Free Art School

• Name — Free Art School • Native Name — Vapaa Taidekoulu • Established — 1935 • Type — Art school • Rector — Elina Merenmies • Students — 70 • City — Helsinki • Country — Finland • Website — vapaataidekoulu.fi

The Free Art School was established at the end of 1934 on the initiative of art patron Maire Gullichsen and opened in January 1935. Gullichsen aimed to create an art school in Helsinki similar to the free academies of Paris — open to everyone and free from rigid academic curricula. She was dissatisfied with the traditional Finnish teaching methods of the time, which often began with copying plaster casts. The school opened its doors on 15 January 1935 in a studio at Eteläranta 14. It soon moved to Ullanlinnankatu 1, and in 1937, to larger premises on Kasarminkatu, in an industrial building owned by A. Ahlström Oy. The school remained there until 1990, when it relocated to the Cable Factory. In 1971, a four-year study programme leading to a professional qualification in painting was introduced.

The school offers a four-year program focused on painting. Teaching is studio-based, emphasizing observation, colour and form studies, individual artistic development, and critical reflection on the artist's role in contemporary society.

The student selection process at the Free Art School consists of two stages. First-year painting students are admitted each spring through a preparatory painting course (25 students are selected annually). Admission is based on an assessment of the works produced during the course, as well as the applicant's artistic progress and motivation. Advancement to the second year is determined by the student's performance during the first year.

The Free Art School offers art courses open to the general public. These include life drawing courses held during the autumn and spring terms, an intensive drawing course, and a watercolor painting course. Intensive courses last one weekend, while other courses meet once a week for ten sessions.

Rectors of Vapaa Taidekoulu since 1958. • Period — Rector — Notes • 1958–1961 — Unto Pusa • 1961–1964 — Torger Enckell • 1965–1966 — Unto Pusa • 1966–1987 — Tor Arne • 1988–1989, 1990–1995 — Carolus Enckell • 1989–1990 — Ilmari Rautio • 1995–1998 — Päivi Björkenheim • 1998–2005 — Reijo Viljanen • 2005–2006 — Janne Räisänen — Artistic Director • 2006–2013 — Pekka Hepoluhta — Artistic Director • 2014–2016 — Sari Tenni • 2017–2019 — Paavo Paunu • 2020–present — Elina Merenmies