​The North Ostrobothnia Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation Donates a Public Artwork to Oulu in 2026

 

The artwork donation by the North Ostrobothnia Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation is part of a tradition that began in 1974, through which the fund has donated artworks to municipalities in the North Ostrobothnia region. In 2026, the recipient municipality is the City of Oulu.

Artists Ari Björn, John Collingswood, and Olga Prokhorova were invited to participate in the artwork donation through an invitation procedure. In 2025, they took part in a parallel sketch commission, in which the artists were asked to submit a proposal for a public artwork to be placed in the city of Oulu. The artists were invited by a three-member expert group consisting of Taija Jyrkäs, Chair of the North Ostrobothnia Fund’s Art Acquisition Committee, visual artist Kaija Hinkula, and Elina Vieru, Curator responsible for collection services at the Oulu Museum and Science Centre.

For 2026, the selected artist to realize the work is Olga Prokhorova, a performance artist based in Oulu. Prokhorova has performed in countries including Sweden, Norway, Russia, Estonia, and Mexico. In her performance art, she explores the boundaries between ritual, movement, behavior, and visual expression. Her artistic practice focuses on the mythological nature of human self-expression. Prokhorova uses both narrative and non-narrative thinking as tools to investigate our shared need to accept and to be accepted.

Central to Prokhorova’s artistic practice are the ideas of timeliness, entering, being, staying, and leaving. Her practice focuses on the composition of structures and the freedom to recompose them. Recurring themes in her works include standing apart, the continual search for one’s own air, and the courage to breathe it. In her work, the body functions as a tool that preserves traumas and life stories. It acts as an instrument between possibility and realization, between the living and the dead.

In 2026, as the art donation from the North Ostrobothnia Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, a series of performances titled JuoppoJoogaa (Drunk Yoga) by Olga Prokhorova—commissioned by the Oulu Museum and Science Centre—will be presented. During the European Capital of Culture year, the performances will infiltrate urban spaces and nature in different parts of Oulu. You can follow the artist’s work through her Instagram account @performateria, as well as through the communication channels of the City of Oulu and the Oulu Art Museum.

Prokhorova’s performances will take place on Fridays in April:

• 10 April 2026 at Rotuaari, Oulu, at 13:00

• 17 April 2026 at the Toppila disc golf course, at 16:00

• 24 April 2026 at Odessa Park, at 13:00

In May, the performances can be found:

• 8 May 2026 at the Heinäpää sports area, at 16:00

• 22 May 2026 at Einonpuisto in Nuottasaari, at 13:00

Olga Prokhorova may also appear in urban spaces outside these announced times, and you may encounter her in different locations around the city. The most up-to-date information about the artist’s movements can be found on her Instagram account @performateria.

You can explore the North Ostrobothnia Fund’s art acquisitions here:
https://skr.fi/hankkeet/pohjois-pohjanmaan-rahaston-taidehankinnat