Must Experience Art Museums in Finland: Top Picks for Exhibitions 2025

Art Museums and exhibitions in Finland 2025

This article introduces fascinating art museums in Finland highlighting their exhibitions located around the country.

Serlachius: A Unique Blend of Art, History, and Nature

Serlachius offers an array of exciting experiences, just an hour’s drive from Tampere! Located in Mänttä, the Serlachius museums provide a unique blend of art, history, architecture, and exceptional culinary and sauna experiences amidst Finland’s stunning lake district. Just 3 km apart, the two museums form a cultural haven: one set in serene parklands by the lakeshore, home to the acclaimed Serlachius Art Sauna, and the other in the heart of Art Town Mänttä, combining award-winning contemporary architecture with historic charm.

Serlachius is a vibrant meeting place for those who appreciate high-quality art and storytelling. The museums host a variety of exhibitions, showcasing contemporary art, masterpieces from Finland’s Golden Age, and historic European works. In the summer, visitors can wander through a sculpture park and explore an art-filled island.

Enhance your visit with soft activities like Nordic walking, berry picking, or cycling. Relax with a forest stroll or a guided tour to learn about Finnish nature and culture. The museums also allow visitors to borrow bicycles, Nordic walking poles, and, during the summer season, rowing boats too! Other conveniences include two museum shops where you can pick up a unique gift or souvenir.

For a unique wellness experience, the Art Sauna offers public sauna days every Tuesday, immersing visitors in art, design, and stunning architecture. Food enthusiasts can indulge at Restaurant Gösta, known for its pure flavors and ranked among the best museum restaurants in Europe.

For easy access, the museums offer Train & Taxi packages tailored for visitors using public transportation. On Tuesdays (€37), enjoy a seamless journey that combines art, history, and relaxation at the Art Sauna. On Saturdays (€31), experience a cultural adventure with transfers between the two museums. Both packages include shared taxi transfers to and from Vilppula railway station and entrance to all exhibitions. Please note, train tickets are not included.

Eija-Liisa Ahtila – Reflection of a Forest – Serlachius Manor 14.12.2024—27.4.2025
Eija-Liisa Ahtila’s third commissioned work for Serlachius is “Reflection of a Forest,” an eight-channel installation with the forest playing a central role. Ahtila continues to challenge the narrative of moving images and the human-centric perspective. She seeks ways of representation and expression that can create a more balanced picture of the living reality of our planet.

Salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears – Serlachius Manor 7.9.2024—23.3.2025
Nastja Säde Rönkkö’s three-channel video installation
Tears and drops of blood and sweat create a tragic story about lost love and its chaotic emotional consequences. Nastja Säde Rönkö’s (b. 1985) video installation is driven by a poetic text: intimate, ambiguous verses tell not only about love, but also about lost and found identity, a scarred planet and our ever-changing world. The artist herself is the narrator of the video.

ROR–ABC, Revolutions on Request – 23.3.2024—23.3.2025
Did someone order a revolution? ROR is Back! But what is ROR? How does ROR look, feel, sound? Is it art or circuses?

Tampere Art Museum

Tampere Art Museum organises changing exhibitions on the themes of art history, and presents old masters as well as the newest artists of contemporary art, featuring both local and international artists. The museum’s annual highlight is its announcement of the Young Artist of the Year and the subsequent award exhibition. Tampere Art Museum manages Finland’s second largest art collection, which comprises more than 15,000 works. Many of the works can be seen in the city’s public outdoor and indoor spaces.

Tampere Art Museum is 90 years old, having opened in 1931 as Finland’s third art museum. The museum came under the ownership of the city of Tampere in 1985. It has operated throughout its existence in the granary building designed by C.L. Engel, completed in 1838, on the edge of Pyynikintori. The main building of Tampere Art Museum is the third oldest building in the city, significant in terms of cultural history and the cityscape.

In the museum shop, you can find an excellent selection of gifts and souvenirs, as well as a wide range of publications related to our exhibitions, art postcards, decorative products and many other interesting things.

