Helsinki: Artistically Driven

A city with an art and culture distinctly all it’s own, it’s home to numerous museums showcasing it’s nordic-style.

Valtion Taidemuseo -Located at Kaivokatu 2-4, the Finnish National Gallery is home to the Ateneum Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Sinebrychoff Art Museum, and the Central Art Archives. It’s basically Finland’s equivolent of the Smithsonian with a collection featuring literally hundreds of artists.

The Cygnaeus Gallery -The oldest art museum in Finland, it’s administered by the state with a large portion of it’s art donated by the late Professor Fredrik Cygnaeus. It’s featured more than 450 pieces by over a 100 different artists and is one of the only remaining wooden buildings in downtown Helsinki.

Designmuseo -Housing an immense design collection, this specialized museum also hosts lectures, workshops, classes, and collection-related events. I high recommend seeing it as it’s a very interesting place to see the transition in not just architectural design, but also craft-based design.

Seurasaari Open-Air Museum -A cultural museum displaying native structures from the 18th to the 20th century, and located on an island a short distance from Helsinki. Comprised of 87 separate buildings, this facility displays the rural country life of many of Finland’s ancestors.