The Museums of Lappeenranta organises various temporary exhibitions at the Lappeenranta Art Museum and the South Karelia Museum.

The temporary exhibitions of the South Karelia Museum feature Lappeenranta, everyday life in South Karelia and various topical culture and cultural history-related themes.

The Lappeenranta Art Museum’s exhibitions showcase visual art phenomena of diverse origins and nature. The main focus is on contemporary art and art from South-Eastern Finland. The museum’s own collections are on exhibit regularly.

 

Temporary exhibitions 2025 

 

South Karelia Museum

Kristiinankatu 15, The Fortress of Lappeenranta

 

5 April – 30 November 2025

Full Volume! – the decades of youth and DJ culture in South Karelia

Pull on your James, Beavers or Levi’s jeans. Slick back your perm or style your side-swept bangs. Lace up your
platform heels, combat boots or ballet flats. Head out to the VPK building, Toppala, Monari, Twilight, Dangers or
Doris. Are we dancing tonight or catching a live band?

Disco fever hit Finland in the late 1960s and, by the 1970s, it was in full swing. Gone were the days of live orchestras – discos ushered in an era of dance floors
pulsing to recorded music. This era also gave rise to a new profession: the disc jockey, or DJ. In Finnish, they
became known as “tiskijukat” (literally “dish Jacks”). Lappeenranta was at the heart of Finland’s disco scene in the 1970s. DJ Edward from Lappeenranta claimed
Finland’s first national DJ championship in 1977, the same year the city set a Guinness World Record for nonstop DJing. DJs Hammu, Ina and Usa spun tracks for an astonishing 101 hours straight. The Full Volume! (Nupit Kaakossa!) exhibition takes you on a groovy trip through South Karelia’s youth culture from the 1970s to the 2010s, with the late, great Showmaster DJ Edward (1955–2019) and his colleagues setting the tone.

 

27 December 2025 – 8 March 2026

Manga Hokusai Manga: Approaching the Master’s Compendium from the Perspective of Contemporary Comics

By introducing some of the similarities and differences between modern Japanese manga, which now enjoy worldwide popularity, and Hokusai Manga, a collection of sketches by the ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), this exhibition sets out to introduce the charms of this unique field of Japanese culture. Focusing on pictorial storytelling and participatory culture of “manga” from different periods, the exhibits include panels, books, videos, and a group of new works by contemporary manga artists.
The exhibition will be opened on Monday, 22 December 2025.

Lappeenranta Art Museum

Kristiinankatu 8-10, The Fortress of Lappeenranta

 

8 March – 18 May 2025

Wall Tourist

This exhibition dives into our desire for security by shutting others out, while also exploring our fascination with
tragedy and discomfort. The Wall Tourist (Muurituristi) is a character created by artist photographer Harri Pälviranta,
captivated by fences and walls erected between nations to prevent unwanted migration. The exhibition takes us
to 13 countries across five continents, where the Wall Tourist documents these barriers through photographs and
personal challenges. Through his visits and pictures, he tries to understand something that is too big to grasp.
The exhibition includes framed photos, a book and flower sculptures made of barbed wire.

8 March – 18 May 2025

My Gaze

Self-portraits from the collection of Lappeenranta Art Museum.

 

7 June – 5 October 2025

Still Life and Landscape – the von Boehm artist family

Painter Aino von Boehm (née Zitting, 1892–1939) created much of her work in Joutseno, where the von Boehm family had a summer retreat. Her son Tuomas (1916–2000) also became an artist. He married Kirsti, the daughter of Jalo Sihtola, factory director and renowned patron of the arts. This artistic lineage continued with Tuomas and Kirsti’s sons Eero (1949–2012) and Juhani (b. 1943).

Still Life and Landscape – the von Boehm artist family presents works from Aino, Tuomas, Eero and Juhani, including objects designed by Aino. The exhibition is based on works from Lappeenranta Art Museum’s own collections, other museums, private lenders and the von Boehm family itself.

 

7 June – 5 October 2025

Eeva Vesterinen

This memorial exhibition celebrates the nearly 60-year career of Lappeenranta-based artist Eeva Vesterinen (1943–2023). It features works from private collections and Lappeenranta Art Museum’s own collections.

 

25 October 2025 – 1 February 2026

Taideahtaajat ("Art Stevedors")

The Taideahtaajat (“Art Stevedors”) collective (Juha Metso, Heimo Suntio and Timo Mähönen) entertained art audiences in the mid-1990s with their playful, thought-provoking videos, performances and installations. Strongly rooted in Kotka, many of their works and events could be said to be set there. Now, they are making a comeback with a retrospective exhibition, created in collaboration with Juha Metso and Heimo Suntio.