Maija Kovari (b. 1985) is one of Finland's leading professionals in public space art. She has worked at the intersection of architecture, contemporary art, and public space design for over a decade. Kovari holds degrees in architecture and fine arts from Tampere University. Additionally, she has studied sculpture in a specialized program in Geneva, Switzerland, as well as philosophy and the French language at the University of Helsinki.

Kovari’s architectural thesis explored the relationship between public space design and art, tracing its evolution from architectural and urban planning history to the 21st century. After working in urban planning at Ramboll and in zoning at the City of Tampere, she transitioned to full-time entrepreneurship. For the past eight years, she has led Public Art Agency Finland (PAAF), a design firm specializing in integrating contemporary art, architecture, and urban planning.

Through PAAF, Kovari has developed operational programs and strategies for cities to incorporate contemporary art into public spaces, as well as managed art coordination for projects ranging from individual commissions to large-scale art competitions. In recent years, PAAF has grown into a leading agency in the field, with long-term collaborators including the cities of Espoo and Tampere.

As a sculptor, Kovari specializes in site-specific works that establish a strong relationship with their surrounding urban environment. One example is Kosken kuulemat (2019), which brings overheard city conversations to the banks of the Tammerkoski river, offering a warm and insightful reflection of the local mindset. This work was commissioned for Tampere’s 240th anniversary and is now part of the Tampere Art Museum collection. Another notable work, Puu, joka suojaa (The Tree That Shelters), is a sculpture placed in a 140-year-old church, where the names of baptized individuals are attached to its branches as leaves during the baptism ceremony. Kovari won the commission through a competition, and the brass sculpture integrates seamlessly into the church’s historic architecture. Between 2008 and 2023, she has created seven permanent public sculptures for both indoor and outdoor spaces, along with numerous temporary and festival-based spatial installations.

Kovari has been involved in Taike’s (Arts Promotion Centre Finland) public art network since its inception, contributing to the development of best practices and knowledge sharing in the field. In 2020, she was part of a working group that revised the Finnish Artists' Association's competition rules for public art. From 2021 to 2022, she served on the State Architectural Policy Committee.

Kovari has also conducted international research on public space art practices. In 2018–2019, she studied the integration of public space art in Singapore, New York, and Rome through residency periods totaling six months. During these residencies, she met key figures in public art, including officials responsible for percent-for-art policies, organizations, and entrepreneurs. Her residency partners included the Greta and William Lehtinen Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York, and the Finnish Cultural Institute in Rome, and her findings were published as essays. Kovari is also a member of the Network for Nordic Art Consultants (NNAC).

Previously, Kovari has produced gallery exhibitions in Finland and Switzerland, served on the board of a Finnish contemporary art gallery, and was responsible for the exhibition architecture of the Finnish Sculptors' Association’s annual sales exhibition in 2018. She is a sought-after speaker and has lectured on the intersections of contemporary art, architecture, and public space at institutions and organizations such as Aalto University, SAFA (Finnish Association of Architects), Taike, the Association of Finnish Municipal Engineering, the Finnish Artists' Association, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich).

In 2023, Kovari was awarded a three-year state artist grant. Between 2024 and 2026, she will research public space art practices in Finland, both through essays and the design of new works.