Oulu will be European Capital of Culture in 2026 along with 32 other municipalities from Northern Finland. The role of European Capital of Culture is important for the entire nation and Finnish culture, as the eyes of Europe will turn to the North. Oulu2026 will offer diverse, inspiring and unique contents already before the culmination of events in 2026.
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The Center for Cultural Policy Research Cupore is conducting this survey to gather information for a study assessing the impact of Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture activities. The answers are confidentially processed at Cupore, and any individual respondent cannot be identified. We do not collect personal data in the survey. More information about the data policy: https://www.cupore.fi/en/research/data-management-policy-in-cupore
Visual artist Eloise Gillow has been selected through a global application portfolio process from among 530 applicants as the artist to create the Oulu2026 mural. The mural will be unveiled in Rajakylä in September.
“We hope that culture and art will become an even more prominent part of our cityscape. A unique mural is an intriguing way of bringing art closer to the public,” says Heli Metsäpelto, Head of Community for Oulu2026, the European Capital of Culture.
Realised as a joint project by Upeart and Oulu Cultural Foundation, the mural is part of the cultural programme of Oulu2026, the European Capital of Culture. The mural will be created on the end wall of a 9-storey block of flats at Ruiskukkatie 3.
The creator for the mural in Rajakylä was sought through a global application portfolio process for professional artists, which by the closing date had attracted a total of 530 applications from 64 different countries. The organisers were delighted by the high number as well as the artistic standard of the applications. After deliberation, the jury selected the UK-based artist Eloise Gillow as the creator of the Rajakylä mural. The jury emphasised Gillow’s insightful social commentary and ability to build a connection between art and communities.
European collaboration
The works of Eloise Gillow, who studied classical realist painting, are on display in galleries and public spaces. Gillow’s realistic imagery focuses on people and moments of everyday life, while also commenting on larger socially important issues. In the past few years, Gillow has created several murals in France, Spain, Italy and Ireland.
Gillow arrived in Oulu in early August, when the planning for the work in Rajakylä began. The artist is meeting local residents, and the fruits of these meetings as well as stories about Rajakylä collected earlier from Oulu residents will inform Gillow’s creative process.
“The European Capital Culture project is all about European collaboration, and this mural is a prime example of this: a British artist arrives in Oulu to work and create art together with local residents,” says Metsäpelto.
Gillow was delighted that her application stood out and was selected among so many applicants as the creator of the Oulu2026 mural. She finds the approach to the Rajakylä mural fascinating.
“This is a communal project with a very interesting concept, and an incredible opportunity for me as an artist. I am particularly grateful for having the advantage of learning about the location and its people while designing the work on site. I hope that at the end of this visit I will have created something that the residents enjoy and find meaningful,” says Gillow.
The members of the selection jury for the Oulu206 mural: Inka Hyvönen, Oulu Cultural Foundation; Katariina Kemppainen, Oulu Art Museum; Anni Kinnunen, visual artist; and Jorgos Fanaris, Upeart.
Arctic Food Lab is a trademark of Oulu2026 – European Capital of Culture that aims to promote northern gastronomy focussed on local food. Erika Benke has met two food industry professionals in Oulu to hear their thoughts on how Arctic Food Lab intends to take the concept of wild and locally-grown food based cuisine to the next level.
“We have totally unique ingredients here in Oulu. I hope that in five years’ time, we will be the proudest Finns of our local ingredients.”
Chef Jussi Kurkela starts our conversation with a bold statement, fit for someone whose fine-dining venue Ostroferia has made real waves in Oulu’s restaurant scene. He’s a soft-spoken man, clearly articulating his mission.
“I make food from local ingredients. I carry the feeling that I get when picking up a mushroom straight to the table. I want the customer to feel the same emotion when eating that mushroom. That’s the only way to make food.”
Sinikka Eskola has been running Sokeri-Jussin Kievari, Oulu’s much-loved traditional Finnish restaurant in Pikisaari, for over twenty years. A cheerful, seemingly inexhaustible woman, Sinikka is bursting with passion when talking about local ingredients.
“Strawberries, mushrooms, fish, new potatoes, reindeer meat… oh my God! It’s the best in the world.
