Get inspired by art around you

Since the 1990s, Turku Science Park has become a site for many artworks for people to gaze upon. At this website you find information on the public artworks in Turku Science Park and the art collection of Turku Technology Properties.

The development of Turku Science Park into a site for art began in 1995, when The Åbo Akademi University Foundation and The Turku University Foundation donated the sculpture "The World Dance" by Carl-Gustaf Lilius to the two universities. Then, the sculpture made of wire netting depicting a dancing pair was installed in the hall of BioCity, where it hovers above people visiting the building to this day. 

Since then, more public artworks have appeared in Turku Science Park in consequence of various projects and competitions. In EduCity, the latest building constructed in the area, art has been integrated into the property from the very beginning. During the construction process, Turku University of Applied Sciences and Turku Technology Properties carried out the KampusART programme, where almost a million euros was used to acquire art to the new campus building.

According to studies, art increases the comfort, appeal and worth of buildings and areas. The artworks of Turku Science Park provoke thoughts, interpretations and inspiration in people working and visiting in the area. They bring human touch and softness to the core of Turku's science and business activities.

"Yellow water-lily leaf"

Vesa Aaltonen, 2015

"Landscape and nature frame my work both in the city center and outside of it. I often try to avoid making my photos too realistic – whereas a painter uses his brush to create impressionistic features, I use long exposure. My work focuses on light, colour, and form – and the changes they live through." For further details click here.

"Weather Observations"

Stig Baumgartner, 2020

Stig Baumgartner was elected to produce an artwork for the new EduCity campus building via the KampusART programme. The artwork, consisting of five pieces, is installed at the bottoms of negotiation cubes. The artworks, hand-painted with oil, bring colour and organicity to otherwise angular spaces creating personal identity to the building. For further details click here.

"Biodiversity"

Jukka Hakanen, 2014

Turku-based artist Jukka Hakanen has carried out several sizeable wall paintings across Finland. The mural on the outer wall of BioCity auditorium was Hakanen's final project for the University of Art and Design Helsinki. Motifs for the artwork Hakanen chose from suggestions presented by ordinary citizens. The artwork depicts animals, plants and laboratory equipment characteristic for BioCity. For further details click here.

"Kupittaanpuisto Park"

Jukka Hakanen & Osmo, 2016

The mural, painted in order to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the youth work of the city of Turku, is inspired by the rich history of the Kupittaanpuisto park. It depicts for instance the St. Henry's spring and the former trotting track. During the anniversary Hakanen painted sizeable murals also in Luostarinkatu and Pansio. For further details click here.

"Just Open"

Anu Halmesmaa, 2014

"My works are wall sculptures, reliefs. The main material is mdf, which I cut by hand with a pattern cutter. I paint the surfaces with glossy paint using a brush. I have taken the circle as the starting point for my work. To me the circle in itself holds everything, as a metaphor for beginning and end." For further details click here.

"All In"

Anu Halmesmaa, 2014

"My works are wall sculptures, reliefs. The main material is mdf, which I cut by hand with a pattern cutter. I paint the surfaces with glossy paint using a brush. I have taken the circle as the starting point for my work. To me the circle in itself holds everything, as a metaphor for beginning and end." For further details click here.

"I See You"

Anu Halmesmaa, 2014

"My works are wall sculptures, reliefs. The main material is mdf, which I cut by hand with a pattern cutter. I paint the surfaces with glossy paint using a brush. I have taken the circle as the starting point for my work. To me the circle in itself holds everything, as a metaphor for beginning and end." For further details click here.

"Field"

Reino Hietanen, 2000

Painter and graphic artist Reino Hietanen was a member of Maaliskuulaiset (the group of March), a formidable artist group of the 1960s that integrated the Finnish art world to the newest currents of international art. Hietanen's graphic art was abstract play of colours and forms, but the basis for his works was often something very concrete, such as a football field. For further details click here.

"Guide, Rococo Sketch"

Anita Jensen, 1998

Anita Jensen has studied and worked in Japan several times and worked as the teacher of intaglio in Aalto University. Her art has been described as "neojaponism", in which the 19th century japonism, a European art trend inspired by Japanese expression of form and artefacts, is combined with true adoption of Japanese aesthetics and ways of thinking. For further details click here.

"Kalpa | Kallioperä | Fibroin"

Shoji Kato, 2020

Shoji Kato was elected to produce an artwork for the new EduCity campus building via the KampusART programme. The artwork, consisting of fabrics, stones and noble metals, reflects light and the movements of air. The materials contain enigmatic elements that evoke interpretations and inspiration. For further details click here.

"Untitled"

Aleksi Liimatainen & Mikko Paakkonen, 2016

Aleksi Liimatainen and Mikko Paakkonen are alumni of the Arts Academy in Turku, whose graphic art, paintings and installations are inspired by the roughness of urban life. For further details click here.

"We Surrender to the Spirit of the Night"

Aleksi Liimatainen & Mikko Paakkonen, 2016

Aleksi Liimatainen and Mikko Paakkonen are alumni of the Arts Academy in Turku, whose graphic art, paintings and installations are inspired by the roughness of urban life. For further details click here.

