See and experience
Galleries
Visitors to the University of Lapland are invited to discover a variety of artworks created by our students and staff showcased in regularly changing exhibitions hosted in the university’s galleries.
The Faculty of Art and Design hosts a total of eleven galleries on the main campus and in the Arktikum building. The changing exhibitions represent a wide range of art forms such as drawing, painting and sculpture, environment art, media art and photography, and present design from different fields of applied arts. On display are works produced by our students as part of their studies as well as their independent art productions, art and artistic research by our staff, and exhibitions of visiting artists.
The exhibitions are free-of-charge and open to all during the opening hours of the university and Arktikum.
Art collections
About fifty works of art from the collection of the Finnish State Art Commission – dating from the 1970s to the early 2000s – are on display both in the public interior and exterior spaces of the University of Lapland. The University also hosts the Kari Huhtamo Art Foundation’s collection featuring works of sculptor Kari Huhtamo from the period 1982 to 2003. In addition, some works from the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation’s collection and the University’s own collection are on display on campus.
Visitors to the University of Lapland can discover the artworks on campus for example by participating in the University of Lapland’s Art Walk. The Art Walk presents a total of 27 artworks placed along an accessible path that runs through the ground floor of the University main building. The Art Walk covers a distance of about 300 meters. Groups with more than 10 participants may book a fee-based guided tour of the artworks through the Rovaniemi Tourist Guides Association (Rovaniemen Matkailuoppaat ry).
Nordic design
The gathering place Agora and the Study space F-hub, separated from each other by a glass wall, are fine examples of Nordic design. In both spaces, all furniture, lighting solutions and textiles are Nordic design. In selecting furniture, central criteria have been timeless design, functionality, durability and ergonomic aspects. These spaces are open to everyone during the opening hours of the university.
Library
The Lapland University Consortium Library is a joint library of the University of Lapland and the Lapland University of Applied Sciences. In addition to the students and staff of the two universities, the library is open to non-university members.
Anyone aged 15 and over can get a library membership and a library card. The basic services of the library – borrowing, returning, reservation, and guidance about using the library’s resources – are free of charge to all library users. In addition, the library spaces are accessible to all during the opening hours of the library. Inter-library loan service, copy service, information skills training and other expert services are available for a fee as indicated in the LUC Library Service Price List.
The collections and expertise of the Lapland University Consortium Library focus on the core disciplines of the University of Lapland and the Lapland University of Applied Sciences. The library users have access to numerous Finnish and foreign databases as well as ca. 510,000 e-books and 85,000 e-journals. The library’s collections include ca. 174,000 print books and the library subscribes to ca. 140 print journals. All print and electronic resources are accessible to anyone in the library premises.
The Arktikum Science Centre and the Arctic Garden
The Arktikum building houses the exhibition of our science centre. The renewed Arctic Opposites exhibition opened to the public on 6 December 2024. It is a memorable and science-based exhibition that invites its quests to explore the special characteristics and life of the Arctic region.
While at Arktikum, we also recommend visiting the splendid Arctic Garden owned and run by the university. Lying adjacent to the Arktikum building and bordering the River Ounasjoki, today the garden’s seven hectares are home to a number of Arctic plants, particularly trees, wild plant species and fell vegetation. In the summer, the rays of the midnight sun illuminate the Arctic garden, and in wintertime, the garden is an excellent place for viewing auroras.