CURRENTLY:

The City of Hamina's open exhibition application for 2027 is now open. The exhibition spaces of Hamina Library Gallery, Galleria Ruutikellar, Vehkalahti Village Museum and the new Holvikellar venue are open for application for 2027 from Mon 31.8 August to Sun 27.9 September. The application form and instructions for applicants can be found at the bottom of this page. Selection decisions will be announced by the beginning of November at the latest. 

NEXT EXHIBITION OPENING:

Leena Pous and Tuula Horbach-Puhakka's joint exhibition explores the closeness of nature as part of human life.

Leena Pousi and Tuula Horbach-Puhakka: Playful nature
Hamina Main Library, Rautatienkatu 8, 49400 Hamina
Open 9.9. – 16.10.2026, Mon-Fri 12-19, Sat 10-14, Sun closed, self-service hours on weekdays 8-12.

Leena Pous and Tuula Horbach-Puhakka's joint exhibition, Playing Nature, explores the closeness of nature as a part of human life. Horbach-Puhakka's acrylic paintings and Pous's ceramic works combine human and animal subjects with the theme of nature, from the two artists' individual perspectives. The exhibition invites you to pause for a moment in the harmony of the exhibition's themes and color tones.

Leena Pousi is trained in the social sector and before retiring she worked with children and young people. Her interest in ceramics began when she studied to be a clay craft instructor. After this, she took several raku pottery courses as a hobby and continued to learn about ceramics by self-taught. In 1994, Pousi founded the Art Ceramics company, which was in operation until 2021. She has had thirty exhibitions in Southern Finland. She has also held raku pottery courses and clay workshops for both adults and children. After retiring, Pousi has continued her ceramics hobby in the summers in her home studio in Hirvelänkylä, Sippola. In the Playful Nature exhibition, Pousi will present her older production as well as her newer works. The human and animal motifs of the sculptures have been realized as raku and color patina sculptures, as well as with a mixed technique combining ceramics and concrete.

Tuula Horbach-Puhakka worked as a visual expression instructor at the Robert Kennedy School while living in the Netherlands in the 1980s and 1990s. Over the past 40 years, she has mainly worked in acrylic and watercolor. She has held exhibitions in the Netherlands, among other places. In Finland, she has had both solo exhibitions and joint exhibitions with Leena Pous. Today, Horbach-Puhakka enjoys painting subjects that catch her eye, with a twinkle in the corner of her eye, and a light attitude.

The exhibition opens in the Library Gallery of Hamina Main Library on Wednesday, September 9.9 and continues until October 16.10. The exhibition space, located on the ground floor of the library, is accessible either from the back of the building or by elevator from the street level floor of the library, as advised by the library staff.

Upcoming exhibitions

21.10.2026 – 27.11.2026 Hamina Art Society

2.12.2026 – 8.1.2027 Jaana Kivekäs

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ABOUT GENERAL EXHIBITIONS AND EXHIBITION SPACE:

Hamina Cultural Services organizes exhibitions all year round in the Library Gallery of Hamina Main Library and in the summer season in the Galleria Ruutikellari. Exhibitions are selected through an open application in the autumn of the previous year. In addition to the gallery spaces mentioned above, exhibitions can also be applied for in connection with the open application to the exhibition activities organized by Hamina Museum Services (see below, section OPEN APPLICATION). // OPEN CALL). Technical information about the gallery spaces can be found in the search information link at the bottom of the page.

The Kasper Hall of Hamina Main Library houses a permanent exhibition of the Oiva Toika (1931-2019) collection, which opened in November 2019. The collection was donated to the city by a Hamina entrepreneur couple, Sirkka and Seppo Laine, in the hope of having the entire magnificent collection available to Hamina residents and visitors. The collection consists of a total of 606 unique art glass birds. The aim is now to offer the exhibition with as wide an opening hours as possible and without barriers. The opening hours follow the library's opening hours, for which current information can be found in the libraries' kyyti-finna service: https://kyyti.finna.fi/

A commemorative plaque for the donation and information material for the Oiva Toikka exhibition can be found in the Kasper Hall. Only a printed version of the catalogue is available to customers, which MAY NOT be taken away from the exhibition stand.

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OPEN SEARCH // OPEN CALL

Are you interested in exhibition spaces for your own exhibition? // Are you interested in exhibition spaces for your own exhibition?

[English below]

OPEN SEARCH

The Hamina Library Gallery and Galleria Ruutikellar, maintained by Hamina Cultural Services, and the Vehkalahti Village Museum, managed by the city's museums, and the new Holvikellar exhibition spaces, are open for use for 2027 from Mon 31.8 August to Sun 27.9 September, for four weeks. Selection decisions will be made and communicated to all applicants by the beginning of November at the latest. This way, selected artists and art communities have the opportunity to include the selection information in potential grant applications in the autumn applications in October-November. 

