HELSINKI.- In 2026, HAM will present international top artists and highlight the classics and current figures in Finnish art. The programme centres on strong themes, featuring the Jansson family’s courage, colour storms by Petri Ala-Maunus and Mauno Markkula exploring the landscape, and three strong female artists. HAM’s grand arched halls will be filled in turn with the massive textile-based installations by the Polish icon of sculpture Magdalena Abakanowicz, visual artist Leena Luostarinen’s golden period works, and British artist Emma Talbot’s large-scale spatial paintings and textile sculptures. During the year, HAM will also renew its premises at Tennis Palace.

Tove Jansson Gallery
February 13, 2026–January 24, 2027

The Tove Jansson Gallery at HAM opens on a larger scale than before. Now with greater ambition, the expanded collection of works highlights various aspects of Tove Jansson’s artistry through annually changing themes. Inspired by Tove Jansson’s book Comet in Moominland, the gallery’s first exhibition will explore the theme of courage and present works by the entire Jansson artist family.

Petri Ala-Maunus and Mauno Markkula
March 13, 2026–January 31, 2027

The artistry and works of Petri Ala-Maunus and Mauno Markkula will enter into dialogue in the exhibition opening HAM’s new collection space. The visitors will experience colour storms and an immersion into flaming landscapes as Ala-Maunus’s highly romantic landscapes meet Markkula’s expressive visions. The exhibition will feature previously unseen works from both artists.

Magdalena Abakanowicz
May 6, 2026–August 30, 2026

The Polish icon of sculpture, Magdalena Abakanowicz, will make her large-scale debut in Finland as her organic textile sculptures fill HAM’s grand arched halls in all their height and breadth. Renowned as a pioneer in creating fibre-based sculptures and installations, Abakanowicz’s impressive “Abakans” will dominate the exhibition space with a striking presence. The exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Warsaw-based Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation.

Leena Luostarinen
October 16, 2026–April 4, 2027

HAM’s collection includes a significant number of Leena Luostarinen’s golden period works from the 1980s and 1990s. Now, for the first time, they will be seen as a single display. Resting wild cats, references to various cultures, and personal messages permeate her large-scale, vibrantly coloured pieces.

Emma Talbot
October 16, 2026–April 4, 2027

British artist Emma Talbot will fill HAM’s grand arched hall with radiant colours, flowing patterns, and poetic handwritten texts. Talbot’s first solo exhibition in Finland invites viewers into layered, dream-like worlds. Her works emerge from reflections on the transience of human existence and raise profound questions about our place in the universe.

Space for New Art

In June, HAM will complete its third redesign of the exhibition spaces, and the Space for New Art will begin operations. The Space for New Art continues HAM Gallery’s legacy as a platform for versatile art-making and innovative exhibition concepts. The space offers HAM audiences fascinating encounters with art and artists—engaging both body and mind.

The first open call in spring 2025 focused on proposals that enliven exhibitions with performative elements and engage audiences through participatory approaches. The KOKIMO collective, Antti Tolvi, and the artist duo MSL (Antti Jussila and Jade Kallio) were selected. In June 2026, visitors will experience KOKIMO’s Tablespace, an aesthetic and living installation set around a dining table.