Preparations for the 2025 Helsinki Biennial are underway – Esplanadi Park to be included as a new venue

The Helsinki Biennial is an ambitious major visual arts event offering a unique overall experience in Helsinki’s archipelago nature. The biennial’s cornerstones are site-specific commissioned works for each edition, where art enters into dialogue with Vallisaari Island’s history and its flourishing nature that has existed without human habitation for decades. The goal of HAM and the City of Helsinki is to make the Helsinki Biennial one of the most renowned international art biennials.

"We want to maximise the presence of art in Helsinki and envision the Helsinki Biennial as a city-wide celebration of art. The charming Esplanadi Park joins as a new venue, offering the opportunity to explore the biennial’s offerings for free in a central location in Helsinki. In 2025, in addition to art, we will pay special attention to the visitor journey and experience," says Arja Miller, Museum Director of the Helsinki Art Museum.

The head curators of the Helsinki Biennial 2025 are Blanca de la Torre and HAM’s Head of Exhibitions, Kati Kivinen. De la Torre is a Spanish curator, art historian, and researcher. Her work lies at the intersection of visual arts, political ecology, ecofeminism, and sustainable creative practices. Kivinen is an art historian and curator who examines contemporary artistic approaches in relation to diverse cultural processes and socio-political and ecological issues.

More than 30 artists from around the world to take part

The head curators of the 2025 Helsinki Biennial have undertaken the challenging task of centring their work on non-human subjects. Nudging the focus away from human-centric perspectives creates space for others and aims to pinpoint more diverse ways of sensing and transmitting information.

“Within the ongoing climate and environmental crisis, new thinking that shifts away from human-centredness is called for. It’s essential to explore perspectives beyond the human in order to reimagine the relationship between humanity and nature. Art has the power to not only generate new agencies but also to create new realities. The third Helsinki Biennial aims to motivate positive action," says Kati Kivinen, co-curator of the 2025 Helsinki Biennial 2025.

A total of just over 30 artists or artist groups will participate in the Helsinki Biennial 2025. Artists from around the world will be included, with a particular focus on South America and Northern Europe. Around half of the artists will present new commissions or site-specific works.

Sustainability and maintaining the ecological balance are central values of the Helsinki Biennial, with environmental considerations being highlighted from the start, including in the selection of artists. The biennial aims to bridge theory and practice with a sustainability plan; the event not only proposes alternative realities but also creates them.

Co-curator Blanca de la Torre will spend most of this summer in Finland, and several artists will also visit Vallisaari in summer 2024. At HAM, contracts and production efforts are proceeding, and the first names of the participating artists will be announced in autumn 2024. The development of the audience engagement plan, as well as updates to the visitor journey and customer service initiatives, are also well underway.