In the Light Gallery: Joel Slotte – Mosse and Tattooed Friends – 24.10.2024 – 9.3.2025 – Tampere city centre 
The artist for this year’s Light Gallery is Joel Slotte, the Young Artist of the Year 2021. The Light Gallery artworks will be projected onto the walls of buildings during the dark time in Tampere city centre starting from 24 October. The Light Gallery is part of the Tampere Festival of Light programme. Joel Slotte’s Mosse and Tattooed Friends juxtaposes mythical creatures and medieval medicinal herbs with symbols of death metal music and pop surrealism.

Surrealism – Collective Dream –  8.2.2025 – 10.8.2025
Surrealism – Collective Dream celebrates the one-hundred-year history of international surrealist art. This full-house exhibition explores surrealist art’s vision of reality, highlighting encounters between the movement’s pioneers and notable contemporary artists.

Ateneum

The Ateneum is an internationally known and respected art museum whose exhibitions attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Ateneum is a beloved meeting place for art, people and experiences.

The highly popular exhibitions of the Ateneum showcase both international and Finnish artists. Paired with the museum’s topical research activities, the exhibitions provide new information and perspectives to the visitors. Museum´s collection exhibition The Question of Time participates in the current debate of the 21st century. Exhibition ponders how the country’s oldest and largest art collection can now and in the future feel both personal and common – to all of us.

Besides exhibitions, the Ateneum organises a wide range of events, talks, workshops and discussions on current topics. Thanks to its rich educational programme, the museum attracts thousands of children and young people every year.

At Café Höijer, on the third floor of the Ateneum, visitors can crown their museum visit in a beautiful setting. The café is located in the middle of the exhibition spaces, so it is only open to customers who have purchased a museum ticket. Café Höijer offers classic café products served to table. In addition to small savoury and sweet items, the café offers a diverse selection of wines and coffees.

Ateneum is a part of the Finnish National Gallery which is the national museum of fine arts. It operates three of Finland’s best-known museums: the Ateneum Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Sinebrychoff Art Museum. It also manages the national art collection and its archives, develops Finnish cultural heritage and promotes art to the wider public.

Collection: A Question of Time – Permanent exhibition
Our collection exhibition A Question of Time reflects on the major questions of our time through art. The exhibition also offers fresh perspectives into Finland’s oldest and most extensive art collection and how it was built.

Gothic Modern – 4.10.2024–26.1.2025
This international exhibition presents modern art from the 19th and 20th centuries that is inspired by European mediaeval and Northern Renaissance art. The themes of the diverse exhibition include death and rituals, but also sexuality and enlightenment.

Crossing Borders – Travelling Women Artists in the 1800s – 7.3.–24.8.2025 
For the first time, works by women artists who studied and worked in Germany in the 19th century are brought together in one exhibition. At the time, women had to choose between a career and a family, and they did not yet have the right to vote. The artists featured in Crossing Borders paved the way for the next generation of artists.

Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien – 26.9.2025 – 1.2.2026
Akseli Gallen-Kallela and the Secessionists met in early 20th-century Vienna. The exhibition, which brings together modern art, fashion and design, explores the pulse of Vienna and brings the paintings of the artist Gustav Klimt to Finland for the first time.

Moomin Museum

The world’s only Moomin Museum in Tampere is an experiential art museum that attracts Moomin aficionados and art lovers of all ages. In the Moomin museum, you will get to know the beloved stories of the Moomins with Tove Jansson’s original illustrations, you can step into the magician’s hat and experience the magic of Moomin Valley, explore detailed Moomin drawings and see a sparkling comet flying through space. In the museum’s Studio, museum visitors can roll up their sleeves and make things. You can easily spend an hour or two in the museum, and there is plenty to see for several visits.

The foundation of the Moomin Museum is Tove Jansson’s (1914–2001) unique collection of Moomin art, which she donated to the Tampere Art Museum in 1986. Moomin illustrations have been presented in Tampere for over 30 years. In the basic exhibition of the Moomin museum, the always fascinating Moomin stories created by Tove Jansson unfold through drawings, paintings, three-dimensional dioramas, and various guides, offering a spark for the imagination and a response to the longing for stories. Visitors discover where it all started, how Moomins came into existence from Tove’s pen, and what happened after that. The three-dimensional tableaux created by Tove’s spouse, graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä (1917–2009), immortalise mysterious scenes from Moomin stories. In the heart of the museum lies the museum’s pride and joy, the five-story and two-metre high, blue-painted Moomin House with its numerous secrets.

