A major exhibition by photographic artist Marja Pirilä will be presented in the autumn at the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art

Marja Pirilä (b. 1957) is one of the leading figures in Finnish photographic art. She is particularly known for her distinctive and long-standing use of camera obscura, a technique she has worked with for more than 30 years. Pirilä’s works create layered, poetic visual worlds, revealing recurring themes and key contrasts in her art, such as light and darkness, life and death, or solitude and togetherness.

The exhibition opening this autumn at the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art will showcase Pirilä’s major series of works spanning several decades. The exhibition will feature, among other works, Pirilä’s long-term project Interior/Exterior, which she began in 1996. In it, she combines the subject, the room they are in, and the surrounding landscape by photographing them in a space transformed into a camera obscura, resulting in a layered and intimate portrait. The exhibition will also include the Milavida series, depicting a Neo-Renaissance palace in Tampere; The Speaking House, exploring themes of loss and fragility; and In Strindberg’s Rooms, created in France.

The exhibition will also feature three-dimensional camera obscura works that Pirilä has created in collaboration with photographic artist Petri Nuutinen. While the camera obscura technique has been central to Marja Pirilä’s work, this exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of her artistic output.

Her works have been exhibited widely in Finland and internationally across Europe, Asia, as well as in both North and South America, and are held in major public and private collections. Pirilä has received several awards, including the State Prize for Photographic Art in 2000, the Pirkanmaa Art Prize in 2010, and the Alfred Kordelin Prize in 2020 for her creative development and promotion of the camera obscura technique.

The exhibition is produced by Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art / Vaasa City Museums and curated by Head of Exhibitions Maaria Salo in collaboration with the artist.

Diverse exhibition programme for 2026

The Vaasa museums’ 2026 exhibition programme presents a varied and topical selection of Finnish and international art. The newly announced solo exhibition by Marja Pirilä adds a strong photographic focus to the programme.

Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art will display Body Politics, based on the Miettinen Collection, from 24 January to 4 April 2026. In the summer, the museum will present the joint exhibition Apocalypse Now by the acclaimed Vaasa-based contemporary artist Marcus Lerviks and German artist Florian Tuercke, running from 16 May to 29 August 2026. In the autumn, photographic artist Marja Pirilä’s solo exhibition Camera obscura will run from 19 September 2026 to 9 January 2027.

The Ostrobothnian Museum will show the Nordic group exhibition Lay Of(f) the Land until the 12^th of April 2026, while Terranova will host the nature photography exhibition Creatures of Night and Day until the 29^th of March 2026. Over the summer, the regional artist collective nabbteeri will present their solo exhibition The Scavengers’ Garden from 9 May to 20 September 2026. At the end of the year, the group exhibition with the working title Gaming runs from 7 Nov 2026 – 7 March 2027.

The Tikanoja Art Museum will host the exhibition I am not afraid – Finnish contemporary illustrators until 23 May 2026. In autumn 2026, the art historic exhibition with the working title Önningeby Artist Colony runs from 10 October 2026 to 20 February 2027. The Museum of Old Vaasa will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Vaasa Court of Appeal with the exhibition 250 Years of Vaasa Court of Appeal, running from 7 May to 29 August 2026.

In addition, the 2026 exhibition calendar will feature regional travelling exhibitions, including Jan Olof Mallander – Photographs and Lundgren Sisters’ Ostrobothnia.

2026 exhibition calendar

Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art

• Miettinen Collection: Body Politics 24 Jan – 4 April 2026
• Marcus Lerviks and Florian Tuercke: Apocalypse Now 16 May – 29 Aug 2026
• Marja Pirilä: Camera obscura: 19.9.2026–9.1.2027

Ostrobothnian Museum

• Lay Of(f) the Land: Nordic group exhibition, until the 12^th of April 2026
• Creatures of Night and Day, Terranova, until the 29^th of March 2026
• nabbteeri: The Scavengers’ Garden, solo exhibition 9 May – 20 Sept 2026
• Working title: Gaming, group exhibition 7 Nov 2026 – 7 March 2027

Tikanoja Art Museum

• I am Not Afraid – Finnish contemporary illustrators, until the 23^rd of May 2026
• Working title: Önningeby Artist Colony 10 Oct 2026 – 20 Feb 2027

Museum of Old Vaasa

• Vaasa Court of Appeal 250 years 7 May – 29 Aug 2026

Touring exhibitions in 2026

• Jan Olof Mallander – Photographs
• Lundgren Sisters’ Ostrobothnia

The exhibition programme is subject to change.