The spring “Masters Behind the Camera” general lecture series takes audiences on a visual journey into the region’s waterways and the stories of the Old Church

The Adult Education Centre of the Tampere Region’s spring Masters Behind the Camera general lecture series introduces audiences to the history of Tampere’s waterways and the stories of the Old Church. The photography-themed lecture series is free of charge, and the lectures can be attended either in the Sampola auditorium or watched live on YouTube.
An old photograph showing people on the shore of a lake. Boats in the foreground and trees on the edge.
Summer leisure at the shore of the Sumelius Villa in Pyynikki in the 1890s. Photo: The Vapriikki Photo Archive.

The spring season of the Masters Behind the Camera lecture series (Mestarit kameran takaa) at the Adult Education Centre of the Tampere Region will open on Tuesday, 10 February 2026, from 17:30 to 19:45 with a lecture titled Tampere’s Waterways in Old Photographs. The lecture will be given by Antti Liuttunen, researcher at the Vapriikki Photo Archive.

The second lecture of the spring will take place on Tuesday, 7 April 2026, from 17:30 to 19:45 and will introduce the audience to the 200-year history of Tampere’s Old Church. The lecture will explore how churches have appeared in the Tampere cityscape and what significance they have held for ordinary people. The topic will be presented by Hanna-Liisa Onnela, Executive Director of the Tampere-seura association.

– The lecture series is suitable for anyone interested in the layers of history visible across Tampere’s landscapes. Tampere is surrounded by waterways, which have provided settings for work, city-building, and leisure alike. The Old Church, meanwhile, is a well-known landmark in the city centre, says course coordinator Kristiina Kestinen, who is responsible for the series.

The Masters Behind the Camera lecture series can be followed either on-site at Sampola or via a live stream on the Adult Education Centre’s YouTube channel. The recordings will not be available. 

The lectures are held in Finnish.

The Sampola auditorium is accessible and located on the building’s second floor. The accessible entrance is through door E in the inner courtyard. A lift provides access between floors.

Text: Anna-Katariina Maksimoff
Photos: The Vapriikki Photo Archive
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