13.3.–22.3.2026

About the Exhibition
The experimental exhibition What Does an Exhibition Do? explores pedagogical practices of presenting visual art from the perspectives of the artist, curator, exhibition organiser, artwork and the public. The exhibition unfolds as a process-based project that examines how exhibitions are constructed – and how the conventions surrounding them could be questioned or unlearned.

Through artworks, live performances and interactions with the gallery visitors, the exhibition invites the public to reflect on how exhibitions create meaning, how exhibition practices shape visitors’ experiences and what happens when familiar methods and strategies are dismantled.

“Art and art studies are about finding one’s place and reflecting on one’s practice, whereby the place and time of the event – and the very moment of making – become more defined. This dismantling of ways of doing, or unlearning, may lead away from what has been learned,” writes teacher on the course and lecturer in art pedagogy in higher education Marika Orenius in her doctoral dissertation Lived Spaces in the Work and Education of a Visual Artist.

The exhibition is part of a course led by Orenius, visual artist and doctoral researcher Timo Tähkänen and lecturer in acting Anu Koskinen. Guest teachers include art historian and university teacher Riikka Haapalainen and visual artist Iiri Poteri.

Participants
Heidi Bäckström, Tapio Brotherus, Yoonsik Kim, Thomas Lavastre, Saara Lehtonen, Yilin Ma, Milla Risku and Liisa Ryynänen.

Events
Exhibition opening reception: Thursday 12 March 2026, 17–19.

Additional programme will be announced during the course.