Mia Kivinen is a Helsinki-based lighting designer and curator specializing in light art. She holds a master’s degree from both the Theatre Academy and the Academy of Fine Arts of Finland. In her master’s thesis for the latter, she addressed the question of what light art is, a question that defines her research still.
Kivinen has curated light art for public spaces and museums and worked for festivals such as Lux Helsinki in various roles. She is a founding member of the Finnish light art society FLASH and played a key role in the first two FLASH Biennales. Kivinen has extensive experience in organizations and networks of theatre and media arts, and building community has become an integral part of her work.
Kivinen teaches lighting design and light art, mainly at the University of the Arts Finland. She’s also worked as an exhibition designer, graphic designer, producer and writer. At the moment, Kivinen prepares for The Smallest Vallila festival by The Smallest Collective in Vallila, a wooden house area of Helsinki, opening in Autumn of 2025.
EDUCATION
2018 Helsinki (fi), ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS: Master of Fine Arts, Curating
2005 Helsinki (fi), THEATRE ACADEMY: Master of Theater Arts, Lighting Design
SELECTION OF CURATORIAL WORKS IN LIGHT
2025 Helsinki (fi)
THESMALLEST VALLILA, light art festival
2025 Helsinki (fi)
LUX IN, the indoors exhibition of Lux Helsinki
2025 Helsinki (fi)
FLASH GOES GLO, a Finnish Light Art Society FLASH exhibition at Home Hotel Jugend
2023-2024, Helsinki (fi) and several European cities
FLASH, curator of international affairs
2022– Helsinki (fi)
LUX HELSINKI, consulting curator
2022 Rauma (fi)
LUMEN RAUMA, consulting curator
2021 Orimattila (fi)
ITE LIGHT ART FESTIVAL, Orimattila municipality
2021 Orimattila (fi)
GLOWING SURFACE (Loistava pinta), Orimattila art museum
2019 Helsinki (fi)
FLASH2 BIENNALE, member of the curatorial quartet
2018 Voipaala (fi)
FLASH VOIPAALA
2017 Helsinki (fi)
FLASH1 – ON THE BOUNDARY OF LIGHT
2016 Helsinki (fi)
IMAGES OF JOY, the Senate Square light work, LUX Helsinki 2016
LANTERN PARK, LUX Helsinki 2015–2020