Jukka Rautio Retrospective Opens at Vapriikki, 7 October 2026 to 7 February 2027

Rautio helped define the visual language of Finnish sports photography over more than three decades, pioneering flash techniques. He installed Finland’s first overhead flash system at Hakametsä during the 1993–1994 Liiga season. He began freelancing in magazine photography in 1986 and switched full-time from stick to camera in 1991. Rautio served as an official International Ice Hockey Federation photographer at World Championships from 1998 to 2011. He also covered Olympic hockey in Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010.

His images appear across Finland’s leading magazines, advertising agencies and book publishers. Rautio produced Liiga trading-card photography from 1993 to 2021. He was chief photographer for Jääkiekkolehti for nearly thirty years and handled Liiga season portraits from 2002 to 2026. The exhibition, organised with Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo, samples work from his Liigan Laukauksia book series and other volumes. It showcases the speed, power and pivotal moments that have shaped modern Finnish ice hockey.

The exhibition is part of Vapriikki’s busy autumn programme, following a major photographic exhibition on early 1900s Tampere and Tunteella!, a members’ photo show, and it complements a recent walking tour tracing Tampere’s hockey heritage from Koulukatu to Pyynikki.