Wild City
Oulu is on the cusp. We could settle for being a tame municipal city on the fringe. Or we could go Wild. We choose Wild.
With Wild City we bring wildness into the city by celebrating the wilderness around it. Creating a new cultural approach with our unique northern vibe. Oulu as a cultural laboratory, going wild for Europe.
What exactly is a creative city in the middle of the wild nature? What is a lively, creative village? How do art, subcultures and creative spaces fill emptiness, silence and darkness?
BidBook (pages 22-35)
Programme lines
Each of the three programme themes include programme lines which enable us to group connected projects together to maximise synergy and impact.
Art Takeover!
Meet the buzz. Dancers, circus, poetry and artwork taking over the city. Art might surprise you as a spectacular event or when you walk into a grocery store. It tunes you into creativity at your workplace, makes you smile on a busy day.
Creative Villages
The Creative Villages programme line reshapes the city and its cultural climate by adding places for creativity in the urban space.
Stream to the future
True and sustainable cultural climate change begins with children and young people. Our schools and cultural services will collaborate to seek solutions to future challenges at the crossroads of art, science and technology.
Urban Boost
The Urban Boost programme line gives young people the opportunity to build the future on their own terms and to challenge out-dated practices.
Latest
Frozen People – electronic music festival 4th March
Dance the frost away 4th March! Frozen People is a festival of electronic music as well as northern arts and wintry style. The unique event defies the weather conditions in winter on the sea ice. The festival will take place on the 4th of March 2023 at Nallikari beach...
Exhibition: Peace Machine Through the Eyes of Children
Café - Restaurant Valve Paljetti Hallituskatu 7, Oulu 17th Feb 2023 (13:00) – 12th March 2023 (20:00) How do children envision the Peace Machine? How does it work? What does it do? In Spring 2022 Oulu Culture Foundation invited schools in the area to make their own...
Northern Lights
Finland is one of the best places in the world for viewing Northern Lights (aurora borealis). The probability of catching them is highest in Lapland but Oulu is not far behind. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, we can see Northern Lights about 25% of...
Take part in a survey focusing on stories and places in Oulu
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...
Nearly 300 projects submitted in the Oulu2026 Open Call
Oulu is a 2026 European Capital of Culture. The Oulu2026 cultural programme is mainly built through a series of Open Calls, the second of which closed on 9 December. In total, 274 applications from Finland and 20 other countries were received. Oulu and the entire...
Oulu powers up Lumo Light Festival to delight visitors with spectacular visual art despite energy crisis
In 2022, Lumo Light Festival brought light to Oulu for the tenth year. There were 20 fascinating light installations on show in the city centre and Hupisaaret Park from November 18 to November 20, drawing an estimated one hundred thousand visitors. Most people...
European Capital of Culture 2022 Kaunas attracts 2 Million visitors: Key Figures
Results from “Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022” indicate a successful year and a solid recovery from the pandemic with record visitors. Having attracted over 2 million visitors in 5 years, “Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022” can be named among the...
Oulu: the world’s tar capital
Today Oulu is internationally renowned as a high tech city: a major centre of competence and innovation in information and health technology. Two hundred years ago Oulu had a very different reputation. It was known as the tar capital of the world. “Whenever people ask...
Health and wellbeing – naturally
The Arctic Food Lab community keeps growing and has most recently been joined by the farm Linnunradan tila (Milky way's farm) from Tyrnävä. The farm specialises in growing hemp and raising alpacas. Among its Arctic Food Lab products are food products homemade in...
Final Open Call webinar 22nd Nov – Frequently Asked Questions
The last Open Call 2022 webinar focuses on Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Open Call process, the application system, funding, and activities related to the Capital of Culture. During the webinar, applicants are encouraged to ask questions from the Oulu2026...