Network
Our network offers opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and growth by sharing knowledge and experiences.
LAB University of Applied Sciences, The Institute of Design and Fine Arts, Finland
LAB University of Applied Sciences is a higher education institution focusing on innovation, business and industry. More than 8,500 students, 500 teachers and R&D experts work at LAB, making it the sixth largest university of applied sciences in Finland in terms of number of students. We offer training in five different fields: social and health care, technology, business economics, hotel, restaurant and tourism, as well as design, art and visual communication. At LAB University of Applied Sciences, the goal is to renew working life and working methods.
The Institute of Design and Fine Arts educates designers and artists, primarily visual artists in South Karelia. The long tradition of educating artists is spreading to public art projects nowadays. From the experiences of working closely with the art field in the South Karelia region, LAB seeks to develop good practices even further by cooperating with the consortium. Public art to spread the word of blacksmith tradition serves both the professionals and the wider audience. Setting the piece on a selected view offers different educational points of view.
Me-talli Oy (Metallipro), Finland
Artist blacksmith–sculptor Antti Nieminen and his company ME-talli Oy are researching and exploring new ways to utilize metal art in various contexts. ME-talli Oy has the professional skills of a visual artist, blacksmith and goldsmith, and they have a worldwide cooperation network.
In addition to metal art, ME-talli Oy and Finnish experts are exploring new possibilities for heating iron. The coal forge has been the most helpful heating method for millennia, but modern times challenge us to find solutions based on sustainable development. These investigations will be started and shared further with the countries and partners involved.ME-talli Oy is a small business company run by two blacksmith/artist entrepreneurs.
Gothenburg University Metal Art, Sweden
The University of Gothenburg is one of Sweden’s largest educational institutions with extensive offerings in both education and research. The University was founded in 1891 and has more than 58,000 students and 6,800 employees. The metal art study program is historically based on an education in blacksmithing since the 1930’s.
Since 2000, the education became academic and joint Gothenburg University. The program is dedicated to the heritage of the blacksmith craft and to investigating and reformulating the role of a blacksmith today. Within this mission, the program runs courses in different areas of practice. From the sepulchral environment to public space, blacksmithing appears in new applications and is investigated in the program.
Association Biennale Arte Fabbrile, Stia, Italy
The European Biennial Show of Blacksmithing Art in Stia is the most traditional event about Wrought Iron, and it has been held regularly in Italy since 1976. In 2025, Biennale will be part of the IronNotes project, offering its historical heritage for new networks gained during the project years. Many northern organizations have heard about Stia’s magic, but not too many have had the chance to visit and learn from the local masters. It is the umpteenth fundamental demonstration of the sensitivity and the natural pre-disposition that the people of the Casentino Valley show towards craftsmanship and the proof, for national and European observers, that Tuscany remains the cradle of the civilization of artisan work and applied arts.
Since January 2016, the Stia Biennial has joined as a partner of a European team made up of five other nations, the Erasmus+ European Project for the creation of the European Iron Academy (EIA), whose aim is to encourage the professional training of highly qualified artisans in the field of metalworking.
Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), Estonia
Established in 1914, the Estonian Academy of Arts is the only public university in Estonia providing higher education in fine arts, design, architecture, media, visual studies, art history, and conservation. EKA is striving to be among the leading international centres of innovation in the field of visual culture. Currently there are more than 1,100 students enrolled in the Academy, with many participating in exchange programmes at international partner universities.
The jewellery and blacksmithing department in the Estonian Academy of Arts is one of the regional centres for artist blacksmithing and iron-related art and design. The theme of memory and remembering is a call for open discussion on the role of iron in the forms of grave markers and monuments and, from a broader perspective, looking at the part of monuments in collective memory and cultural identity.
Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO), Metal and Art Jewellery, Norway
KHiO offers Norway’s only higher education art bachelor’s and master’s degree programs specializing in jewellery, objects, installations, site-specific, and public art. Jewellery creates identity and is personal, but it is worn and communicated in a social setting. Objects in metal, silverware, and sculptures convey meaning, with tradition as the basis for innovation and artistic processes. This specialization also explores site-specific art and public art. The teaching is based on artistic practice, focusing on craft and materials, parallel with art theory and methodology. Experimentation and exploration, both practical and conceptual, are strongly emphasized.
Oslo has a great tradition of metal artwork. It offers an exciting high-level education in metal art, and public artworks in metal are found all over Oslo from the central train station. In each neighborhood, you find pieces of metal art in the most surprising places. Oslo also has the Vigeland and Frogner parks, where you can find more than 200 metal sculptures.