The centralized exhibition search for exhibition spaces, implemented from 2022, will structure the work of the City of Hamina on exhibition activities and create a clear and accessible art field for a wide range of actors from the application process. This year, a new exhibition space will be included in the search, the Holvikellari exhibition space on the ground floor of the Hamina City Museum, which focuses on professional art exhibitions.

To participate in the open application, please fill out the Forms application form.

Only applicants who have completed the form by the deadline will be considered in the selection process. In addition to the form information, the applicant may also send a separate exhibition plan, photos of the work and/or a research presentation/CV as attachments to the application. Any attachments should be sent by email to kulttuuri@hamina.fi as attachments in PDF or image format.

Search criteria, and who can participate in the search? 

You can participate in the exhibition search as an individual, a community, a working couple or a group. The applicant can be a professional artist or a group of professionals, but art enthusiasts can also participate in the search. The different exhibition spaces are profiled for slightly different actors. You can browse the city's Art Exhibitions and Gallery Spaces website to see what kind of exhibitions have been selected for different spaces in previous years. 

The Hamina Library Gallery and the Village Museum can exhibit works by a wide variety of artists, and also present a fairly wide range of cultural activities. In addition, the Village Museum can be proposed with environmental art projects in the museum's surroundings. The Galleria Ruutikellar and Holvikellar are profiled as professional art exhibition venues. An installation fee of 400 euros/exhibition is paid for exhibitions held in these. This is intended to support professional activities, and also to partially remove financial obstacles to bringing an exhibition to Hamina from a slightly further afield. 

Exhibition selections are made on the basis of applications, creating space for artists and cultural actors at different stages of their artistic careers to emerge. The applicant's vision is valued in the search. The selection aims to create an entity that is as diverse as possible, highlighting different forms of visual art and cultural work. The selections are also influenced by the applicants' schedule wishes and how the submitted exhibition proposals are technically suitable for the available spaces. In the selections for the exhibition space of the Vehkalahti Village Museum, emphasis is also placed on the applicants' proposals for workshops or other events to be held alongside the exhibition, as part of the museum's summer program. The exhibition selections are carried out by a working group consisting of experts from Hamina's cultural services and the city's museums.

The exhibition selections will be made by a working group consisting of the Hamina events and culture team and the staff of the city's museums. In addition to the website of the city of Hamina, the search has been announced through the art societies of Kymenlaakso and South Karelia, national art societies and Hamina's cultural associations.

Exhibition spaces and times

All exhibition spaces are free of charge, and no commission is charged for any sales of works. Presentations of the gallery spaces to be searched, floor plans of the spaces and technical information can be found in the appendices to the search page. With the same application, you can offer an exhibition in all spaces to which you want to target the exhibition proposal. The exhibition times at the Library Gallery in 2027 will be approximately 5-6 weeks long, starting in February and continuing until December 2027. For February, an exhibition thematically targeted at children or families is being sought as part of the Children's Cultural Weeks festival.

We also offer two supervised exhibition shifts at Galleria Ruutikellari, lasting approximately 5–6 weeks, during the summer season. Ruutikellari is not generally open to the public, and keeping the space open and exhibition supervision is arranged separately.

The Vehkalahti Village Museum is only accepting applications for one summer exhibition in the manor house exhibition space for the entire summer. The exhibition will be open according to the museum's summer opening hours. The exhibition organizer is also asked to submit suggestions for functional content related to the exhibition, such as 1–2 workshops with free planning, a guided tour of the exhibition, a meeting with the artist or other activities open to some audiences/participants during the exhibition period, as part of the Village Museum's summer season program. It is possible to agree on material compensation with the museum if the exhibition period includes open workshop activities. The new Holvikellari exhibition space on the ground floor of the Hamina City Museum is open according to the museum's opening hours all year round, and applications are being accepted for exhibitions in this space for the spring season 17.2. – 30.4. and the Christmas season 1.11.2027 – 15.1.2028. 

It is possible to view the premises of the Vehkalahti Village Museum in advance.
Contact: Paula Kouki, Hamina City Museums, paula.kouki@hamina.fi 

Feedback and questions about the exhibition application can be sent to: kulttuuri@hamina.fi.

Responses to applications are treated confidentially, and the information recorded in the applications will not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to third parties. Read the City of Hamina's privacy policy here:
City of Hamina privacy policy

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Are you interested in exhibition spaces for your own exhibition?

The OPEN CALL for Exhibitions in Hamina Library Gallery, The Gunpowder Magazine Gallery, the Vehkalahti Village Museum's manor room and Hamina Town Museum's Arched Cellar Gallery for year 2027 is open on the 31st of August – 27th of September 2026.

