FLASH Light Art Biennial “Veiled Light” brings together 13 artists exploring the northern cycle of light and darkness. The accompanying FLASH Seminar creates a platform for discussion on darkness and the role of light art in urban environments.
The Finnish Light Art Society FLASH contributes to Oulu’s year as European Capital of Culture with a major showcase of contemporary Finnish light art. The fifth FLASH Light Art Biennial presents works byestablished artists alongside emerging talents, highlighting the diversity of the Finnish light art scene.
AaltoSiilo, Galleria MABD, Pikisaari, and the façade of Oulu Central Library Saari will be transformed into immersive exhibition environments where light functions as material, subject matter, and experientialinterface.
The 2026 Biennial is curated by Finnish-Karelian curator and multidisciplinary artist Oskari Kaarne. Built around the theme “Veiled Light,” the exhibition explores the cycle of light and darkness from a Nordic perspective.
“As the darkness of November settles over the natural world, we may find ourselves drifting into a dreamlike state of mind. In Baltic Finnic traditions, this period marks a turning point in the cycle between life and death, light and darkness, and this world and the next — a time between times – to which human experience is connected through symbolic gestures and rituals,” explains curator Kaarne.
In the exhibition, the shifting boundary between the seasons of light and darkness emerges as a spiritual and transformative in-between state capable of altering perception.
“Within this liminal space, the visible and invisible, the finite and infinite, and the past, present, and future begin to merge, opening a possibility to encounter what often remains hidden from conscious awareness — ourown inner light,” Kaarne says.
The Biennial is located in a diverse selection of indoor and outdoor venues throughout the city. One of the exhibition sites is AaltoSiilo in Meri-Toppila, designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto. The architecturally significantcultural heritage site has been restored and transformed into a public space by the Factum Foundation, together with architecture studio Skene Catling de la Peña. Soon to open to the public, the renovated buildingprovides a unique setting for contemporary light art.
Additional venues include the Pikisaari nature trail, turned into an immersive Art of Darkness light art trail; Galleria MABD in the city centre; and the façade of Oulu Central Library Saari.
The artists participating in the Biennial are Kari Alonen, Siri Haapanen, Mollu Heino, Johanna Häiväoja, Timo Kokko, Anni Laukka, Arttu Nieminen, Jaakko Niemelä, Ilkka Paloniemi, Anu Raatikainen, Alexander Reichstein, Vappu Rossi, and Alexander Salvesen.
Alongside the exhibitions, the Biennial programme includes the FLASH Seminar: Light Art in Urban Darkness. The seminar explores the experience, use, and ownership of urban darkness from multiple perspectivesand examines how light art can shape and enliven the city at night. Discussions will also address the relationship between light art and the cultural identity of place, as well as the differing roles of permanent publicartworks and temporary light installations in urban environments.
The seminar is free and open to the public. The main language of the event is English, and participation is possible both on-site and via live stream.
The FLASH Light Art Biennial “Veiled Light” will take place in Oulu from 7–22 November 2026. Exhibition venues include AaltoSiilo, Galleria MABD, Pikisaari, and the façade of Oulu Central Library Saari. TheFLASH Seminar will be held on Friday, 20 November 2026, from 10:00 to 16:00 at the Tarkastamo event space. Admission to both the Biennial and the seminar is free of charge.
The FLASH Light Art Biennial is supported by Oulu European Capital of Culture 2026, Art of Darkness as Cultural Heritage of Urban Landscape (Horizon Europe GA101177779), the TIFTÖ Foundation, the ArtsPromotion Centre (Taike), and the LUMO Light Festival.
The seminar is part of the official Oulu European Capital of Culture 2026 program Light/Dark Matters, organised by FLASH, and part of the European research project Art of Darkness as Cultural Heritage of Urban Landscape, administered by the University of Oulu. The project is coordinated by the Department of Architecture at the University of Oulu and funded by Horizon Europe – Innovation Action (GA no. 101177779).
