Helsinki is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and serves as the seat of the Uusimaa region in southern Finland. Approximately 675,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.25 million in the capital region, and 1.58 million in the metropolitan area. As the most populous urban area in Finland, it is the country's most significant centre for politics, education, finance, culture, and research. Helsinki is situated 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the north of Tallinn, Estonia, 360 kilometres (220 mi) to the north of Riga, Latvia, 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 kilometres (190 mi) to the west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has significant historical connections with these four cities.
Finland attracted over 6.8 million foreign tourists in 2018, with 53 percent coming from other European Union states. In 2017, the value added by tourism was about 4.6 billion euros, or 2.6% of the Finnish GDP, providing approximately 140,200 jobs.
The year 1998 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.
Steven Holl is a New York–based American architect and watercolorist.
The VR warehouses were a group of redbrick railway warehouses designed by Bruno Granholm in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. They were used by the Finnish State Railways from their construction in 1899 until the 1980s. Their official address was Mannerheimintie 13. The warehouses were badly damaged in a fire on 5 May 2006 and were subsequently demolished. The Helsinki Music Centre was built on the site of the warehouses.
Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of Rautatientori square close to Helsinki Central railway station. It has the biggest collections of classical art in Finland. Before 1991 the Ateneum building also housed the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and University of Art and Design Helsinki.
Finnish National Gallery is the largest art museum institution of Finland. It consists of the Ateneum, an art museum; Kiasma, a contemporary art museum; and the Sinebrychoff Art Museum, a historic house and art museum.
The architecture of Finland has a history spanning over 800 years, and while up until the modern era the architecture was highly influenced by Sweden, there were also influences from Germany and Russia. From the early 19th century onwards influences came directly from further afield: first when itinerant foreign architects took up positions in the country and then when the Finnish architect profession became established.
Amos Rex is an art museum named after the publisher and arts patron Amos Anderson and located in Lasipalatsi, on Mannerheimintie boulevard in Helsinki, Finland. It opened in 2018 and rapidly reached international popularity, attracting more than 10,000 visitors in a matter of weeks.
Helsinki Art Museum, abbreviated as HAM, is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland. It is located in Tennispalatsi in the district of Kamppi. The museum reopened after renovations and rebranding in 2015.
Magnus Scharmanoff is a Finnish photographic artist, earlier associated with The Helsinki School. He lives and works in Helsinki. He helped create the Bonk Business with another Finnish artist and sculptor Alvar Gullichsen.
Nordic art is the art made in the Nordic countries: Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and associated territories. Scandinavian art refers to a subset of Nordic art and is art specific for the Scandinavian countries Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Guggenheim Helsinki Plan was an initiative to establish a Guggenheim museum in Helsinki, Finland. A proposal was introduced to the Helsinki City Council in 2011. After rejection of the initial plan in 2012, a new plan, introduced in 2013, was considered and finally rejected in 2016.
The Helsinki Central Library Oodi, commonly referred to as Oodi, is a public library in Helsinki, Finland. The library is situated in the Kluuvi district, close to Helsinki Central Station and next to Helsinki Music Centre and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. Despite its name, the library is not the main library in the Helsinki City Library system, which is located in Pasila instead; "central" refers to its location in the city centre.
The Sinebrychoff Art Museum is an art museum located on Bulevardi in Helsinki, Finland. The museum exhibits the old European art collections of the Finnish National Gallery. In addition, half of the museum acts as a historic house museum, displaying the 19th century estate of the Sinebrychoff family.
Finnish art started to form its individual characteristics in the 19th century, when romantic nationalism began to rise in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland.
Marko Vuokola is a Finnish conceptual artist. He lives and works in Helsinki, Finland.
A bronze equestrian statue of Field Marshal Gustaf Mannerheim stands in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. It was made by Aimo Tukiainen and erected in 1960.
Pilvi Takala is a performance artist presenting candid camera as art. Takala won the Dutch Prix de Rome in 2011 and the Emdash Award in 2013. Her works have been exhibited in various exhibitions worldwide, including London, Aarhus and Glasgow. She is known best for being in time-based media. In 2022, Takala represented Finland in the 59th Venice Biennale.
Bita Razavi is a contemporary artist living and working between Helsinki, Finland and Mahu, Estonia. Her works, which have been exhibited in various exhibitions worldwide, look into the inner workings of social systems in relation with the political structures and national events of historic proportions in various countries. She works with a broad range of media including video, photography, installation, sound and performance.
Front lobby
Front lobby, view from the entrance
Interior and staircase
Staircase, with a view of the Parliament House
Stairs seen from 5th floor
Natural lighting
Open space
Theatre
Kiasma Café
Northeast side, with zinc plating (the details on the very northern end are of brass)
Southern side
![View from the north of the Kansalaistori Square [fi], with Kiasma on the right, to the left Helsinki Central Library Oodi and Sanoma House [fi] Oodi July 2019 5.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Oodi_July_2019_5.jpg/400px-Oodi_July_2019_5.jpg)
