Tom Jeffreys is a writer, curator and editor based in London and Helsinki

Finding Fanon (2015–17), David Blandy and Larry Achiampong. Photo: Sam Garwood

Riding the wave: Plymouth’s burgeoning art scene

The city’s cultural ambitions are growing in the run-up to the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage

24 Aug 2017
Christian Delécluse's installation in the Galerie rouge at Maison de la Pierre

Shining a light on France’s disused quarries

Once, they provided the stones that built Paris. Now, the disused quarries of Saint-Maximin are being transformed into venues for art

11 Jul 2017
Entrance to Copenhagen Contemporary. Photo: Anders Sune Berg

Does contemporary art have a home in Copenhagen?

Several of the city’s avant-garde spaces are suburban. Now it looks like a major central gallery will move out, too

13 Apr 2017

Shadows beneath the surface of the sea

On the southern coast of France, a new exhibition is exploring our troubled relationship with the world’s oceans

6 Apr 2017
Yvon Lambert, Paris

The bookish side of Parisian art

In Paris the art world and the book world frequently overlap. Here are some of the most interesting initiatives across the capital

14 Feb 2017
Meteorite hits Savissivik, by Siobhan McDonald. Photo: Vincent Hoban

Siobhan McDonald’s chance encounters with a changing world

The artist’s exhibition at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris explores big themes of climate change, landscape and loss

9 Feb 2017
Installation view of On Translation: The Games (1996) by Antoni Muntadas at Atlanta College of Art Gallery

Found in translation

Are there too many languages and can translation ever really bridge our gaps in understanding?

20 Jan 2017
The Museum of Nonhumanity is the latest iteration of 'The History of Others', an ongoing project by artist Terike Haapoja and writer Laura Gustafsson. Helsinki.

Helsinki’s artists are world class – but recognition has to start at home

Both government and business need to realise how much the art scene here is worth celebrating, and sooner rather than later

25 Oct 2016
New Holland Island, St Petersburg. Photo by Crystal Bennes

These are difficult times for St Petersburg’s art scene

The city is known for its heritage, but its contemporary cultural scene is struggling

14 Sep 2016
Remnants (2011–2016), Liisa Roberts.

Outside the museum: art on Helsinki’s islands

Is the redevelopment of Finland’s open spaces changing how local artists work?

19 Jul 2016
Whirlpool room, by Jussi Kivi

One of Finland’s most distinguished artists is back from the wilderness

Jussi Kivi represented the country at the Venice Biennale in 2009, before retreating from the limelight. Now he’s back with a book from Helsinki’s edgelands

1 Jul 2016
Art Museum Gösta Serlachius

Factories, fine art and starry skies in rural Finland

The Serlachius Museums in Mänttä are an admirable example of how art can flourish outside Helsinki

25 May 2016

Should public art be in the public domain? Sweden doesn’t think so

A recent court case involving Wikimedia in Sweden has taken the art world by surprise

21 Apr 2016

In Moscow, art speaks truth to power…sometimes

Artists and museums in the Russian capital testify to the uneasy relationship between art and the state

25 Mar 2016

Baltic Diary: The charms of verdigris

The grey-green of oxidised bronze is common on public buildings throughout northern Europe

16 Feb 2016
CLOUD, by Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett at the crossing between Annankatu and Kalevankatu. Part of Lux Helsinki. Photo: Lauri Rotko

Baltic Diary: Freezing weather and frozen art funding

The Finnish arts organisation Checkpoint Helsinki has had its funding cut. Can it survive?

29 Jan 2016

Baltic Diary: The Purpose of Art Prizes

The Lorck Schive art prize has an important role to play in Trondheim’s growing art community

1 Dec 2015

Can art exist on social media?

Can artists and the wider art world use social media for more than self-promotion? Some certainly think so…

30 Nov 2015

Baltic Diary: The Art of Coffee

Art, made of coffee, shown in a bookshop: Ian Bourgeot’s work at Helsinki’s Arkadia breaks conventions in more ways than one

17 Nov 2015

Baltic Diary: Rethinking the role of art in the city

Engagement, interaction, the co-creation of meaning: these are the museum buzzwords of today. But what do they actually mean?

25 Oct 2015

Baltic Diary: Art and Politics

‘Contemporary art is a very elitist sphere,’ admitted Frame’s head of programmes Taru Elfving, ‘and it could be so much more’

30 Sep 2015

Communications and Collaboration: debating the future of museums in Istanbul

‘The days of museums hoarding information are over.’

16 Sep 2015

Baltic diary: Art, nature and national identity

Artists explore how society is shaped by the natural environment in the Baltic region

12 Jul 2015

Guggenheim Helsinki should not see the light of day

Moreau Kusunoki’s designs look nice, but the public shouldn’t have to pay

23 Jun 2015