Museums - thisisFINLAND

Looking for paradise: Finnish artist Tove Jansson’s paintings go far beyond the Moomins

Even dedicated fans of Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson’s Moomin characters may know little of her painting career and its role in her life. We show you around a major exhibition – and uncover some info about one of the Moomin books, too.

Arts & culture Finnishness

Visit a scenic Finnish lake essential to the country’s cultural legacy

The shores of one picturesque lake were home to a community of Finland’s most significant artists in the early 1900s – a cultural powerhouse whose legacy and influence is still vibrantly alive.

Life & society Finnishness

A Finnish word, sivistys, adds to wellbeing and helps solve future challenges

Finland’s Year of Sivistys 2024 spotlights a long-established concept of societal enlightenment and learning, and harnesses its strengths to face challenges now and in the future.

Arts & culture Culture

In the far north, Siida shows a Sámi view of how nature and culture go together

Hundreds of kilometres above the Arctic Circle, the Siida Sámi Museum and Nature Centre portrays the culture of the Indigenous Sámi people and the diversity of the region’s flora and fauna.

Arts & culture Photography

Receiving polished pictures from Finnish photographer Pentti Sammallahti

At K1 in Helsinki, insightful, compassionate pictures of people, trees and animals by Pentti Sammallahti show why he’s one of Finland’s best-known photographers. (Article includes photo show.)

Arts & culture Visual arts

Island and mainland: At Helsinki Biennial, art inspires viewers and makes summer linger longer

We jump on a ferry to the lush island of Vallisaari to visit the 2023 Helsinki Biennial and meet a couple of the artists. (Lots more photos in the slideshow at the end of the article.)

Arts & culture Visual arts

Amos Rex’s Generation triennial spotlights talented young artists in Finland

In the Generation 2023 exhibition at Helsinki’s Amos Rex, 15-to-23-year-old artists display images of themselves and the world around us. What are they trying to tell the viewers? We check out the show.

Arts & culture Design

Fiskars village, a stronghold of Finnish design, combines art, artisanry and architecture in a summer biennial

Knots, knits and tiny houses are in the spotlight at the Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale, a sensory adventure inviting visitors to see beauty in overlooked details. Also: The story of the Adidas logo’s Finnish origins.