Arts & culture

Make air, not war: The joyfully absurd World Championships in Oulu

Ever dreamed of witnessing something wildly fun and just a little bit bonkers? Picture people of all ages rocking out on stage with instruments only they can see. Dancing like nobody’s watching, fully immersed in the moment. This is air guitar at its most serious. And most glorious.

Arts & culture Music

Quirky ’90s band Ultra Bra stages a stylish comeback at 30

Ultra Bra, one of the most beloved Finnish bands of the 1990s, has released new songs after more than two decades and reunited for shows at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium and summer festivals.

Arts & culture Moomin

Why Finland’s Moomin books still matter in today’s world

The Moomins and the Great Flood, by the Finnish writer and artist Tove Jansson, was published in 1945. The first Moomin book introduces the central characters and themes like love, respect and belonging, for which Jansson and the extended family of Moomins became internationally renowned.

2015

Helsinki Fashion Week held for the first time

Source: Helsinki Fashion Week

Arts & culture Literature

The whimsical humanity of Finnish Moomin author and artist Tove Jansson

The creator of the Moomins was much more than just a cartoonist. Her body of work could fill several lifetimes. She lived a long life shaped by love, freedom, sea and adventure – all of which can be read and felt in her works.

Arts & culture Visual arts

New York’s Met Museum showcases beloved Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck

Renowned Finnish artist Helene Schjerfbeck is the first Nordic woman painter to be presented in a solo exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The show “will be a revelation to Met audiences,” says curator Dita Amory.

2005

The year Helsinki Design Week, Scandinavia's biggest design fest, was founded

Arts & culture Culture

A night hike into the heart of Finnish folk music

Kaustinen, a small Finnish town renowned for its rich folk music traditions, welcomes festival-goers with a unique night hike through rain-soaked forests and magical cliffs. As fiddles echo in the dusk, hikers from across the globe gather to experience music and nature under the northern summer sky that never goes dark.

Arts & culture Design

Finnish design by Artek still resonates, nearly a century after the company began

As Finnish design house Artek marks its 90th anniversary, a Canadian reporter reflects on how its timeless furniture helped shape her home and why its legacy endures.

Arts & culture Music

Käärijä and Tuuletar show Osaka 2025 how to “Party like a Finn”

In June, Finland will present shows by Käärijä (pictured) and Tuuletar at the Nordic Pavilion at the Osaka 2025 World Expo in Japan. The Nordic Pavilion is a joint project between the Nordic countries Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Music Finland is a partner of the Finland Day music program.

1902

The year Francisco Tárrega composed the waltz that later became the Nokia ringtone