Jansson’s Moomin books have been translated into more than 50 languages – and their life wisdom, warmth, kindness and sense of adventure have timeless appeal to Moomin fans around the world. You can also experience the same atmosphere in the Moomin Museum.

Artist’s Life – Tove Jansson – 20.4.2024–19.5.2025
Tove Jansson is one of the internationally most renowned Finnish artists. Jansson is best known for her Moomin characters. The exhibition at the Moomin Museum’s Observatory examines her other work and life. Tove Jansson colourful life was full of twists, work, relationships, strong emotions, love, and drama.

The Sinebrychoff Art Museum: A Showcase of European Masterpieces

The Sinebrychoff Art Museum presents the National Gallery’s distinguished collection of European masterpieces, spanning the 14th to the 19th century. From exquisite Swedish portraiture to breathtaking Dutch, Flemish, Italian, and French masterpieces, the museum brings centuries of artistic brilliance to life. Highlights include Finland’s only Rembrandt painting, The Reading Monk, and the country’s largest collection of miniatures.

At the heart of the museum is the Paul and Fanny Sinebrychoff Home Museum, which is on permanent display on the second floor of the building. Their elegant home, meticulously preserved, provides a rare glimpse into aristocratic life—plus, entry is completely free.

Valentin de Boulogne: Allegory of Italy

For a limited time, Valentin de Boulogne’s monumental painting Allegory of Italy (1628–29) will be on display. This masterpiece, on loan from Rome’s Villa Lante during its renovation, showcases the dramatic artistry of Caravaggio’s closest followers. A special mini-exhibition explores the painting’s rich historical context. On view until June 1, 2025.

This year, the Sinebrychoff Art Museum invites visitors to hear tales of ancient heroes and explore mythical Spain through two captivating exhibitions.

Classical Heroes (13.2.–10.8.2025)
This exhibition explores the timeless stories of ancient heroes, characterized by strength, wit, beauty, sacrifice, and misfortune. It examines the concept of heroism and its enduring influence on Western culture.

Spain Beyond the Myths (11.9.2025–11.1.2026)
Spain has fascinated European tourists since the 18th century. Often associated with flamenco and mystery, this exhibition presents depictions of mythical Spain and 19th- and 20th-century paintings that look toward a new era.

Located on Bulevardi, between Hietalahdentori Square and Sinebrychoff Park, the museum is just 1.4 km from Helsinki Central Station—a must-visit for art lovers in the heart of the city.

Aboa Vetus Ars Nova – Museum of Archaeology and Contemporary Art

Aboa Vetus Ars Nova, located in the heart of Turku, Finland, is a unique museum that combines archaeology and contemporary art. Situated along the picturesque Aura River, the museum is housed in the historic Rettig Palace, a stunning example of baroque classicism that enhances its cultural and historical significance.

The Aboa Vetus section, Finland’s only archaeological museum, unveils the story of old Turku. Visitors can explore a fascinating underground town quarter, offering a glimpse into centuries of life in the city. Through ongoing excavations on the museum grounds, the collection of archaeological finds continues to grow, shedding new light on Finland’s past.

The Ars Nova section features high-quality contemporary art exhibitions, showcasing current artists and phenomena. The museum also maintains the The Aboa Vetus Ars Nova Foundation Art Collection, which includes a diverse range of works from Finnish and Western art history. The oldest pieces in the collection date back to the late 19th century, while the main focus is on art from the 1950s to the present. The collection expands through new acquisitions and donations, ensuring a dynamic and evolving representation of modern and contemporary art.

Whether exploring the history of ancient Turku or discovering contemporary art, Aboa Vetus Ars Nova provides a unique cultural experience in a beautiful riverside location.

Grönlund–Nisunen: Interferences – ARS NOVA – 7.2.—25.5.2025
The artist duo, Grönlund–Nisunen are well-known for their kinetic installations and sculptures combining technology and sound. The duo’s professional background is in architecture and music provide a foundation for artworks that explore space, light, sound and movement. Their artworks are based on everyday observations related to physical phenomena, such as electric current, radiation, gravity, magnetism and the properties of matter and sound.

