FOUR CLASSIC PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM SOUTH SAVO Pekka Kautovaara, Ella Miller, Leo Montonen, Veikko Salmela

Mikkeli Centre of Photography has a very large (around 200,000 images) and high-quality image collection, with a particularly large number of historical images, but also contemporary art. The Centre strives to continue its activities until the images in the collection have been digitized and more than a thousand interviews transcribed. The interviews deal with life in South Savo. Particularly interesting are the stories of the people of Mikkeli about the events during the Winter and Continuation War.

The exhibition of four classic photographers from South Savo presents the work of Pekka Kautovaara (1945–2010), Ella Miller (1877–1947), Leo Montonen (1905–1968) and Veikko Salmela (1931–2016).

Pekka Kautovaara from Pieksämäki was a photographer of the handicraft tradition. Leo Montonen, who worked in the Puumala archipelago, traveled Saimaa on his boat and photographed people both at work and at parties. Ella Miller lived in the Inkilänhovi mansion in Juva and took pictures of her family. Veikko Salmela, a stonemason from Mikkeli, enjoyed kayaking, which he recorded as part of his photography hobby.