Helsinki Biennial: Art & Design in the Finnish Archipelago

September 12 – 19, 2027

With Pari Stave

September 12 – 19, 2027

Starting from

$8,999

Explore the Helsinki Biennial and Finland’s distinctive world of art, design, and architecture.

Join Pari Stave, Chief Curator at the National Gallery of Iceland, for the final week of the Helsinki Biennial 2027 and an in-depth look at contemporary art, architecture, and design amid the natural landscape of the Finnish archipelago.

Explore the Biennial with a museum curator. Titled Unknowns, the fourth edition will present about 45 artists and artist groups across Vallisaari Island, Esplanade Park, and HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Sail to Vallisaari for a full day with contemporary art installed among forest paths, former military structures, and the Baltic shore. Continue the exhibition at HAM, the museum that produces the Biennial.

In Helsinki, see how design is woven into everyday life. Visit the Temppeliaukio Church, known for its copper-lined dome and rock-hewn interior, and tour Helsinki Central Library Oodi, the “living room of the city.” Discover Nordic and international contemporary art at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, and spend time in the Punavuori Design District, home to independent craft studios, interior boutiques, and design cafes.

Sail through the Gulf of Finland’s archipelago to Porvoo, Finland’s second-oldest town, famous for its red riverside wooden warehouses, storybook cobbled streets, and medieval charm. Visit The Finnish Glass Museum to see works by leading Finnish creators including Kaj Franck, Timo Sarpaneva, and Tapio Wirkkala.

Dive deeper into Finland’s art and design history with a private, before opening-hours tour of the Architecture & Design Museum and a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the EMMA Museum, Finland’s largest art museum.

Highlights

Join a museum curator to explore the Helsinki Biennial, where major contemporary art installations unfold across Vallisaari Island in the Finnish archipelago.
Experience Finnish design firsthand at the Iittala Glass Factory, established in 1881, where skilled glassblowers shape molten glass using techniques behind some of Finland’s most recognizable designs.
Set sail through the Gulf of Finland’s archipelago, passing thousands of small rocky islands and islets, on the way to historic Porvoo.
Discover the architecture and design of Helsinki, from the rock-hewn Temppeliaukio Church and striking Helsinki Central Library Oodi to the studios, ateliers, and boutiques of the Punavuori Design District.
Enjoy special access to Finland’s art and design institutions, including a private, before-opening-hours tour of the Architecture & Design Museum and a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the EMMA Museum.

Lecturer

Pari Stave

Lecturer

Pari Stave is the Head Curator for Exhibitions at the National Gallery of Iceland, where she is a specialist in Scandinavian modern and contemporary art. She studied art history at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. Prior to moving to Iceland, Stave worked as the Senior Manager for Administration, Collections, and Curatorial Projects at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2013, she curated Iceland: Artists Respond to Place, a group exhibition at the Katonah Museum of Art in New York.