Taking place across Vallisaari Island, Esplanade Park, and HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki Biennial 2027 unfolds from 6 June to 19 September 2027. Together, these three distinct settings offer multiple ways to experience contemporary art in both natural and urban environments.
Helsinki Biennial is created through collaboration between artists, institutions, and partners. By bringing together diverse artistic perspectives, the biennial contributes to both the international visibility of Finnish contemporary art and Helsinki's role as a meeting place for contemporary art.
Curatorial concept: Unknowns
For co-curators Mami Kataoka and Arja Miller, Unknowns grows from the recognition that humanity has always understood only a fraction of the world. Across cultures and generations, people have turned to science, storytelling, and imagination to navigate what remains unknown.
Rather than treating the unknown as something to be overcome or explained, the artists selected for Helsinki Biennial 2027 approach it as a space of openness and exploration. They engage with what we do not yet know or understand. Particular attention is given to connections between Nordic and Asian cultures, mythologies, and ways of understanding the world.
The Hattifatteners as a symbol of Unknowns
Tove Jansson, one of the artists selected for Helsinki Biennial 2027, created the Hattifatteners. Mami Kataoka and Arja Miller see these mysterious wanderers in resonance with the biennial’s concept and consider them as a symbol of Unknowns. For the co-curators, the Hattifatteners reflect the curiosity, imagination, and joy of exploring what remains unknown that shape Helsinki Biennial 2027.
“Hattifatteners fascinate us because they inhabit a space between worlds. They embody what is present yet not fully understood. They remind us of the joy of imagining something wondrous, and in many ways they capture something essential in Unknowns. Through the Hattifatteners and the works of the participating artists, we hope audiences will find inspiration to explore the unknown and imagine other ways of understanding the world,” say co-curators Mami Kataoka and Arja Miller.
New artists announced
Helsinki Biennial 2027 will present the work of approximately 45 artists and artist groups. The newly announced participants are:
Ching-Yuan Chen (Taiwan), Dede Cipon (Indonesia), Leiko Ikemura (Japan/Switzerland), Tove Jansson (Finland), Jane Jin Kaisen (South Korea/Denmark), Muriel Kuoppala (Switzerland), Haroon Mirza (United Kingdom), Anna Niskanen (Finland), Erkki Pirtola (Finland), Eino Ruutsalo (Finland), Momoko Seto (Japan/France), Axel Straschnoy (Argentina/Finland), Ingunn Utsi (Sápmi/Norway), Marja Viitahuhta (Finland)& Ánnámáret (Sápmi/Finland), Haegue Yang (South Korea/Germany), and Ebosi Yuasa (Japan).
The previously announced artists are:
Ari Bayuaji (Indonesia/Canada), Tara Donovan (United States), Laurent Grasso (France), Marguerite Humeau (France/United Kingdom), Matias Karsikas (Finland), Britta Marakatt-Labba (Sápmi/Sweden), Ragnhild May (Denmark), Yoshitomo Nara (Japan), Josefina Nelimarkka (Finland), Tawatchai Puntusawasdi (Thailand), Anna Retulainen (Finland) and Jakob Kudsk Steensen (Denmark).
Together, the 28 artists announced to date begin to reveal the breadth of Helsinki Biennial 2027. Their practices span diverse artistic approaches, geographies, generations, and cultural contexts.
The artist list will be expanded, and the detailed programme and additional information about artworks and events will be announced in early 2027.
Helsinki Biennial is an international contemporary art event held every other year. Its fourth edition takes place from 6 June to 19 September 2027. The biennial is curated and produced by HAM Helsinki Art Museum.
Helsinki Biennial’s main supporter for 2025–2027 is the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation. The production of Helsinki Biennial 2027 is also supported by the Tiftö Foundation, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and Saastamoinen Foundation. Helsinki Biennial works in close collaboration with the City of Helsinki, Metsähallitus and Moomin Characters. The Helsinki Biennial Preview Programme is realised in collaboration with Frame Contemporary Art Finland and other art organisations in the Helsinki metropolitan area.