︎
artists     stories    image-search     news    contact

Karaoke Nation

© Juuso Westerlund

Karaokekansa (A Karaoke Nation), is a photographic account of Finnish karaoke. The story is a concise period piece on contemporary Finns in the framework of karaoke. It is an account of taciturn people, who are not even able to take their eyes from their own toes while conversing with one another, yet who want to sing about their joys and sorrows to unknown people in the limelight of their local, night after night.

Is karaoke a phenomenon that reached Finland during the 1990's depression and took hold of the people like cigarette smoke after night out, or are we just continuing our ancient Kalevala (national epic of Finland) folk song tradition into the third millennium?

A book Karaoke Nation was published in 2007.

click to view the complete set of images in the archive

Institute Artist is redefining how stories are produced and told. Representing auteur-driven storytellers, we bring together talent across commercials, photography, fine art, and film. Founded by Matt Shonfeld and Frank Evers. Institute Artists multi-platform production expertise, and established global relationships in entertainment, fine art, and journalism make for unmatched reach and cross-pollination of creative work. Institute Artist has been a leading advocate of the power of underrepresented talent and is fully committed to bringing these authentic voices to our clients by helping them tell compelling and entertaining stories that better connect with their audiences.