This blog is the first of our “Art and Campus” project publications. The University of Vaasa is one of the leading centers of education and research in the fields of business, technology, and energy. The university’s slogan is “A university with heart.” It speaks to the University of Vaasa’s respect for multidisciplinarity. The university also has activities related to culture and art.

Firstly, the University of Vaasa has an extensive collection of Finnish art. In 2024, Pekka Lind, a lawyer from Vaasa, made a donation of over a hundred works to the university’s beautifully renovated spaces. The lobbies of Ankkuri and Tervahovi, as well as offices and classrooms, contain both paintings and sculptures. The library building, Tritonia, serves as a space for rotating exhibitions.

Our university wants to emphasize the central role of art and culture in the development of modern society. The university also documents the paradigm shifts in thinking that have shaped our current culture. In addition to preserving art and culture, it is also important to shape and renew culture. Interesting things happen at the intersection of science and art, and for this reason, the university has a space for rotating exhibitions to showcase artistic expression.

Tritonia Artspace will open to the public on January 29, 2025. The Tritonia exhibition space is primarily for the university’s own research and teaching staff and students, but it will also offer local and regional artists the opportunity to exhibit their work based on applications and invitations. More information can be found on our website’s front page.

The first exhibition is Elina Melgin’s “Place in the Gaze,” which presents oil, pigment, and acrylic paintings that convey the horizons of hiking trips but also stories that have left a mark. The exhibition’s work list can be found behind the QR code.

We are also collaborating with Bok’s and the Wasa Futures Festival to produce an exceptional international video, performance, and installation exhibition, “Butterfly,” which focuses on the local and global impacts of digitalization, energy, and sustainability. The event will be complemented by an extensive multidisciplinary academic program, as well as a program based on artificial intelligence and virtual reality for school-aged children and young people. The exhibition is open from August 11 to 30 and serves as an extended part of the Wasa Futures Festival. Stay tuned!

All in all, this is an extremely exciting time for us. It is wonderful to see how different disciplines come together and make Vaasa and its local gems a stage for science, innovation, and humanity.