Raisa Raekallio & Misha del Val: Milieu – ARS NOVA – 7.2.—25.5.2025
The artist couple Raisa Raekallio and Misha del Val are based in Sirkka, a village of 890 inhabitants in Kittilä, near the Levi fell. They have been painting and living together there for the past 10 years. What is unusual about Raisa and Misha’s practise is that they paint together on the same canvas. Their works are intimate genre paintings, familiar from art history, depicting people’s everyday lives, pastimes, gatherings and celebrations.

Turku Art Museum

Located right in the heart of Turku, in scenic Puolalanpuisto park, the Turku Art Museum has played a significant role in Finnish art life since 1904. The granite building of Turku Art Museum, designed by professor Gustaf Nyström, is a fine example of the national romantic style and has been chosen as the most beautiful building in Turku and a popular attraction on its own.

Turku Art Museum’s versatile exhibition program introduces visitors to the fascinating world of art, from iconic pieces to the very latest contemporary artworks. Alongside its rich exhibition programme, the museum also stages events presented in a beautiful setting that invites interaction and relaxation. You can stop by the atmospheric Café Victor for a coffee, and in the summer one of the city’s most stunning terraces offers a view over the city.

The museum’s collection focuses on Finnish and Nordic visual art. The collection is especially known for the golden age of Finnish art, Finnish surrealism and pop art, as well as self-portraits. Today, the museum’s collection includes almost 7,600 works, and part of the collection is constantly on display in the museum’s changing collection exhibitions.

Elina Merenmies: Everything shows – 4.10.2024–12.1.2025
Elina Merenmies is a visual artist working with painting and drawing, and is known for works that combine an expressionistic style and meticulous detail. Their dreamlike world is a mixture of inner visions and real events. Merenmies’ deep relationship with nature and empathy for all living things are reflected in her choice of subject matter. Close-ups of human faces are a central and recurring theme, while mystical forests, trees, branches and roots are a constant source of fascination for the artist.

JUHA JORO – 29.11.2024 – 12.1.2025
Juha Joro, who has had a long and distinguished career as a visual artist, has spent the last few years working in the field of photography. The exhibition features new works made with infrared photography, whose soft tones and dreamlike atmosphere emphasise the influence of time and the mysticism of abandoned places. Joro’s monochromatic and black and white expression reduces the subject to its essence: a dialogue between light and shadow.

ANNI KINNUNEN: Hollow – 
29.11. 2024 – 12.1.2025
The unreal atmosphere in Anni Kinnunen’s works is created during carefully constructed, authentic photoshoots. Like a painter, she uses colour and light in a way that creates a surreal and magical feeling. The negotiation at the interface between the natural and the unnatural also opens up to the nature of beauty and reality.

What (a) Colour – from 26.11.2024
Colour is one of art’s key means of expression, operating within a register of perception, physical experience and cultural conventions. It has proven impossible to define it exhaustively, but the power of colour always tempts us to rethink. The exhibition features works from the collection of the Turku Art Museum and explores how to interpret the meaning of colour in visual art in the light of recent art research. The gaze wanders across the spectrum of the Golden Age of Finnish art, modernism and contemporary art.

WeeGee Exhibition Centre

The WeeGee exhibition centre in Tapiola, Espoo, is a versatile hub for museums, exhibitions, and events. WeeGee house is home to EMMA (the Espoo Museum of Modern Art), KAMU (Espoo City Museum), and the Mauri Kunnas Exhibition, as well as Delicatessen WeeGee, and the museum store EMMA Shop. WeeGee operates in the former Weilin&Göös printing house designed by Professor Aarno Ruusuvuori (1925–1992). In WeeGee’s yard the Futuro house, a plastic house designed by architect Matti Suuronen, is open to public from mid-May to mid-September.

EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art is one of the most important art museums in Finland. The largest in Finland in terms of surface area, EMMA’s spacious premises and minimalist modern architecture provides an inspirational backdrop for presenting modern and contemporary art and design. In addition to changing exhibitions, part of the collections of Collection Kakkonen, Saastamoinen Foundation, and the Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation are on permanent display at EMMA.