"The World Dance"

Carl-Gustaf Lilius, 1995

Carl-Gustaf Lilius was an essayist, artist and one of the foremost dissidents of the Finlandization era. Lilius was greatly fascinated by dance, a motif he enthusiastically depicted in his artworks. Lilius' works include many public sculptures e.g. in Turku, Helsinki and Vaasa. He called his sculptures made of wire netting three dimensional drawings. For further details click here.

"Dragon"

Alessio de Marchi, 2016

The Italian artist Alessio de Marchi was an artist-in-residence for Shift business festival 2016. He spent the spring working in ICT-City, where passers-by were invited to bring electronic waste to be used as material in his art project. De Marchi created snakes, spiders, dragons and other creatures out of circuits, casings and electric wires. With the project he sought to raise awareness of the limitedness of raw materials and recycling. For further details click here.

"Winter Meditation"

Pirkko Mäkelä-Haapalinna, 2016

"I search for the tangible surface between the inner and the observable world by introspection during the painting process. I seek to make the deeper essence and meaning of everyday reality apparent. The memories of beholding beauty, empowering experiences, and things that people have an overwhelming relationship with, inspire my works." For further details click here.

"MEANDER (with Bicycle Rack)"

Anssi Pulkkinen & Taneli Rautiainen, 2020

Anssi Pulkkinen and Taneli Rautiainen were elected to produce an outdoor artwork on the yard deck outside EduCity. The artwork, depicting a twisted bicycle rack, toys with art history. With its idea stemming from biking, the artwork interacts with all bicycles parked near it and passing by. For further details click here.

"Untitled"

Leena Saarto, 2009

In 2009, the Turku-based artist Leena Saarto produced an artwork consisting of seven pieces in ICT-City. In the artwork, figures resembling binary numbers are moving across the walls of the building. The graphic lines are given human character: they jump, do somersaults and, eventually, take wing. For further details click here.

"Bomb Disneyland"

Riiko Sakkinen, 2019

Riiko Sakkinen has gained recognition with his provocative and ironic art that comments on the economic and societal issues caused by capitalism. The Bomb Disneyland art series criticizes on the anthropomorfization of animals, i.e. the attribution of human traits to non-humans in fairytales, entertainment and corporate logos. For further details click here.

"Simba I of Finland Cute Power"

Riiko Sakkinen, 2019

Riiko Sakkinen has gained recognition with his provocative and ironic art that comments on the economic and societal issues caused by capitalism. The Bomb Disneyland art series criticizes the anthropomorfization of animals, i.e. the attribution of human traits to non-humans in fairytales, entertainment and corporate logos. For further details click here.

"PIQUE-NIQUE"

Noora Schroderus, 2020

Noora Schroderus was elected to produce an artwork for the new EduCity campus building via the KampusART programme. The artwork, installed in three daylight niches, consists of molded exotic fruits combined with steel elements. It creates an aesthetic space under which you can stop to eat, drink and spend time together. For further details click here.

"Mossgirl"

Kim Simonsson, 2019

Kim Simonsson's first moss figure came into being when the artist experimented with painting neon yellow paint on black ceramics. The result was a fairytale world combining Mad Max and Lord of the Flies, where children live in a state of nature, deciding for themselves. For further details click here.

"Wicked Weapon"

Samuli Suonperä, 2018

"My paintings, carried out with mixed-method techniques, exude the many forms of pop culture and the decadent beat of urban culture. At the same time they express my critical stance toward the disposability coated with superficiality characteristic for our times." For further details click here.

"Old Dog"

Veera Tiainen, 2008

"My painting process is an intuitive and layered expedition in which every phase leads towards the next and the end result can't be predicted. The journey is guided by the conscious and the subconscious alike, as well as chance." For further details click here.

"Corvus Cornix", "Corvus Monedula", "Pica Pica 1", "Pica Pica 2"

Pirjo Tikkinen, 2016

"Nature and environment are the most important starting points for my artistic work. What is most fascinating about nature are the different shapes, colors and the influence of light on them, the mythical power hidden in nature. Most of my works are based on photography." For further details click here.

"La Liberté guidant le peuple"

Katja Tukiainen, 2019-2020

"With my artworks I lead the audience to the world where cute and minor creatures have an opinion and the power. When I am reading daily news I cannot always believe in goodness, but in the world of my art good wins bad 6-0." For further details click here.

"Information Jungle"

Jenni Tuominen & Jukka Pylväs, 2009

The artwork, carried out in the wall grid of the entrance hall in ICT-City, is inspired by the users and the functions of the building. The artists took the origins of information recording as their starting point, depicting people and animals in the same way as ancient cave paintings. In the images you can spot e.g. an internet surfer and an unwelcome guest, an internet worm. For further details click here.

"A. Animal"

Tiina Valve & Stefan Lindfors, 2011

The seal sculpture, nowadays found in ICT-City, was a part of the Hej Hylje! project, itself part of the European Capital of Culture year of Turku 2011, in which 40 artists were given a fibreglass seal, sculpted by Stefan Lindfors, to paint. The project sought to raise awareness of the deteriorating condition of the Baltic Sea. For further details click here.

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