Exhibition at the Mikkeli Art Museum: The Wild – The Rise and Defiance of the Kuopio School

The Mikkeli Art Museum’s last exhibition of the year 2026 takes us back to Kuopio in the 1980s, when the city became a vibrant centre for visual arts that attracted nationwide interest. Young, newly graduated visual arts professionals moved to the city, and the press began to refer to them as the Kuopio School or the Kuopio School of Thought.

Kuopio’s wild ones revitalised the local art scene with their provocative, disruptive and, at times, disturbing style. Whilst Kuopio was largely a hub for amateur artists in the 1970s, in the following decade, the young professionals took over the local art scene. The exhibition focuses on the influential figures of the period: Markku Kolehmainen, Pentti Meklin, Pauno Pohjolainen and Teemu Saukkonen.

The exhibition has been implemented in cooperation with Varkaus Museum Center Konsti and Kuopio Art Museum Kumma.

Exhibition is open at Mikkeli Art Museum: 25 September 2026–14 February 2027.
Art Museum’s opening hours during the exhibition:
September Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm, October-February Wed-Sun 10 am-5 pm.

Closed on holidays: 6 and 24-26 December 2026, 1 and 6 January 2027. On the eves of holidays, the museum will close at 4 pm.