Marianne Kauppila, an Oulu-based visual artist and designer specializing in murals, has been chosen as the Visual Artist of the Year for the Oulunsalo Soi Chamber Music Festival. Kauppila’s exhibition Rock’n’roll lovestyle is part of the festival programme and will be on display at the Oulunsalo Library from August 5 to September 28, 2026. The festival’s visual identity is based on works from the exhibition.
Kauppila has a distinctive style built on graphic elements and clean lines. In her works, the human world merges with nature-themed elements, creating a world of its own – timeless and without people. Through her art, Kauppila primarily explores the relationship with nature, human behavioral patterns, and everyday themes. At a deeper level, her work reflects global crises affecting the Earth and humanity, environmental concerns, and a certain profound sadness about the horrors of the world and human indifference.
In the Rock’n’roll lovestyle exhibition, these themes are approached through the perspective of music. The exhibition explores Kauppila’s relationship with music and how it has evolved over her lifetime. The works move through emotional states from love to sorrow, loss, and disappointment, then to anger, and ultimately back to joy and happiness through rebuilding. “The series portrays how music has shaped my identity and my experience of the world from a personal perspective, as well as its significance in my life,” Kauppila explains.
Kauppila is also featured in the Artists Arise in the Delta documentary series as part of the Oulu August Festivals, which has followed the journey of six young artists since 2024 toward Oulu’s year as European Capital of Culture.
The Oulunsalo Soi Chamber Music Festival will take place August 5–9, 2026, in the Oulu region as part of the Oulu August Festivals. The festival programme will be published in May.
