Helsinki is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About 685,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.3 million in the capital region and 1.61 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 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 kilometres (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has significant historical connections with these three cities.
Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Helsinki, Stockholm, and Paris. She held her first solo art exhibition in 1943. Over the same period, she penned short stories and articles for publication, and subsequently drew illustrations for book covers, advertisements, and postcards. She continued her work as an artist and writer for the rest of her life.
The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland.
The Bureau International des Expositions is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions falling under the jurisdiction of the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions.
The University of Helsinki is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Tsar Alexander I. The University of Helsinki is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available. In 2022, around 31,000 students were enrolled in the degree programs of the university spread across 11 faculties and 11 research institutes.
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen was a Finnish and American architect known for his work with Art Nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen.
Touko Valio Laaksonen, known by the pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a Finnish artist who made stylized highly masculinized homoerotic art, and influenced late 20th-century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W. Slade. Over the course of four decades, he produced some 3,500 illustrations, mostly featuring men with exaggerated sex traits, wearing tight or partially removed clothing.
The Presidential Palace is one of the three official residences of the president of the Republic of Finland. It is situated in Helsinki, on the north side of Esplanadi, overlooking Market Square.
Heureka is a Finnish science center in the Tikkurila district of Vantaa, Finland, north of Helsinki, designed by Heikkinen – Komonen Architects. It is located at the intersection of the Finnish Main Line and the river Keravanjoki.
The Royal Flora Ratchaphruek was an international horticultural exposition held 1 November, 2006 to 31 January, 2007 at Mae Hia, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand that drew 3,781,624 visitors. Recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), it was one of the grand celebrations hosted by the Royal Thai Government in honor of King Bhumibol, the world's longest reigning monarch.
Expo 2012 was an International Exposition recognized by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) held in Yeosu, South Korea which opened on May 12, 2012 and ran until August 12, 2012. The theme of the Expo was "The Living Ocean and Coast" with subthemes of "Preservation and Sustainable Development of the Ocean and Coast", "New Resources Technology", and "Creative Marine Activities". There were 105 participating countries, international organizations, and 8,203,956 visitors.
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. It attracts about 250,000 visitors annually. Kieran Long has been the director since February 2024.
Expo 2017 Astana was an International Exposition which took place from June 10 to September 10, 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The expo's theme was "Future Energy", and aimed to create a global debate between countries, nongovernmental organizations, companies and the general public on the crucial question: "How do we ensure safe and sustainable access to energy for all while reducing CO2 emissions?"
Vienna International Apartment is an exhibition venue for contemporary visual arts in Helsinki, Finland. It was created in Vienna, Austria in 2001, moved to Turku, Finland in 2003, to Helsinki, Finland in 2005, to Brussels, Belgium in 2007, to Geneva, Switzerland in 2010, to Helsinki, Finland in 2014, and to Berlin, Germany in 2015. In 2004, the Vienna International Apartment Art Association, a not-for-profit association established to support the activity, was registered in Finland.
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.
IHME Contemporary Art Festival, since year 2019 known as IHME Helsinki is a contemporary art organization maintained by Pro Arte Foundation Finland, and supported by Kone Foundation, Saastamoinen Foundation and Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Charitable Foundation. Between years 2009 and 2018 the festival included a public work of art, a varied programme of events around the artwork, and educational art projects. IHME Project, commissioned by the Festival, was realised in the public realm. A varied Festival programme ranging from artist talks to film screenings opened the IHME Project for discussion and debate and was free to attend. IHME also offered an art education programme, IHME School, with various activities. The word "ihme" means a wonder or a miracle in Finnish.
Flow Festival is an urban music and arts festival in Helsinki, Finland. The music presented at Flow Festival is a varied selection of artists from indie rock to soul and jazz and from folk to contemporary club sounds – from both the Finnish and the international scene. In addition to music, Flow Festival is about urban spaces, visual arts, film screenings, talks, design as well as food and drinks. The event takes place at a defunct Suvilahti power plant and its industrial surroundings in downtown Helsinki's immediate vicinity.
Inuk Silis Høegh is a Greenlandic artist and filmmaker. The son of artist Aka Høegh and photographer and film artist Ivars Silis, he grew up in an artistic environment, and his sister is Bolatta Silis Høegh, also an artist.
Tubecon was a community-driven international YouTube event that gathers YouTube creators and their audiences in arena-sized public events. The first Tubecon took place in August 2014 in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki with over 5,000 visitors. Since then Tubecon has been organized 25 times in 4 different countries so far with altogether over 120,000 visitors in all the events.
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.
