Xiao Zhiyu selected as artist-in-residence for FIDA 2023

XIAO ZHIYU is the visual artist selected for FIDA - residency program for visual artists in collaboration with FABRIKKEN in 2023.

Xiao Zhiyu is a Helsinki-based visual artist whose practice is centered around painting and installation. Zhiyu holds an MFA in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Arts Helsinki and his works have been shown in Milan, Helsinki, and Berlin.  

The selection for the FIDA residency was made by FABRIKKEN and an external jury consisting of artists and curators. The jury’s motivation for choosing Zhiyu reads as follows:

Xiao Zhiyu (CN, b. 1995) is a Helsinki-based artist who works with painting and installation. Through painting and the materiality of this medium, he researches the exhibition as a medium in its own right. In his exploration of painting and in its potential for intimacy, the rematerialisation of objects and bodies feature prominently. Xiao Zhiyu views exhibition-making and archiving as common spaces for openness and confrontation, and he is interested in challenging the definition of painted objects through the involvement of other senses. During his residency, Xiao Zhiyu will be working on a series of paintings as well as engaging with a new audience as well as the Copenhagen art scene, which strikes him as having a more multidisciplinary approach. Xiao Zhiyu holds an MFA in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Arts Helsinki. His works have been shown in Milan, Helsinki, and Berlin. The FIDA jury has been following Zhiyu’s work and was delighted to see the recent developments in his practice. The jury believes that a residency with FIDA’s resources and networking opportunities will add to this development and to the career of the artist. 

FIDA is the Finnish Cultural Institute in Denmark’s residency program for visual artists, operated in collaboration with Fonden FABRIKKEN for Kunst of Design in Copenhagen. The purpose of the program is to build networks between professional artists on the contemporary Finnish and Danish art scenes, and to introduce Finnish or Finland-based artists to the Danish art market. In addition to an atelier at FABRIKKEN, a program will be built around networking activities locally in Copenhagen as well as across the country. The residency will take place in August - September, 2023.

Fonden FABRIKKEN for Kunst og Design 

FABRIKKEN is a not-for-profit art institution that provides studios and work spaces for around 70 professional Copenhagen-based artists and designers. FABRIKKEN is guided by the spirit of professionalism and exchange, which is nurtured through an event program and a weekly communal lunch. In addition to the studios, FABRIKKEN contains a 1.000 m2 space, which is used for artistic production, exhibitions, and events.