In summer we Finns like to sit in parks and outdoor cafes, enjoy nature, and gather at beaches and outdoor marketplaces. In winter, however, it is popular to travel to ski resorts in Lapland or take walks, ski, or skate on frozen lakes or seas, turning the bustling urban environments of summer into quiet and nondescript places.

Winter dominates the Northern environment for the most part of the year, making its aesthetic an important factor for the happiness of inhabitants and tourists alike. Therefore, we need construction designs that are pleasing to the eye and functional to use, thus making people conscious and appreciative of their environment.

Art is a tool that people can use to create their own relationship with nature. A snow or ice sculpture is not only art in a winter setting, but also an inspiration for ideas, emotions, and consciousness of the environment. Both the act of working outside and the works themselves lead us to welcome winter with its different light and weather conditions, snowfalls and snowflakes.

For ages, snow and ice have provided material for various structures and sculptures from shelters to castles to snowmen. Professional snow and ice sculpting also has long traditions. In Japan, for example, chefs also create ice sculptures as centerpieces for the dinner or buffet table. A client can order a sculpture from a catalogue and the sculptors reproduce it the same every time. The forms are highly decorative with intricate details – the same as in ice sculpting competitions where technical skill is one of the evaluation criteria.

There are snow and ice sculpting competitions in Finland, as well. For example, The Central Association for Recreational Sports and Outdoor Activities has arranged snow-sculpting competitions since the 1980s, promoting snow sculpting as a hobby for families and friends. The competitions have standard rules that specify that the block of snow is always a cube, a team has four sculptors, and the sculpting time is limited. These rules, in addition to the high degree of competition, have largely determined the subjects and design of the sculptures in competitions.

The character of a snow sculpture varies according to its location. Usually sculptures are functional in some way: built in urban or resort areas, they can function as space dividers, settings for an event, or playgrounds for children. Snow sculptures can also form an art park or a fantasyland – or even a public work of art in an urban environment or in the middle of nowhere.

In the Nordic countries the 1990s saw a trend for large-scale snow structures serving as hotels, restaurants, and art galleries. Architecturally, these buildings incorporate various styles with classical rows of columns, baroque details, and romantic castle-like features. These details and sculptures are saved for the inside spaces, while the outside – exposed to erosion by the sun and wind – is often less intricate with round, pile-like forms.

The boom of snow structures has also boosted the use of snow and ice for art: snow has been used for sculptures and wall reliefs, while ice has been turned into windows, dishes, fountains, and musical instruments. In the Nordic countries, snow and ice art is often minimalist with the focus on bringing out the natural features of the material.