Summary:
Annu Hanhela, Merikoskikerho – Enlivening the Cultural Life in Oulu
The cultural organization Merikoskikerho was founded in Oulu in 1945 to cultivate the cultural aspirations of both its members and the people of Oulu. In the early years of its operations, the club focused mainly on literary artistic hobbies, until in 1952 the sphere of operations was expanded to also cover visual arts, dramatics, music and the fields of journalism as well as in 1962 architecture, as well.
Merikoskikerho fulfilled its mission by organizing public events targeted at the club members as well as a wider audience. These events included matinees and discussion meetings. In the 1950s and 1960s, the most impressive form of operation of the Merikoskikerho was Oulun taidepäivät (Oulu’s Art Event) organized every second year. The club members were slightly conservative art devotees and artists from Oulu.
The activities of the Merikoskikerho faded away in the end of the 1970s. The club’s activities were not sufficiently renewed along with the changes in the society and radicalization of the cultural life, so the club lost its topicality. The golden age of the Merikoskikerho was the 1950s with its art events.
