Visitation Sights

Welcome to Valve!

Cultural Centre Valve is a versatile centre of culture, work space, and communal hotspot in the Oulu City Centre. Valve hosts a space for exhibitions, performances, recreational activities, as well as a wide variety of events for all age groups.

Valve is located in the heart of the city, on Hallituskatu 7. Find information about our current events from our event calendar on our front page (scroll down a bit).

Restaurant and Galleries Welcome Visitors

Restaurant Valveen Paljetti

Restaurant Valveen Paljetti located on the street level of Valve offers delicious lunch food, café and restaurant services, as well as a cozy meeting spot. Restaurant space hosts weekly changing events, like Art goes Afterwork on (most) Friday’s, which presents an assortment of interesting performers. The restaurant has an alcohol license, and offers food options for vegans and vegetarians.

Galleries

From the first floor, in addition to restaurant space’s changing exhibition, you can find our other galleries: Valve Gallery, Comics Gallery! (fi: Sarjakuvagalleria!) and Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre’s Gallery and Foyer Gallery. All galleries have free entrance!

Northern Photographic Centre’s office also holds a comprehensive library of Nordic Photobooks, that can be read on the spot or borrowed upon agreement.

Comics Shop and Cultural Magazine Gallery

Next to the Comics Gallery! you can find the Oulu branch of Turku Comics Store. The shop holds a selection of about 2500 comic books in Finnish and English.

In connection with Valveen Paljetti, locates a Cultural Magazine Gallery. Magazine gallery holds a collection of Kultti ry’s member publications. Magazines are available for everyone to read freely on the spot.

Studio Cinema and Film Library

The Studio Cinema managed by Oulu Film Centre is located on the second floor of Valve. Studio is a 45-seat Art House cinema, that has a self service coat rack and seats in its entrance area. Studio is accessible for people with reduced mobility. The signs in Valve’s lobby will guide you in the right place, by using the stairs or the elevator. Toilets for Studio’s customers are located in the basement floor (public toilets and an accessible toilet) and on the third floor (unisex toilets).

You can find Studio’s program from Oulu Film Centre’s website, and from our event calendar on front page.

Oulu Film Centre has one of the country’s largest specialized film library and archive’s. Library is located on the second floor of Valve, in Oulu Film Centre’s facilities.

Valvesali Hall

In Valvesali Hall, located on the first floor, you get to enjoy a changing program of different performances. Valvesali Hall’s repertoire regularly includes dance, theatre, concerts, contemporary circus, seminars, fairs and much more. Valvesali offers events both, with entrance fee and free entrance. Valvesali Hall’s lobby has a free self service coat check as well as chairs and benches. Valvesali and its lobby are not alcohol licensed areas, unless it is seperately specified in a certain event’s info. Within restaurant Valveen Paljetti’s opening hours, you may enjoy refreshments before, on intermission, or after the event, inside the restaurant space.

Valvenäyttämö Stage

The smaller performance space in Valve is Valvenäyttämö Stage, located on the second floor. Valvenäyttämö presents regular performances by Theatre Akseli Klonk and The Student Theatre of Oulu. Valvenäyttämö also acts as a meeting space for different amateur theatre goups. Signs on the first floor lobby will guide you to Valvenäyttämö, by using the stairs or the elevator.