Webinar recording concerning art competition for National Museum annex

An open international art competition is under way in relation to the construction of the new annex for the National Museum of Finland. A webinar was broadcast in December, presenting the specifications and objectives of the competition. A recording of the webinar is now available.

The art competition is looking for ideas for a single artwork or a series of works to be installed in the new annex and site of the National Museum. JKMM Architects are in charge of designing the overall appearance of the complex including the historic main building, the annex and the public courtyard park, which is slated for completion in 2027.

The webinar went through the subject and programme of the competition, as well as the organisers’ objectives. The competition programme and criteria were presented in the webinar by the Chair of the Finnish State Art Commission (2020–2022), Henri Terho. Elina Anttila, Director General of the National Museum of Finland, described the operations of the museum and the significance of the annex for the museum’s users. Representing the designers of the annex, architect Samuli Miettinen introduced the phases of the construction project and the principles of the design work.

The webinar includes a wealth of concept drawings of the coming annex and provides details of the materials, colours and lighting of the spaces, among other things. The presentations were made in Finnish and were moderated by Heli Lukkarinen. The recording is subtitled in Swedish and English. The recording can be viewed at the art competition’s website and on Vimeo.

The first stage of the anonymous competition will end on 3 April 2023. The competition is run by the State Art Commission, operating under the auspices of the Finnish National Gallery, in cooperation with the National Museum of Finland, Senate Properties and the Finnish Heritage Agency.

Additional information:

Finnish State Art Commission, Finnish National Gallery
Chairperson Riitta Ojanperä, riitta.ojanpera@kansallisgalleria.fi, +358294500238 
Senior Producer Eija Aarnio, eija.aarnio@kansallisgalleria.fi, +358400271477

National Museum of Finland
Director General Elina Anttila, elina.anttila@kansallismuseo.fi, +358295336131
Operations Manager of the National Museum Building, architect Tomi Nikander, tomi.nikander@museovirasto.fi, tel. +358295336333