The City of Helsinki Culture and Leisure Committee gives an award every year for a Helsinki-based artist. This year’s recipient, presented on June 12, is international production designer, Mikki Kunttu. The prize of EUR 15,000 is given to an artist who has made a significant contribution to the cultural life of Helsinki, and arguable Kunttu's contributions as a lighting, video, and scenic designer extend beyond Finland to a substantial body of international work.
Kunttu is particularly known as a visual designer of dance pieces but he also works extensively in the field of performing arts including circus and music.
Kunttu has had great acclaim collaborating with Tero Saarinen Company and the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Boston Ballet and Montreal’s Cirque du Soleil. He has also worked as the visual designer for the gigs and tours of numerous artists such as Kimmo Pohjonen and Hanoi Rocks.
Here are just a few of Live Design's stories about Kunttu's work:
Mikki Kunttu’s In The Light, A Design-Based And Human-Focused Lighting Industry Event
Lighting Plots & Q&As
2016 Eurovision Song Contest Video, Part One
2016 Eurovision Song Contest Video, Part Two