Submit your artwork for the JYU community art exhibition

The importance of art to the individual
Members of the JYU community make art from diverse backgrounds and with many different aims. In the context of the 2026 Annual Celebration, the community can express itself through the language of visual art. The exhibition will display not only the works selected for the exhibition but also the thoughts, reflections and memories related to the making of art and the works on display.
Works selected for the exhibition
The Annual Celebration exhibition of 2026 invites paintings, drawings, and handmade prints. The artwork must be a personal, original work of art, not copied from a model. One person may suggest one work of art. The criteria for selecting works for the exhibition are not only artistic merit but also the significance of art in the life of the individual, presented as text.
The artist is responsible for framing and transporting the artwork as well as providing a hook or wire to hang the artwork. The University does not provide insurance during the transport, hanging or display, so the artists lend their work at their own risk. There will be no special security for the exhibition.
Schedule and submission of works for exhibition
The exhibition will open just before the Annual Celebration (week number 10 in 2026). The exhibition will be open throughout March. Submission of art works starts immediately. Please, check the instructions provided below. Works can be submitted until the end of October 2025.
If your work is selected, you will need to deliver it to the main building (C) on Thu - Fri on 19.–20.2.2026 and collect it after the exhibition. Works will not be sent by post without a separate agreement. Postage is kept as an option so that the Kokkola and Vuokatti units can participate.
Take a photo of your work that you are submitting to the Anniversary Exhibition. Attach the photo to a document in which you also include the following information:
- your name
- the size of your work and the technique used
- if the frames are not visible in the photo, describe them and explain how the work is hung
- also indicate the year your work was completed
- describe the significance of visual arts in your life, the process of completing your work, or the circumstances in which you created it – you have 100 words at your disposal
Save the document as one PDF and email it to vuosijuhlanayttely@jyu.fi by the end of October 2025.
Students to curate the exhibition
The exhibition will be part of the art history and art education study module MUTY1010 (5 study credits). It is supervised by research coordinator Tarja Pääjoki and University Teacher Teija Luukkanen-Hirvikoski.
For this reason, the techniques used in the invited works are strictly limited to paintings, drawings, and handmade prints. Building the exhibition is a major project for the students, and the main building is a challenging venue for displaying the works. For this reason, the number of variables is strictly limited in this call for entries. If this pilot course proves fruitful for the students and their supervisors, the content of possible future exhibitions may include other forms of artistic expression.
The University Museum and the cultural workgroup are supporting the construction of this exhibition.