KAMU – Espoo City Museum is a cultural history museum. It features an exhibition about the history of Espoo, The Manor Along the King’s Road. Espoo Manor was founded by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden in 1556. KAMU offers visitors of all ages unforgettable museum experiences through events, guided tours, and workshops.

Exhibitions at EMMA 2025:

Ulla Wiggen: Passage – 18.09.2024 – 26.01.2025
The exhibition showcases paintings by the Swedish artist Ulla Wiggen (b. 1942) throughout her career spanning over six decades. Wiggen’s career is marked by distinct yet surprising transitions from one subject to another. Her works also feature various kinds of transitions and passages, where the viewer’s gaze focuses inward on the depicted subject and then back outward again.

Tschabalala Self: Around the Way 08.05.2024 – 04.05.2025
American artist Tschabalala Self (b. 1990) regards herself primarily as a painter, although her works can also be seen as collages. In addition to painting with various pigments Self incorporates textiles, threads and printmaking in her works.

Rashaad Newsome: Untitled (New Way) –  24.11.2023 – 23.11.2025
The silent Untitled (New Way) (2009) is a piece by the American artist Rashaad Newsome (b. 1979) which renders the moving body sculptural, or like a drawing in space, whilst relishing the cultural specificity and artistry of voguing.

Experiments in Concretism, 06.03.2024 – 02.03.2025
EMMA’s collection exhibition offers a fresh take on the long tradition and contemporary forms of concrete art. Featuring work by more than fifty artists, the show highlights the complexity, material diversity and playful approach of the movement.

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma

Located in the heart of Helsinki, Kiasma is Finland’s most important museum of contemporary art, and part of the National Gallery of Finland. Kiasma has galleries on five floors, allowing it to exhibit numerous temporary exhibitions of the most fascinating contemporary art of the moment, by international and Finnish artists, alongside its own changing collection exhibitions. In addition to exhibitions, Kiasma organises live live performances and engaging events throughout the year. The Kiasma Library stands as a beacon for contemporary art enthusiasts, housing a rich collection of literature dedicated to the genre. Meanwhile, the Kiasma Theatre provides a stage for riveting live performances by contemporary artists, often weaving narratives that resonate with ongoing exhibition themes.

The architectural marvel of the Kiasma building, completed in 1998, has become a notable modern landmark in the city centre. Alongside notable structures like Musiikkitalo, Oodi library, and Alvar Aalto’s Finlandia Hall, Kiasma highlights Finland’s ongoing dedication to the arts.

Kiasma primarily collects contemporary art works from Finland and neighbouring regions.The works acquired by Kiasma are part of the collections of the National Gallery and thus an important part of Finnish cultural heritage. The National Gallery’s collections currently include 8,800 contemporary art pieces from nearly 1,000 artists. In recognition of the realm of online art, Kiasma has carved a digital niche with its Online Art site, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in web-based artworks tailored for the digital era.

Located on the ground floor, the Kiasma shop stocks a wide range of products related to current exhibitions, along with contemporary art books, examples of Finnish design, distinctive jewellery and fun surprises for kids. Across the hall, Kiasma café is a fully licensed restaurant, serving delicious lunch and café specialities that are made on the premises. During summer months, the spacious terrace, set against the backdrop of the equestrian statue of Marshal Mannerheim, provides a tranquil oasis. Soon, it will be adorned with Nina Beier’s captivating fountain installation, “Women & Children” (2022), featuring a collection of found bronze sculptures, promising a mesmerising sensory experience for visitors during summer months.

Feels Like Home – Kiasma’s Collection Exhibition – 12.1.2024–12.1.2025
The exhibition showcasing works from the Finnish National Gallery collection, leads the audience into the themes of home and belonging.

Pauline Curnier Jardin – 11.10.2024–23.2.2025
The exhibition brings to Kiasma Pauline Curnier Jardin’s works dealing with prevailing norms and stereotypes. Her works are often wildly humorous and visually abundant in both form and style.

Milky Way Tour – 15.11.2024–23.3.2025
The infinite expanse of space and the mystery of human existence on our planet have intrigued artists throughout the ages. This exhibition invites visitors to explore humanity’s relationship with the environment, other species, and technology. What is our role and future in the universe?