Ystävän talo Exhibition

Kotilo’s first exhibition Ystävän talo (Fin. Friend’s House) invites you to enter the Oulu of children. It aims its gaze over our shared city and its youngest residents. The exhibition takes you over Oulu’s ordinary streets to the beach and to the children’s dream city – after a stop at the ice cream stall of course. It contains all the joys, games, wishes, and dreams of children. You may have not heard about the ant orchestra or how children believe Oulu could become a better city. You can also create silly characters and new residents at the interactive exhibition. 

The centre of the Ystävän talo exhibition is Joel Karppinen’s artwork of the same name. The Friend’s House builds space for friendship. The interactive installation consists of two huts and a video. In the first hut, you can leave a message to your friend or something in search of new friends. In the second hut, you can listen to the messages. What kinds of messages of friendship do you want to hear in your city? The artwork shifts and reforms along with the messages, and, in time, the messages will form an archive of experiences of Oulu’s children. The video brings together the layers of Oulu’s generations. 

The Ystävän talo Exhibition is based on The Book of Oulu which was created in cooperation with 200 children from Oulu in 2025. The book is a guide to Oulu made by children. The book can be read at Kotilo. 

At the Kotilo Living Room, you can draw and write down your dreams in the Unelmien pallomeri Workshop (Fin. Ball Pit of Dreams). The workshop is open whenever the Gallery is open and when Kotilo staff are present.