Jan 9, 2023

What kind of postcard would you send from Oulu? What is the heart of your neighbourhood? Take part in a survey!
We are looking for interesting, intriguing, or even forgotten stories and places to bring up through arts and culture. Share your stories by taking part in our survey!
Oulu is the European Capital of Culture in year 2026. The heart of the Culture Capital is the Cultural Programme that spreads widely through Oulu. This questionnaire is a preliminary survey on where and how the Culture Programme should be implemented in the area.
The questionnaire is open from January 9 to January 31. Answering the questionnaire will take approximately 5-10 minutes. We would like to get answers especially considering stories and places of Haukipudas, Kiiminki, Oulunsalo, Yli-Ii and Ylikiiminki.
This questionnaire is published in co-operation by the Urban Environmental Services of the City of Oulu and Oulu Culture Foundation.
Take part in the survey with the following link in English https://query.eharava.fi/3882 or in Finnish https://query.eharava.fi/3880
Further information:
Samu Forsblom
Programme Director
samu.forsblom(a)oulu2026.eu
+358 (0)44 703 7558
Oct 6, 2022

The City of Oulu, together with 33 Northern Finnish municipalities and cities, will be the European Capital of Culture in 2026. The year will be full of inspiring, diverse and unique cultural offerings delivered by thousands of actors from Europe. The Open Call 2022 is aimed at large-scale projects that take several years to prepare. The Oulu2026 team will support international applicants to find local collaborators within the Oulu2026 region.
Join information webinar in English via Zoom on 19th of OCT at 14:00 (EEST) https://oulu2026.eu/en/opencall (register for the webinar)
International cooperation
The goal of Oulu2026 is to achieve a permanent Cultural Climate Change and to use culture to fuel positive development in Northern Finland. The Oulu2026 programme is built around three programme themes: Wild City, Cool Contrasts and Brave Hinterland. All Open Call proposals should relate to these themes.
Brave Hinterland brings to the fore narratives about life and the conditions of life on the periphery, climate change and a region that Europe has yet to truly discover. Wild City explains how cities and villages emerge from the barren and harsh northern wilderness, whose unique and untamed creativity is channelled into supporting and sustaining the dreams of young people. Cool Contrasts highlights questions and connects the polarities that dominate life in northern Finland, light and darkness as well as technology and art – the divisions that apply not only in northern Finland but anywhere in Europe.
“We are looking for projects with far-reaching impacts. We hope that the projects are delivered in collaboration with contributors based in the Oulu2026 region,” says Samu Forsblom, Programme Director.
The Open Call is open until 9th of December 23:59 (EEST).
For more Information:
www.Oulu2026.eu/en
Oulu2026-bidbook
The Finnish city of Oulu is the 2026 European Capital of Culture. ECoC is one of the widely known European Union initiatives. It highlights the significance of cities as hubs of cultural life. Our main theme, Cultural Climate Change is about reconnecting through culture, art, and technology in an exciting and unexpected way. The European Capital of Culture 2026 is coordinated by Oulu Culture Foundation. The City of Oulu is the capital of northern Finland. The Oulu Region has about 250,000 inhabitants and it is the fastest growing region in Finland.
Jun 1, 2022

Finland will take the cultural centre stage in Europe in 2026 as the City of Oulu, together with 32 municipalities in Northern Finland, holds the title of the European Capital of Culture 2026. The year will be full of inspiring, diverse and unique cultural offerings delivered by thousands of contributors from all over the world.
The Open Call for international partners of the Oulu 2026 cultural programme will be launched in October 2022. The preliminary announcement of the Open Call is available on the Oulu2026 website www.oulu2026.eu/en/opencall The information event in English for the first Open Call is held via Zoom on 13th of June 2022 at 1 p.m. (Helsinki, UTC+3).
The 2026 cultural programme is international
The goal of Oulu2026 is to achieve a permanent cultural climate change and to use culture to fuel positive development in Northern Finland. The Oulu2026 programme is built around three themes: Wild City, Cool Contrasts and Brave Hinterland. The Open Call launched on 3 October 2022 is aimed at projects related to these themes.
Samu Forsblom, Oulu2026 Programme Director, recommends that all applicants familiarise themselves with the Bid Book and the themes.
“We are looking for unique projects with far-reaching impacts. Combining art and technology and artistic experiences created through this process are of particular interest to us. We hope that the projects are delivered in collaboration with contributors based in the Oulu2026 region,” says Samu Forsblom.
The operative focus of the projects is on the capital of culture year 2026 but they may be launched earlier.
The Open Call for applications in October is open to Finnish and international actors. The project plans are expected to be suitable for independent delivery.
The application forms are available from 3 October 2022 onwards, but the application criteria have already been published on the website www.oulu2026.eu/en/opencall. More detailed information and instructions for the applicants will be published on the same website in the autumn.
The Open Call closes on 9 December 2022. The information event for the first Open Call (in English) is held via Zoom on 13th of June 2022 at 1 p.m. (Helsinki, UTC+3). REGISTER HERE
Information about other meetings and webinars are available on the website www.oulu2026.eu/en/opencall.
Be part of the Cultural Climate Change!
For more information, please contact
Samu Forsblom
Programme Director
Samu.forsblom@oulu2026.eu
+358 44 703 7558
Photos and social media banners available for download here