Suburbs are often treated in the public sphere and in studies as a seemingly uniform whole, which experts and authorities assess from the outside. The new exhibition The Unknown Suburb, opening at Helsinki City Museum on 17 April, reverses the stigmas associated with suburbs and challenges the perception of suburbs being nests of boredom, misery and poverty. The exhibition aims to look beyond the surface and also explore the love that locals have for their neighbourhoods.
The content of the exhibition is based on research by Research Fellow Laura Berger and Professor Panu Savolainen on the history of Finnish suburbs and on thematic interviews with city residents.
“We want to challenge both the mainstream of suburban research and the public’s entrenched preconceptions about suburbs. The themes are presented vividly through participatory exercises, an immersive sound environment, tactile façade materials and graffiti by artist Kim Somervuori, among other methods. The Helsinki residents interviewed for the exhibition get to share their everyday and sometimes surprising experiences of their home suburbs,” says Panu Savolainen.
The exhibition takes visitors on a journey from two-billion-year-old bedrock to a suburban apartment block of the 2000s. The architecture brings together at a glance, through spatial means, the history of Finnish suburbs from the 1940s onwards, with their changing building types. The story culminates at the heart of the suburb, a shopping centre.
“At the City Museum, visitors get to explore homely slab architecture, the ‘refrigerator houses’ of Pihlajamäki, the East Helsinki identity and identities outside the city centre, as well as other dimensions of the suburb that are rarely spoken about,” says Laura Berger.
“For many people, the word suburb has a negative connotation. Suburbs are often discussed in terms of problems, or else bold journalists venture out on reporting trips to so‑called mysterious suburbs. Those trying to sound refined prefer to use outlying district or other synonyms instead of the word suburb. To me, suburb is a positive word. It means that home, services, friends, and nature are close by. Most of us in Helsinki live in suburbs. We are proud of our own local suburbs and their diverse identities,” says Paavo Arhinmäki, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Leisure.
The Unknown Suburb focuses specifically on the suburbs of Helsinki, and the accompanying programme of the exhibition is spread across the city. On 29 April, Linna Bar in Suomenlinna will host a pub quiz on Helsinki knowledge. On 27 May, the City Museum will organise a spring clean-up at a culturally and historically notable site.
The visuals of the exhibition were created by Exhibition Planner Alpi Vaalaja and Graphic Designer of the Year 2025 Päivi Helander. The exhibition is produced by Eero Salmio.