Mapsion Video Mapping Competition 25.9.-3.10.2026

Mapsion is an international video mapping competition, organized as a part of City of Light festival in Jyväskylä.

Competition mapping artworks will be shown on September 25 to October 3, 2026, every festival evening.

The City of Light event will serve as the stage for the international Mapsion competition. It promises a magical atmosphere and unique video works that are designed and tailored to the location being projected.

Open Call

Open Call for video mappings is open until August 17, 2026. 

Visit Mapsion.fi for more information on the application materials.

What is video mapping?

Video mapping is an art form in which a video work is projected onto the surface of a building. Mapsion is an event founded in 2022 and Finland's first and only international video mapping competition. 

Originally held at the Vuojoki Mansion in Eurajoki, the competition has had participants from almost 30 different countries in previous years. The name of the event, Mapsion, is a combination of the words "mapping" and "mansion".

The City Hall is an interesting and central location for projections

The location to be projected in the competition is chosen from among architecturally interesting buildings. The historically significant Jyväskylä City Hall was selected as the location for 2025, and it serves as a wonderful stage for video mapping art. 

The inspiring nature of the location is also evidenced by the fact that a record number of applications were received from around the world for the autumn 2025 competition, a total of 36.

A great addition to Jyväskylä's nighttime program offering and making light art more visible

The city of light has a long tradition of organizing light events and developing urban lighting. The competing works will now reach a completely new and significantly larger local and international target audience.

For Jyväskylä, Mapsion is a great addition to the nighttime program offering and makes light art even more visible. Jyväskylä has received an internationally interesting event concept for 2025-2027, which will bring interesting things to see, art and light to the city center for the whole family.

The winner of the Mapsion 2025 competition was Katsuhiko Kajitani from Japan

For the first time, the jury chose Katsuhiko Kajitani's (Kajiken) work Dance of Northern Lights (Japan) as the winner of the international Mapsion video projection competition held in Jyväskylä, which had already aroused the jury's interest. The work also received a big round of applause from the audience.

Second place in the competition went to Studio Moebius: Fragments (India) and third place went to Sami Voutilainen & Tuomas Virtanen: Drifting Silence (Finland). In addition, the jury wanted to give an honorable mention to Tuukka Toijanniemi from Jyväskylä for his work AGORA OF LIGHT (Finland). Toijanniemi's work was considered to be a work that was different in style and original in its idea.

Precise coding, skillful storytelling and craftsmanship

When choosing the winner, the jury looked at the visuals and technical implementation of the works, sound design, storytelling and idea, as well as the overall look. According to the jury, the winning work was of a high standard and professional, with elements of precision timecode.

The music was also specially composed and the dramatic arc was carefully considered. All of the winning works showed the authors' long experience and solid professionalism. In addition, the jury appreciated the craftsmanship in the winning works, elements created specifically for the works. 

The jury was unanimous in its favorite, but there was a bit more dispersion regarding the other winners. However, the jury wanted to choose works with different styles. The winners were awarded cash prizes. The first place winner won €2,500, the second place winner €1,500 and the third place winner €1,000.

The finalist works of the 2025 competition:

1.    Ari Dykier: I Had A Dream (Poland)

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2.    Katsuhiko Kajitani (Kajiken): Dance of Northern Lights (Japan)

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3.    Austin Shaw: All Insides Have Outsides (USA)

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4.    Farhan Raudah: A Star Is Born (Indonesia)

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5.    John Colette: assembly/.1 (Australia / Qatar)

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6.    Sami Voutilainen & Tuomas Virtanen: Drifting Silence (Finland)

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7.    Studio Moebius: Fragments (India)

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8.    David Hartono: Aalto Uusi Aalto (Italy)

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9.    SKGPLUS: M Signal (China)

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10.    Ardi Julianto (Ardi Chims): NUSANTARA (Indonesia)

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11.    Kati Angelov: In Flow (Hungary / USA)

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12.    Gábor Szűcs: Luminous Biomes (Slovakia)

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13.    Victoria Fofanova: Organic Matters (Finland)

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14.    Tuukka Toijanniemi: AGORA OF LIGHT (Finland)

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15.    Teemu Määttänen: Bendy Building Boogie (Finland)

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16.    David Bennett: Otherwise (USA)

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17.    FORMATE STUDIO: Diffraction (Brasil)

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