Cul­ture

Small­er and big­ger thrills, unique events, and art and sci­ence made with the uncom­pro­mis­ing north­ern atti­tude – and the cul­tur­al cli­mate change, of course! The cul­tur­al scene in Oulu has all this and a lit­tle bit more.

The cul­tur­al scene in Oulu is packed with incred­i­ble exper­tise and inter­est­ing, edgy phe­nom­e­na. Arts, sci­ence, sound and emo­tion, sea winds, events under the big sky, spaces for cre­at­ing the unimag­in­able, laugh­ing, cry­ing, shout­ing, and mov­ing… List­ing the ele­ments of the local cul­ture is a breath-tak­ing chore, for even peo­ple who have lived here all their lives are con­stant­ly bump­ing into new and excit­ing things.

And what would be more appro­pri­ate for the Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture? That is what Oulu will be in a few years, and you are join­ing us at the right time: from this moment on, things will only get more excit­ing until the title year in 2026 – and onwards! Read more about the Oulu2026 activ­i­ties.

Cul­ture for all the peo­ple

The enti­ty of City of Oulu gen­er­al cul­tur­al ser­vices includes the oper­a­tion of Cul­tur­al Cen­tre Valve, the oper­a­tion of Oulu Cul­ture Cen­tre for Chil­dren and Youth, and the ser­vices of region­al cul­ture and the cul­ture of well-being.

You can find out about library ser­vices on the City of Oulu web­site (opens in a new tab).

Cul­tur­al Cen­tre Valve show­cas­es an awe­some amount of cul­tur­al exper­tise through local tal­ent and inter­na­tion­al guests. Three gal­leries, two rooms for per­for­mances, and a cin­e­ma invig­o­rate the city cen­tre with films, comics, con­certs, exhi­bi­tions, dance, cir­cus, and var­i­ous hob­by options and cours­es – and ever more vir­tu­al­ly, too! Valve is also home to Oulu Cul­ture Cen­tre for Chil­dren and Youth, mean­ing that the new gen­er­a­tions have not been for­got­ten: the cen­tre is respon­si­ble for oper­a­tions such as the art class­es and events of Valve Film School and the School for Lit­er­ary Art. Step in through the Cul­tur­al Cen­tre Valve web­site (opens in a new tab).

Cul­ture for the brain

Cul­ture that is music to your ears

Pio­neer­ing com­posers from Tulind­berg to Madeto­ja have made sure that Oulu has been heard, and their work is con­tin­ued by the north­ern­most sym­pho­ny orches­tra in Fin­land: Oulu Sin­fo­nia. Named after the famous com­pos­er, the Madeto­ja Hall at Oulu Music Cen­tre is the home of Oulu Sin­fo­nia, but the beau­ti­ful acoustics of the hall can be wit­nessed also at oth­er artists’ per­for­mances. Vis­it the Oulu Sin­fo­nia web­site (opens in a new tab).

Do not go just yet – Oulu is a city of music no mat­ter what the genre. Just think of artists such as Saara Aal­to, Sen­tenced, or Blind Chan­nel who have risen to inter­na­tion­al fame from Oulu.

Live­ly and mov­ing cul­ture

Oulu The­atre is the home of the­atri­cal art in the north, dat­ing back to the year 1931. Now it is sit­u­at­ed on an arti­fi­cial island in one of the most cen­tral loca­tions in Oulu, hous­ing the biggest pro­fes­sion­al the­atre in north­ern Fin­land. It pam­pers art enthu­si­asts with big emo­tions, sur­pris­es, and excep­tion­al sto­ries – ambi­tious per­for­mances of spo­ken plays to opera and musi­cals. The­atri­cal art in Oulu is appeal­ing, respon­si­ble and renew­able! Sense Oulu The­atre through its web­site (opens in a new tab).

If you are into film art and the big screen, Oulu can pro­vide. Screen­ing films from box office smash hits to exper­i­men­tal cin­e­ma in the city cen­tre are Cul­tur­al Cen­tre Valve and Finnk­i­no Plaza. In Tuira, you can find Eloku­vateat­teri Star which is run by a fam­i­ly of local entre­pre­neurs.

Every­one who has been watch­ing prime time dance shows on Finnish tele­vi­sion in the 2000s will know that Oulu pro­duces dancers! This is a danc­ing city with promis­ing new tal­ent bring­ing home medals as well as sea­soned dance coach­es known to all the nation. Folk danc­ing, ball­room danc­ing, street danc­ing, mod­ern dance – any­thing to get your body mov­ing!

Cul­ture under­neath the open sky

Just like food, also cul­ture tastes good when enjoyed out­doors! The sea breeze whis­pers in the ears as spec­ta­tors in Oulu are offered both the­atre and fes­ti­vals. The sum­mer the­atre in the Hupisaaret park and Meri Oulu the­atre in Top­pi­la serve cul­tur­al treats to vis­i­tors in the sum­mer­time.

Also music fes­ti­vals for all tastes take place in Oulu every sum­mer! Qstock is one of the biggest fes­ti­vals in Fin­land, sell­ing out year after year. Var­jo is a more laid-back event, tar­get­ed to a small­er crowd of indie fans. Met­al Cap­i­tal Fes­ti­val Oulu serves a more met­al-ori­ent­ed audi­ence. Suomipop Fes­ti­vaali and Kuus­ka Soi have a more vari­able line-up, where­as Koiteli elää! has been described as the most beau­ti­ful fes­ti­val in Fin­land. No won­der – the Koiteli rapids in Kiimin­ki is a unique loca­tion for events if any!

Cul­ture and night-time activ­i­ties

Do you feel like par­ty­ing and crave a bit of cul­ture for the week­end? You are in the right place – many venues and clubs in Oulu have a good selec­tion of events through­out the year.

Gigs, stand-up com­e­dy clubs, big con­certs, open mic nights, and all kinds of DJ-dri­ven events enter­tain crowds not only in the city cen­tre but also else­where in Oulu. Com­bine this with tasty food and drinks, and your night in Oulu will be a suc­cess! Find more fun time alter­na­tives on the Enter­tain­ment page.