed to all those accepted for the exhibition.

The exhibition organisers reserve the right to use the illustrations selected for the exhibition free of charge in the exhibition’s communication and educational activities. The authors are responsible for the permissions to display the works in the exhibition. The copyright remains with the authors. Other redemptions of usage rights will be agreed separately in writing.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Mikkeli Art Museum

Office tel. 040 129 5090

Museum Director Matti Karttunen tel. 044 794 2420 | matti.karttunen@sivistys.mikkeli.fi

Grafia ry

grafia@grafia.fi

Kuvittajat ry

info@kuvittajat.fi

The visual identity of the 14th Mikkeli Illustration Triennial has been designed by Tino Nyman.