Isn’t is amazing that we live so far north, just below the Arctic Circle, but still this is the best place in the world for wild berries and growing these vegetables?”
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Changing attitudes to local food
Most people agree that local food in Oulu is full of flavour. But many locals view it as nothing special – just part of ordinary life in the north. Arctic Food Lab aims to change that notion by stirring emotions and making people realise that their local food is unique – and it’s something to boast about.
“It’s not just that it’s healthy and delicious. Local food is good for the environment. And not having to transport it from long distances also means that everything is fresh,” adds Sinikka to the long list of benefits.
A competitive advantage
Arctic Food Lab promotes the idea that local food can be a competitive advantage to players in the food industry.
Farmers, restaurants and supermarkets can all benefit from prioritising local food in their offerings, thereby increasing awareness about forest and locally-grown and raised food among tourists and locals alike.
“This is so good for everybody. We need to get this loud and clear,” says Jussi Kurkela.
“We need to make sure that there’s local food on everybody’s table: at home and in restaurants. Supermarkets should set up an aisle or a corner dedicated to local food,” suggests Sinikka Eskola.
Get addicted to foraging
Arctic Food Lab wants both tourists and locals to learn more about Oulu’s gastronomic heritage.
“To make that happen, how about organising tours in the forest?” asks Jussi Kurkela.
“We have to get everybody to start picking berries and mushrooms. Many people are afraid of picking mushrooms because some are poisonous, and they don’t bother to learn which ones are edible. We should teach them about mushrooms.”
Jussi is a keen mushroom picker but he points out that at the time of our interview, we’re in the middle of the cloudberry season. To prove the point, in half an hour he effortlessly fills a small box with the juicy orange fruit.
“It’s so easy to learn to appreciate local food. All you have to do is pick enough cloudberries to make a cake for your family. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be hooked. Next year when the cloudberry season starts, you’ll feel an irresistible urge to go and pick them and make that cloudberry cake again.”
If you’ve been inspired to follow Jussi’s advice, please get in touch with us and tell us about your experience. We’d love to hear from you: has a box of berries you’ve collected made you addicted to foraging?
Oulu is covered with snow for an average of five months a year. Organising outdoor events is a challenge in this climate: freezing temperatures and limited daylight make most people think twice before they venture outside to see a concert or a play.
Oulu2026 will offer a wide range of cultural programmes in snow and ice and organisers are confident that they’ll find ways to attract an audience even when temperatures drop to minus 25 ºC
Watch the video to find out more about Oulu2026’s winter plans.
“Arctic activities and an Arctic twist is a big thing in the cultural programme of Oulu2026,” says Programme Director Samu Forsblom, “it’s all about joy and fun in snow and ice.”
Oulu is in a unique position among European capitals of culture: it still has four seasons.
Winters have warmed up considerably in most of Europe over the last ten years which resulted in the disappearance of snow in many countries.
Climate change has affected Oulu, too: temperatures were unseasonably high in December 2019 and January 2020, with rain rather than snow falling. So Oulu2026 can’t take snow for granted: therefore each event that’s centred around snow will have a plan B.
“Oulu2026 will address issues surrounding climate change. One of our flagship programmes is Climate Clock: it’s about how art shows our changing environment and reminds us what actions are needed to protect the planet,” explains Samu.
Another major winter event is Frozen People. It will be held in on the frozen sea ice in Nallikari – home to Oulu’s kitesurfing community whose displays of speed and acrobatics provide a beautiful spectacle to visitors throughout the winter.
Kitesurfers will surely make an appearance at Frozen People but the event’s key attractions will be electronic music concerts and art installations on the ice.
There’s even a plan to put a stage on an ice carousel. And it’s not just any ice carousel: weather and ice permitting, the plan is to create the world’s biggest ice carousel that will gently spin musicians and audience around in a vast frozen space.
Oulu2026 aims to be the most sustainable European Capital of Culture yet and each event has its own sustainability guidelines.
“In Frozen People, visitors will be encouraged to push the pedals on stationary bikes to generate electricity to light installations. The event will also have its own hybrid power plant.”
Samu is convinced that in winter 2026, residents and visitors will have culture, art and a lot of fun in a beautiful frozen landscape.
