Marikki Hakola was born in Isokyrö in 1960. Hakola studied as a visual artist at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki 1980-1984, earning her degree in 1984. Hakola was a member of the Turppi Group (including also Lea Kantonen, Pekka Kantonen, Jarmo Vellonen) with whom she started working with video in 1982 (Earth Contacts, 1982).

She is considered a pioneer of Finnish video art. Since then Hakola has made several video works, multimedia works, audiovisual projects, installation projects as well as performances as an independent artist and producer.

Hakola’s practice includes video art, dance videos, music films, documentaries, Internet works, multimedia works, installations, multimedia performances, audiovisual stage designs, TV productions, experimental projects, web sites and artistic research projects. Hakola’s artworks have been presented internationally at several exhibitions and festivals, including Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, England, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Greece, Spain, Italy, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Japan, the United States, Iran, India, Mexico, Canada, Russia, Poland, Estonia and Hungary. Her artworks have also been presented by TV channels in various countries including Finland, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, France, Spain, the United States, Argentina and UK.

Hakola is known internationally as a pioneer of European media art. Her works are located in the collections of several international art museums and archives. Installations by Hakola have been presented widely in Finnish and international art museums and institutions. Hakola has taught media art in several Finnish art universities. She is also a producer and a cultural-political speaker within the scene of cinema and media art in Finland. Hakola lives and works in Porvoo, Finland.

She has been awarded several prizes including the AV-arkki Prize, The Distribution Centre for Finnish Media Art (2007), Stina Krook’s Foundation Prize (1994), The Finland State Prize for the Visual Arts (1990), Banff Rockie Award 2005, Bonn Videonale 1990, Århus International Video Festival 1991, Cadiz International Video Fest ´94.

Hakola runs a production company for audiovisual and media arts, Kroma Productions Ltd. (www.kroma.fi). Hakola is also currently working on her PhD dissertation which is expected in 2018, Semeion – The Action Space of Interactive Moving Image in a Framework of Pragmatism, at the Department of Media, School of Art and Design Helsinki, Aalto University.