Amazing Space! exhibition [Ällistyttävä avaruus! -näyttely]
SuomiAreena’s Big Space Day has inspired children and schoolchildren in Pori to explore space through art. The exhibition is on display in the Art Museum’s workshop space and admission is free! In cooperation with the City of Pori, Pori Art School, Kruunupää Children’s Cultural Centre and Pori Art Museum.
At SuomiAreena on Friday 27.6.2025, all eyes will be turned towards the sky as Pori’s Town Hall Park celebrates the Great Space Day. Former NASA astronaut and F-16 fighter pilot Ron Garan will host the event. The day will explore the role of space in future research, education, economy and culture. Future plans for the city of Pori and the region’s universities include access to NASA’s CubeSat satellite programme.
During SuomiAreena week and until 13 July, the Museum of Fine Arts will be open to children and schoolchildren to admire the amazing world of space from the perspective of children and schoolchildren.
The astronaut’s visit to Pori inspired schoolchildren at Pori Art School, Kruunupää Children’s Cultural Centre and primary schools in Pori to explore the wonders of space!
Pori Art Museum’s workshop space is filled with space-themed works of art, exploring space from the perspective of 7-12 year olds. To get into space, first of all you need a space rocket, which is familiar to everyone, but what you find in space is unknown and mysterious. Space can be amazing!
Pori Art School’s works exploring the mysteries of space have pondered the possibility of life on distant exoplanets like Earth – whether it exists, what it would be like and what it might entail over time. In real life, the search for life on exoplanets has still been challenging and inaccessible to scientists. So far, we can only speculate on theories about what life on them might be like. For art school students, however, studying exoplanets has been amazingly easy! The works prove that living conditions are excellent. Life on distant planets is abundant – the discoveries are interesting and unprecedented, and life is multiplying almost out of control, extending its growth to the edge of the universe!
Children aged 4 to 12 have participated in the creation of the art school pieces. The artworks are guided by Kati Kivistö, Toni Lehtola, Annina Palonen, Timo Penttilä, Tiia Rantanen and Annika Suutari.
The space animations were created in a workshop organised by Kruunupää Children’s Cultural Centre. The animations were made with children using a wide range of recycled materials. The animations were made by the Cygnaeus pre-school children and the 5EN English class at the Viikari Visual Arts Day Care Centre. The animation workshop was led by visual artist Tiia From and media specialist Miisa Korkiamäki. In addition to the space exhibition, the animations can also be seen in the Exoplanets and Solar Wind installation at the Kruunupää Children’s Cultural Centre.
In the “Joyful Garbage from Space” project, the optional art group from the 6th grade at Vähärauma School, along with classes 3B and 3C, have explored the theme of recycling through art. The artworks were created in collaboration with the Children’s Cultural Centre Kruunupää, under the guidance of visual artist Petronella Luka. Space has also been explored through artistic projects with pupils from grades 1 to 6 at Ahlainen and Reposaari schools.
The installation has been designed as an immersive spatial artwork, allowing viewers to move through the space, peek into a space scientist’s laboratory experiments, and encounter imaginative cosmic discoveries. The exhibition architecture has been designed by the Pori Art School.
For more information:
Pori Art Museum, Customer Service tel. 044 701 1080
Pori Art School, Rector Henna Jaatinen tel. 044 701 1257
Pori Children’s Cultural Centre Kruunupää, Cultural Producer Miisa Korkiamäki tel. 050 418 9178.