Janne-Pekka Manninen, Photographer and Writer
Chairperson of the Board
Janne-Pekka Manninen is a photographer and a writer, whose career has spanned nearly 20 years in journalism. As a photographer, Manninen has specialized in portraiture, documentary and fine art. Manninen has worked as a photographer and as a writer in numerous productions for Flow and considers it a privilege to work so closely with the performing arts.
Tuomas Niemelä,
Architect
Vice-chairperson of the Board
Tuomas Niemelä is a partner in alt Architects, an architecture firm based in Oulu, Finland. Niemelä has studied architecture in Finland, Denmark and the UK and has taught architecture at the University of Oulu for 10 years. He has worked in architecture, design and art for more than 20 years, with the main goal of improving the quality of the built environment in Northern Finland.
Niemelä’s architectural practice has designed many widely published cultural and educational buildings and performing arts spaces, which have received awards including the Puu Prize for Wood Construction, the Finlandia Nomination for Architecture, the Best Building in Northern Finland Award and the Ministry of Culture’s Finland Prize.
Tuomas’ work is based on strengthening local culture, increasing interaction between people, equality and ecological values.
Milla Virtanen, Dance Artist
Board Member
Milla Virtanen is an Oulu-based dance artist, who has studied dance in Finland and in the Netherlands. She graduated from Fontys Dance Academy (NL) in 2008.
Since 2007, Virtanen has created 14 dance theater works. Her art has been presented in all the Nordic countries and in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Russia, Germany, Great Britain and South Korea.
Her work is characterized by unique physical expression, absurdity and heightened tension. Milla Virtanen is interested in the experimental combining of dance, physical theater and the visual arts.
Taina Kulmala, Project Specialist 
Board Member
Taina has decades of experience in the cultural sector as a producer, festival director and project manager. A music and film enthusiast, she managed to combine both passions when she directed the Oulu Music Video Festival for 15 years, and was also present when the World Air Guitar Championships were established in the attic of the Oulu Art Institute.
Since then, Taina has been responsible for art and event projects both in the city and in private associations. Most of all, she is at home as a developer, an idea generator, and as someone who makes sure that artists can do their work in peace.
In his spare time he can be found in the audience of various events – which could be called a professional skill or just a way of life.
Taina Ala-Ketola, Producer of Flow Productions
Secretary of the Board
Taina Ala-Ketola (KM, dance teacher) is an arts professional who has worked in various positions in the dance field for a long time. She has worked as a teacher and dancer and as the managing director and producer of the Pyhäjärvi Full Moon Dance Festival.
In her work, Ala-Ketola attaches great importance to creating the best possible conditions for the creation of art. Ala-Ketola enjoys working in a creative and inspiring community where the common goal is a smooth process, an ambitious and successful artistic experience for the audience and a caring working experience for the artists involved in the project.