Hamina Art Exhibitions OPEN CALL welcomes various exhibition suggestions for year 2027. One may apply for both 5-6 week exhibition period at Hamina Library Gallery and The Gunpowder Magazine Gallery as well as the use of the small-scale exhibition space in the Vehkalahti Village Museum's manor room via the Forms applications form on this page. For the Arched Cellar Gallery at Hamina Town Museum we search for two exhibitions: one for the Spring period 17th of February – 30th of April and the other for the Christmas season 1st of November 2027 – 15th of January 2028. 

Selection decisions are made immediately after the application period and are announced to all applicants during October or at the latest by the beginning of November. In this way, selected artists and art communities have the opportunity to include the selection information in potential grant applications in October–November.

In 2022 Hamina Cultural Services started to prepare a centralized annual Exhibition OPEN CALL for free exhibition spaces. This practice was due to replace the previous year-round reservation practice. The goal has been to develop better structures for the work related to exhibition activities and to create a more equal and accessible application process for artists and other operators in the art field. Year 2025, the open call also included the Vehkalahti Village Museum, maintained by the Hamina Town Museum services. In addition, the new gallery space at Hamina Town Museum has been included in the open call for year 2027.

Only proposals submitted using this Application form by the deadline will be considered in the OPEN CALL.

All exhibition spaces are free of charge, and no commission is charged for potential sales of art works.

Who can apply?

One can participate in the exhibitions OPEN CALL as an individual, community, or a working group. The applicant can be a professional artist or a group of professionals, but art enthusiasts can also participate in the OPEN CALL.

The Hamina Library Gallery and the Village Museum can exhibit works by a wide variety of artists, and also present a fairly wide range of cultural activities.

Both the Gunpowder Magazine Gallery and the Arched Cellar Gallery at the Hamina Town Museum are profiled as an exhibition space for professional art, and an installation fee of 400 euros/exhibition will be paid for the artists. The aim is to enable also some artists further away from Hamina to suggest their exhibitions into the Hamina exhibition program.

All exhibition selections are made based on the exhibition descriptions and the attached files presenting the work. The OPEN CALL values ​​​​the applicant's vision, and makes room for artists at different stages of their artistic career path. The selections are also influenced by the applicants' schedule wishes, and how the submitted exhibition proposals are technically suitable for the available spaces. In the selection of the exhibition space at Vehkalahti Village Museum, emphasis is also placed on the applicants' suggestions for workshops or other events to be held alongside the exhibition, as part of the museum's summer program. Also environmental art work can be offered for the grounds of the museum.

The exhibition selections are carried out by a working group consisting of the Hamina Cultural Services and Town Museum staff. The OPEN CALL has been announced on the Hamina caíty web sites as well as through the art societies of Kymenlaakso and the region of South-East of Finland, and also via national art societies and Hamina's cultural associations.

Spaces and schedules

The exhibition periods at the Library Gallery are approximately 5-6 weeks in 2027, starting in February and continuing until December 2027. The February exhibition slot is thematically targeted at children or families as part of the Children's Cultural Week festival. 

We are offering two 5–6 week-long, Supervised exhibition Slots at The Gunpowder Magazine Gallery in the summer season 2027. During the summertime there will also be an Overseer in the exhibition recruited by Hamina city.

For the Arched Cellar Gallery at Hamina Town Museum we search for two exhibitions: one for the Spring period 17th of February – 30th of April and the other for the Christmas season 1st of November 2027 – 15th of January 2028. 

Only one all-summer exhibition is arranged for the exhibition space of the Vehkalahti Village Museum's manor room in 2027. The artist or other exhibition Organizer is also asked to submit suggestions for functional content related to the exhibition, such as 1–2 workshops, a guided tour of the exhibition, a meeting with the artist or other activities open to some audiences/participants during the exhibition period, as part of the Village Museum's summer season program. It is possible to agree on material compensation with the museum if the exhibition period includes open workshop activities. Workshops can be, for example, those where art is made together with participants, or they can also be a lecture-style event or an artist talk / meet and greet, a guided tour with the artist in the exhibition, or some other content suggested by the artist. The aim is to provide some possibilities to share and encounter art and artistic creation in a dialogic way. Also environmental art suggestions are welcome.

Vehkalahti Village Museum space can be pre-presented to all who wish to visit the venue.
Contact info: Paula Kouki, Hamina city museums, paula.kouki@hamina.fi 

Feedback and questions about the exhibition open call can be sent via E-mail: kulttuuri@hamina.fi.

The applications will be treated confidentially, and the information entered in the applications will not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to third parties. Read the City of Hamina's privacy policy here (in Finnish):
Hamina privacy policy

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The maps and technical data of the gallery spaces:

Gallery Powder Cellar // The Gunpowder Magazine Gallery
Base map // Floor map

Library Gallery // The Library Gallery
Base map // Floor map

Vehkalahti Village Museum floor plan// The floor map of the Vehkalahti Village Museum

Vaulted cellar // The Vaulted Cellar

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