Over 190,000 visitors to the Virta Cultural Center in 2025

The Virta Cultural Centre's spring 2026 programme is once again extensive. There will be concerts, exhibitions, lectures and events for the whole family.

The number of visitors to the Virta Cultural Centre in 2025 was 190,836. Of these, 53,920 people visited the concert hall, 117,640 visited the library, 13,067 visited the art museum and 6,209 visited the city museum.

Last year, a total of 265 events were held in Virta, of which 52 were paid. A total of 12,002 tickets were sold, and the meeting and gathering facilities were used for a total of 5,002 hours.

– The figures are slightly lower than last year. However, the hours of use of the meeting rooms have increased from a year ago, which is due to the increase in organizational activities in the building, says the production manager of Kulttuuritalo Virta. Juha Leskinen.

A diverse range of gigs at Karelia Hall

There is also something for everyone in the diverse program coverage of the Karelia Hall at the Virta Cultural Center. There will be well-known Finnish names, festive tours and nostalgic theme performances, but also entertainment suitable for the whole family.

– The spring program is of top quality and the venue will feature some of the toughest names in Finland. Now, if ever, is the time to come to the gigs! Leskinen encourages.

Excerpts from Virta's spring program:

Sat 7.2. “Still Got The Blues” tribute to Gary Moore
Sun 15.2. For the sake of a friend – Mikko Töyssy and Nina Tapio
Sat 7.3. Evening: Behind Every Smile
Sat 14.3. Club For Five – Great Finns
Thu 19.3. Erja Lyytinen – 50^th Rock Blues Birthday Party Tour
Fri 20.3. Ilari Johansson – not just that
Sat 21.3. Saara Aalto & Teemu Roivainen – Love Story
Fri 27.3. Finnish rock musical – Eput, Juice, Hassisen's Machine at Ihan Tuuliajolla
Sun 12.4. Hevisaurus World Tour Spring -26 Räyh!
Sat 25.4. Mira Luoti

Imatra Art Museum and Corridor Gallery's exhibitions at the beginning of the year

Until the end of January, the Imatra Art Museum will be on display Petri Kaverman The Reports exhibition is part of the artist's Body and Iron exhibition trilogy, which consists of three independent exhibitions. In the exhibition trilogy, Kaverma examines masculinity, death, rituals, the relationship between nature and machine, and environments and contexts perceived as masculine.

In addition, the art museum's collection space will be on display until the end of January. Sinikka Kurkinen The Sun and Pigeons exhibition features Kurkinen's paintings from the 1960s–2010s as well as his less frequently seen works on paper.

In spring 2026, the Imatra Art Museum will be taken over by sculptor Liisa Hietanen's delightful visual sculptures made with crochet and knitting. In the exhibition Truth and Fiction, Hietanen's models are people she has encountered, as well as everyday objects and phenomena, from radiators to a Thursday pea soup meal. The exhibition will also feature Hietanen's latest works, in which the artist has taken a step towards the world of imagination. The exhibition will be on display from 13 February to 29 May 2026.

Spring exhibitions at the Corridor Gallery:

January 7–30.1 Timo Tarvainen IN THE BEGINNING WAS...
3.–27.2. February Imatra Art Association – Black and White
May 5–29.5 Venla Kähkönen – Kalma's Longing

Lectures and music performances at the main library

As is traditional, Imatra Main Library will host lectures and musical performances in the spring. On Thursday, January 29.1, the library will host a lecture entitled Current online scams and artificial intelligence in scams. The lecture will be given by a trainer from the Consumers' Union. Jaana Savolainen.

The spring program also includes music. Markojuhani Rautavaara & Ramblin' Rautis will perform at the main library, Lauluja merellä ja maalta, where Rautavaara's older and newer recorded production will be heard acoustically. During the concert, Rautavaara will talk about the interesting backgrounds of his songs.

Crime writers will be guest authors in the spring season Noora Mustajoki ja Bosse Hellsten and professor emeritus Timo Airaksinen.

All events at Virta Cultural Centre can be found at www.kulttuuritalovirta.fi