Welcome to art center Salmela
We are a summertime art gallery and cultural festival in Mäntyharju, Finland. The largest visual arts festival in Finland, Art Center Salmela, welcomes you to the 36th annual exhibition from June 7 to August 10, 2025.
We are open from 11am to 6pm every day during the season.
Art
The 2025 exhibition lineup features a special centennial tribute to Reidar Särestöniemi (1925–1981), one of Finland’s most celebrated modernist painters. Honoring the 100th anniversary of his birth, Salmela’s main gallery showcases a selection of Särestöniemi’s vibrant “golden period” works from the 1960s–70s, while our second venue in Vuohijärvi presents a retrospective of nearly 100 of his pieces – including rarely seen early works from the 1940s–50s – offering a unique look at the evolution of his artistry.
This extensive exhibition is part of the official Reidar 100 centennial program, with paintings on loan from the Kirsi and Keio Eerikäinen Art Foundation. Complementing Särestöniemi’s paintings, bronze sculptures by Nina Terno are displayed alongside them at both Salmela and Vuohijärvi, creating a dialogue between two modernist art forms.
Exhibition artists 2025
Reidar Särestöniemi (main invited artist)
Nina Terno
Katja Tukiainen
Jasmin Anoschkin
Kia Taegen
Mi Kuoppa
Alma Jantunen
Raana Lehtinen (Young Artist of the Year)
Sophia Ehrnrooth
Kateryna Yehorova
Essi Peltola
Anne Kauppila
Satu Laurel
Susanna Snellman
Kauko Kortelainen
Marja-Liisa Partanen
Kaiju Haanpää
Salmela
In addition to visual art, Salmela is the venue for a yearly series of concerts played at our own outdoor stage and inside the historic Mäntyharju church across the street. The 2025 concert schedule is posted here (in Finnish).
The setting for our exhibits is a stunning and historically significant cultural milieu. A mid-19th century parish house functions as the main gallery. Across the water, the exhibit continues in a lovingly restored old apothecary, postal office, and auxiliary buildings that offer a peek into the residential and commercial history of the area. Our waterside sculpture park, restaurant Kesäheinä, and collection of beautiful gazebos make up the rest of the extensive exhibition space.
Vuohijärvi house of nature and culture
Our second location, the Vuohijärvi House of Nature and Culture, is a scenic 35-minute drive from Salmela and is situated near the Repovesi National Park. The Vuohijärvi center houses a spacious gallery, a gift shop, and a café famous for serving the world’s best cinnamon rolls. The building itself, completed in 1966, originally served as a church – a serene example of Finnish modernist architecture that provides a unique setting for art exhibitions. A beautiful inner courtyard sculpture garden offers visitors a peaceful spot to rest and reflect between viewing the art.
Opening times for 2025 are 11am – 6pm daily from June 7 to August 10, coinciding with Salmela’s main exhibition period.
Admission: adults 16 €, students (and conscripts) 10 €, children under 16 years 5 €, and children under 7 free.
100 Years of Reidar Särestöniemi
In summer 2025, the Vuohijärvi House of Nature and Culture proudly presents an extensive Reidar Särestöniemi retrospective as the centerpiece of its exhibition. This show offers an unprecedented look at Särestöniemi’s early output: dozens of his rarely seen paintings, drawings, and prints from the 1940s and 1950s are on display, illustrating the formative stages of his artistic journey. These works, drawn from a private collection, include many pieces being exhibited publicly for the first time – until now they had only been seen on the collector’s own walls. Through this collection, visitors can trace how Särestöniemi developed his distinctive bold style and deep connection to Lapland’s nature and light. The exhibition, together with the Särestöniemi highlights in Salmela’s main gallery, comprises a total of 95 works and forms part of the nationwide centennial celebration of the artist’s life and legaci. We gratefully acknowledge the Kirsi and Keio Eerikäinen Art Foundation for making this unique 100-year jubilee exhibition possible.
Be sure to also explore the rest of the Vuohijärvi gallery’s offerings inspired by nature, enjoy a coffee break in the café, and take in the tranquil atmosphere of this cultural haven. We look forward to your visit and hope you have an inspiring art-filled summer with us at Salmela!
Locations and contact information
A two-hour car ride from Helsinki, Art Center Salmela is located in the heart of southeastern Finland. You can also easily reach us by train: the Mäntyharju station is just a few kilometers away.
For more information on the town of Mäntyharju for travelers, click here.
Be sure to also visit the Vuohijärvi House of Nature and Culture, a scenic 35-minute drive from Salmela.
Email: info@taidekeskussalmela.fi
Phone: +358 50 3388 114
