Perspectives on urban culture are presented in the exhibition space on the fourth floor of the city museum. We are building a training hall for the Sun Bodi exhibition to evoke the atmosphere of the 80s and 90s. Soon you’ll be sweating on the rowing machine, thinking about your body image at different times and measuring Arnold Schwarzenegger’s chin.
The meeting place is the gym
Sun Bodi – The sweaty history of gyms tells about gyms and gym enthusiasts. Competing bodybuilders, powerlifters, fitness athletes and amateurs improving their fitness – what moves them? Why do people go to gyms or group exercise classes? In the exhibition, gym enthusiasts will have a voice. The topic is connected to subtle perspectives and themes that evoke strong emotions, the focus of which is one’s own appearance and that of others, the objects and meanings of gazes, body peace, beauty and health.
Finland’s first gyms in the early 20th century were mainly intended for wrestlers, gymnasts and general athletes. Today, gyms are exercise places where everyone can develop or maintain their own fitness. Exercise brings joy and health, but we also don’t want to avoid difficult topics related to bodybuilding and body shaping, both at the hobbyist and professional level.
The exhibition was designed by Tuomas Siitonen and Päivi Roivainen from Good Kombo. The producers of the exhibition are the city museum’s Sauli Seppälä and Jari Harju and the graphic designer Tero Juuti . The marketing look of the exhibition was designed by Niklas Nabb , Sini Teppola , Maria Nordström and Barbara Sorsa from Hasan & Partners. Admission to the exhibition and events is free.
