Caption: The works from the Geopark photography exhibition are waiting to be hung in the gallery in the main library lobby.
Kankaanpää will receive a much-needed addition to its gallery selection when the main library's entrance hall will be used for gallery purposes in the future.
Kankaanpää's high-quality gallery palette includes gallery activities for both professional artists and students studying for a visual artist degree at SAMK Kankaanpää Art School. The new opening aims to support hobby activities in particular. The spark for establishing a new gallery came when, in 2022–2023, the municipal visual artist in Kankaanpää Mira Piitulainen met with the people of Kankaanpää during the fall of 2022 and talked with the people living in the area. It became clear that there is a frenetic passion and joy for doing things and that exhibition activities would be in the dreams if only a suitable place could be found.
-Inspired by these discussions, I contacted the library director Berries to Tiisala, because libraries represent to me an open and safe space of culture, where everyone is genuinely welcome. Marjut immediately took up the idea and soon we were measuring and planning what could be made of the current lobby spaces, Piitulainen explains.
Marjut Tiisala says that it was easy to jump on board with the lobby gallery initiative.
– Libraries have a low threshold and are easily accessible. That's why they are also great exhibition spaces. Our library has also been eyeing the space and considering the issue before. The new gallery will also strengthen the image of an art city, he says.
The gallery, located in connection with the Kankaanpää Main Library, is an exhibition space open to everyone, consisting of an exhibition wall and a glass case. In the future, you can apply for a calendar month-long exhibition period on the library's website, and the library will select exhibitions based on the applications. Exhibition rental is not charged to the exhibition organizer. Exhibitions suitable for the gallery include, for example, art exhibitions, handicraft and textile exhibitions, informative exhibitions, and exhibitions presenting various objects or hobbies and work activities.
Geopark photo exhibition on display for the first time
The gallery will open in February and the first exhibition will be the Lauhanvuori – Hämeenkangas UNESCO Global Geopark travelling photography exhibition – a tribute to the diverse and historical nature of the area. The exhibition will be on display from 31.1 January to 23.2.2023 February XNUMX. The spring programme will feature a few different shows, after which the gallery will hopefully receive its exhibitions selected based on the first applications.
However, for the new gallery to officially exist, it needs a name. The city is organizing a naming competition from January 24.1 to February 10.2, where anyone can suggest a suitable name for the new gallery. Suggestions can be made on a paper slip at the main library or by email to [email protected]The jury will choose the most striking name from the suggestions and reward the person who came up with the name with a small product prize.
Additional information:
Library Director Marjut Tiisala, City of Kankaanpää, tel. 044 577 2422, [email protected]
Project coordinator, municipal artist Mira Piitulainen, tel. 044 710 3194, [email protected]