Milja Liimatainen

Milja Liimatainen (b. 1983) is a curator at HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Lapinkylä, Finland. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Art History from the University of Helsinki, graduating in 2013.

Her master’s thesis, “Julkinen veistos ja tila: Kivi, Kolme aitaa ja Epigrammeja Helsingin kaupungin jalankulkijoille paikkasidonnaisina merkitysten muodostajina” (free transl.: “Public Sculpture and Space: Stone, Three Fences, and Epigrams for the Pedestrians of the City of Helsinki as Site-Specific Meaning Makers”), University of Helsinki, 2012, delt with public art and its relationship to space. Her minors included museology, Women’s Studies, and visual culture, which she studied at the University of Lund, Sweden, for one year.

During her studies and since her graduation, Milja’s career has mainly evolved in various museum environments. She has extensive work experience in Helsinki region art museums and other contemporary art agencies. She has predominantly worked in curatorial and project manager roles with changing exhibitions and contemporary art, but she has also familiarized herself with collection work and modern art.

The range of exhibitions she has worked with varies from large international group shows (e.g. ARS17, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, 2017; In Search of the Present, EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, 2022) to solo shows by both Finnish and international artists and touring exhibitions. Her main interest is contemporary art and various exhibition methodologies, as well as understanding curatorial practices grounded in fellowship, dialogue, and facilitation. The themes she has worked with include the rights of indigenous peoples, masculinity in sculpture, fandom, surrealism and fairytales, inclusivity, and art and science.

Her current curatorial projects include Tori Wrånes’s (b. 1978, Norway) solo exhibition opening at HAM Helsinki Art Museum in September 2024. She also works as a coordinating curator for the next Helsinki Biennial, opening in 2025.

Milja Liimatainen, Curator, HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Lapinkylä, Finland, has been awarded by the Saastamoinen Foundation, Helsinki.