KANKAANPÄÄ ART SCHOOL’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION
This autumn marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Kankaanpää Art School. What once seemed like an audacious idea—to establish an art school in a rural area—has proven its viability. The work initiated by the school’s founders, sculptor and later professor Kauko Räike and painter Juhani Tarna, has not stagnated despite their gradual withdrawal from active roles. The school has continuously renewed itself, meeting the challenges of the times.
The late 1980s were significant in the school’s development. On August 1, 1987, Kankaanpää Art School transitioned under the jurisdiction of the Finnish National Board of Vocational Education as a secondary-level art institution. The Kankaanpää Art Association, which had overseen and supported the school since its inception, handed over its leadership to the City of Kankaanpää on August 1, 1989. On the same date, a decree on visual arts institutions formally established Kankaanpää Art School as a national art institution.
The 25th-anniversary exhibition of Kankaanpää Art School will open on Sunday, September 23, 1990, at 3:00 PM at Pori Art Museum. The exhibition will feature 19 emerging artists who graduated from the school: Anne Alho, Tuomo Blomqvist, Pirkko Holm, Ensio Härkönen, Pekka Kaikkonen, Markku Kivinen, Kaisu Koivisto, Assi Madekivi, Pekka Mattila, Irmeli Mäkilä, Pertti Mäkinen, Jaakko Niemelä, Reijo Paavilainen, Antti Raitala, Jukka Remes, Teemu Saukkonen, Marjo Suikkanen, Kari Tykkyläinen, and Riitta Uusitalo. The exhibition highlights a group of perceptive, internationally aware young artists, presenting Kankaanpää Art School as a contemporary and versatile educational institution.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Kankaanpää Art Association will publish an extensive history of the school, written by journalist Raimo Lilja. While the exhibition explores the current achievements of the school’s graduates, the history provides insight into 25 years of development, records key events, and introduces influential figures in the association’s and the school’s activities.
The press conference for the 25th-anniversary exhibition will take place at Pori Art Museum on Friday, September 21, 1990, starting at 11:30 AM. The event will feature long-time sculpture instructor and former principal (1974-74, 1980-82) Ossi Somma, alumnus and painting instructor Pekka Mattila (principal in 1986, 1988-89, and 1990), and Raimo Lilja, author of the school’s history.
Translated with ChatGPT