Kiasma

Kiasma is a museum of contemporary art on Mannerheimintie in central Helsinki. Its building, designed by Steven Holl, takes its name from the Greek word for a crossing. The museum belongs to the Finnish National Gallery and holds the national collection of art made after 1960. In the early 1990s the collection was kept in Ateneum while plans for a new home were drawn up. An open competition in 1992 drew 516 entries from architects across the Nordic and Baltic countries and four invited studios elsewhere. Steven Holl’s proposal was chosen in 1993 and construction began in 196. The building’s angular form and glass façades provoked debate, especially because it stands close to the statue of Marshal Mannerheim. After opening in 1998 the museum soon drew between 160,000 and 180,000 visitors each year. A major renovation closed the building from late 2014 until early 2015, after which attendance rose to over 310,000 in 2016. Inside, galleries arranged over several levels show works by around eight thousand artists. The collection includes pieces by Finnish painters such as Ismo Kajander and Raimo Kanerva alongside international names like Honoré Daumier and Karel Dujardin. The building’s internal spaces curve and intersect, echoing the chiasma idea that inspired its design. From the windows visitors look out over the city’s main avenue and the surrounding streets. The museum’s changing programme offers a continuous view of art made in the present day.