“Finns are out cross-country skiing every day in winter. You can do anything in Oulu: it’s only a question of wearing the right clothes.”
Jussi Kurkela, the owner of restaurant Ostoferia, explaining how everything in the restaurant is done from scratch, including spices and soy sauce.
Local food is a way of life
Jenny and Jussi Kurkela, the owners of Ostoferia, make everything from scratch in the restaurant kitchen. If there is something they don’t know how to do, they will learn. The atmosphere in the recently opened Winebar Kurkela in Pikisaari’s Vanha Villatehdas is warm and inviting. The Kurkelas came across the space by accident, and they could not resist the location in Pikisaari, surrounded by culture and the beautiful maritime landscape.
“We’re aware of the richness of local ingredients. We’re literally surrounded by water and wild nature, and Lapland is right there on our doorstep. We prepare everything from scratch, even spices and soy sauce.
The Kurkelas admit that such a devoted approach to their art of cooking is a challenge in terms of supply and margins, but worth the trouble. They strongly feel that being able to serve food, knowing that that every morsel on each plate comes from a known location nearby, is worth the extra work.
“The volumes are so small that we really have to be careful how we use the ingredients. We’re already planning menus until the end of this year and thinking what we can do with the ingredients we have or that are still waiting to be grown.
Global take on Oulu cuisine
The Ostoferia menu does not feature local home cooking as such, but the same flavours and ingredients are served with a modern twist. Many of the customers come to the restaurant to enjoy the carefully crafted menu made with high-quality ingredients.
“Some have said it’s like eating their grandmother’s food. Though we’re not serving modernised versions of traditional home cooking, we do use locally produced, pure ingredients. Our dishes reflect our vision of good cooking.
Ostoferia also supports local breweries. Some of the wines are European “old world” wines, but we also serve Finnish berry wines.
“We make our non-alcoholic beverages ourselves here at the restaurant and combine them with the menu. There has to be a lot of choice, just like with food.”
Avid foragers, the Kurkelas pick their own mushrooms. There is no food wasted because all the ingredients sourced are also used.
“We come up with new ideas every year and think of new ways of using up ingredients. We just figured out a great way of using mushrooms in a stock.”
Winebar Kurkela is located in Pikisaari
The Kurkelas have attracted plenty of attention among customers and colleagues with their approach. It is probably the only restaurant in Finland with such absolute dedication to locally produced food. The couple points out that a restaurant that favours locally produced food is not the same as a restaurant that serves nothing but locally produced food. In this restaurant, the development and innovation work behind the scenes never stops. Expanding the business is a challenge precisely because of the uncertainty of supply and sourcing. In fact, the couple are calling for new local producers in the area. For locally produced food to become the norm, there should be many times more producers than there currently are.
“Some don’t even think of mentioning a product they grow in tiny amounts. It might then come up accidentally in some other conversation that they have exactly what we want and have been hunting high and low for a long time. It’s important that the quality of the ingredients remains consistent. For example, we refuse to use farmed fish, and happily we have a supplier who can provide us with the type of fish we want.
Earlier, the couple spent a lot of time finding and foraging for ingredients, but having now found trusted partners, they can concentrate on the art of cuisine itself. Jussi Kurkela says that they are not the only ones interested in a similar restaurant philosophy and he hopes that it will be easier in the future for other similar restaurants to open.
“A proper network of local food restaurants and producers would make everyone’s lives easier.”
Jenny Kurkela says that many of the customers come to the restaurant specifically for its carefully crafted menu made with high-quality ingredients. Looking for local producers
Proud of local offering
The Kurkelas feel that the local customers appreciate their efforts. The menu is deliberately adventurous and they are determined to continue in the same style in the future. The couple are visibly proud of their work and ingredients. They are excited about the Oulu2026 project and hope that it will bring a lot more tourists to Oulu.
“We should all be proud of what Oulu has to offer.
The Arctic Food Lab is part of the Oulu 2026 Capital of Culture programme. The Artic Food Lab is a brand promoting local products and ingredients. The trademark can be applied for products and ingredients from Oulu and the Oulu2026 region.One of the goals for the Artic Food Lab label is to help international visitors and guests to recognise and learn about locally produced food and the local food culture.
