Open Call 08 | UPNEXT 2026

Southnord is pleased to announce the open call for UP NEXT 2026, our annual exhibition dedicated to showcasing the next generation of Afro-Nordic artists. This year, we take inspiration from the Southnord Artfest 2026 opening in Helsinki in 2026, the headline exhibition of which is titled The Other Side of the Mountain. The show imagines cities as organisms and landscapes as state design that trace routes across past, present and future. We invite emerging artists working within the visual arts to submit work that reflects, expands upon or goes into dialogue with the theme of routes/roots. The theme is dual purpose and can mean both a fixed path of delivery from one place to another and a place of origin. This can include, but not limited to, work about migration, movement, land, language and memory. Applicants are free to interpret the theme in alignment with their practice.