Anti-discrimination and anti-racist measures at the Finnish Museum of Photography during the fall of 2020

In the autumn of 2020, a group of cultural producers approached the Finnish Museum of Photography and other organisations in Finland's cultural landscape.

They presented us with the challenge of rethinking our own action for equal rights and anti-racism; identifying those areas in our organisation that we could improve and develop, and what tools for anti-racist action are already in place. Our heartfelt thanks to the project "CALL FOR ACTION for Art Institutions in Finland" for their expert guidance.

Equality is a key value for the Finnish Museum of Photography. We are glad to have been challenged to learn new methods and to closely scrutinize our own operation. Non-racism is not enough; the systemic imbalances that plague our society require explicitly anti-racist action. We want to make sure we do our best to incorporate anti-racist policies as permanent fixtures of our museum organisation. We know this work will never be finished, so we are seeking committed, long-term ways in which to improve we way we work.

Here is how we have proceeded through late 2020: 

Values

In November, 2020 the FMP staff together with the museum's board have written out a new masthead detailing the organisation's values in all its operations. We want to be a two-way cultural format with vision, responsibility, and expertise in everything we do. Read about our values here.

Principles for safer spaces

The FMP staff has produced a set of principles and guidelines for safe spaces, after a communal workshop period. We will actively and publically communicate about the steps we are taking to identify and prevent discriminatory structures. The museum will fully implement its safe space guidelines in spring, 2021. Read about our principles for safer spaces here.