Rovaniemi is home to culturally significant trees and green areas, which are highlighted in this exhibition, exploring their history and present through a publication. The exhibition “TREES, PARKS, PEOPLE” is the result of collaboration among 11 artists and visual creators from various fields. The exhibition features photographs, lithographs, videos, sculptures, and installations. Additionally, there is a community art piece created by around sixty tree enthusiasts, showcasing photographs of trees that are to be preserved. The participating artists and visual creators are Miina Alajärvi, Tuija Hautala-Hirvioja, Panu Johansson, Hilkka Liikkanen, Mervi Löfgren Autti, Mari Mäkiranta, Kirsikka Paakkinen, Karoliina Paatos, Eila Puhakka, Kaisa Sirén, and Jukka Suvilehto.

Old trees have witnessed much, and each generation forms a new relationship with them. Trees are also an important part of people’s, cities’, and even nations’ identities, as they hold many stories, experiences, and lives. The artists in the exhibition express, through their works, the shock that arises from the felling of a nearby forest or an individual elderly tree. The grief is entirely justified, as within our lifetime, we simply cannot witness a newly planted tree reaching its full age. The lifespan of a tree can exceed human lifespan several times over; while our lives on Earth come to an end, the life of a tree is just beginning.

Poster image: Mari Mäkiranta
The exhibition has been granted by the Finnish Cultural Foundation