Dear members,

As you know on 9.3.2017 there was an Extraordinary General Meeting at Baribal Bar, to discuss the position of Catalysti in IACF.

After a long discussion, Catalysti members voted to withdraw membership form IACF, with 8 against 7 votes. Following this decision, Sepideh Rahaa and Kem� Pellicer resigned from IACF board.

This meeting was called by the Catalysti Board to address concerns about the working methods employed by the International Artists Centre Finland (IACF).

In one of its grant applications, IACF included Catalysti members’ projects without consent, nor mention of the authors. Catalysti feels that although no permanent harm has come from this oversight or act in haste, these acts, whether deliberate or unconscious, are serious.

In addition, the Catalysti board expressed concern about IACF action plan. This current action plan seems to repeat an old pattern of actions performed by most institutions which have not resulted in bettering foreign artists’ work conditions. 

It is important for Catalysti to stand strongly in alignment with its moral mandate as an example of the future we envision for foreign artists in Finland. 

Through this decision we hope to find a more productive way for collaboration between Catalysti and IACF independently, on a peer-to-peer basis. 

Catalysti trusts that the two organisations can continue collaboration by listening and learning from each other, with the common goal to make better working conditions for foreign artists in Finland.

Stay tuned! We�ll hold other open meetings this spring. Btw. the Annual General Meeting, to vote for Catalysti�s new board, will take place at the end of April.