The spring season has been lively: around 350 events have already been organised at Valve this year, with more than 110,000 visitors to the building. The exhibitions, in particular, have been popular. From January to May, approximately 21,000 visitors attended exhibitions at Valve Gallery, and Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre’s early-year exhibition nabbteeri: mutant and nondurable attracted around 22,000 visitors.
During the heart of summer (23 June–26 July 2026), Valve is open Tue–Fri at 1 PM–7 PM and Sat–Sun at 11 AM–5 PM. Free entry to all exhibitions.
Community and people as a shared theme
The Most Valuable Clock in the World artwork – part of the Climate Clock public art series – will be on display in Valvesali Hall (23 June – 19 July). The artwork is created by artist duo Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta‑Kalleinen together with Oulu residents. The value of the clock comes from personally significant moments donated by locals. The artwork is a large electromechanical clock that displays valuable time on multiple screens surrounding the wooden clockwork. The hour hand reflects Oulu nature’s annual cycle, the minute hand shows meaningful everyday moments for Oulu residents, and the second hand flashes glimpses of special moments.
Valve Gallery will host Held Meanings – Exhibitions and Encounters (23 June – 1 August), an exhibition exploring symbols, care and protection. The exhibitions (5) Take My Hand by Kemê and Held by Arlene Tucker inhabit the two rooms of the gallery in conversation with one another and invite audiences to join through public encounters.
In Restaurant Valveen Paljetti, the summer exhibition presents works from the Smiling Oulu 26 photography project (23 June – 23 July 2026). The year-long photography competition aims to highlight the stories of minorities and lonely individuals and to create conversation about the power of community and feeling seen. A sound installation by Nicolas “Leissi” Rehn will be experienced in the basement floor of Valve starting from 7 July 2026.
Exhibitions at Photo North and Pop up Gallery Kamari
Exhibitions already open are located in Pop up Gallery Kamari as well as in Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre’s galleries.
At Photo North’s Gallery, Pelekääkkö nää polliisia? — Are you scared of the police? (9 May – 30 August), by Phan Nguyen and Vinayak & Yujie Zhou, and curated by Katie Lenanton and Farbod Fakharzadeh, presents a collection of expanded photographs that dive into the local history and stories of power dynamics, by working with archive sources, testimonies, speculations and humor. In the Foyer Gallery, Panu Johansson’s Shattered Marble (9 May – 30 August) reflects on changes in the northern landscape.
Pop up Gallery Kamari features “If Clothes Could Talk…” (30 May – 31 July) by Alli‑Liis Vandelin, Arttu Karvonen and Linda Aura. The exhibition shares stories of elderly people from Estonia and Finland through clothing and accessories that are meaningful to them. The seventh exhibition of the summer will open at Comics Gallery! later this week, presenting original works by Lauri Mäkimurto (until 29 July 2026).
A warm welcome to Valve in the heart of summer!
Valve ♥ Summer
Explore the summer exhibitions and related programme on the Valve ♥ Summer page.