JYVÄSKYLÄ.- Aalto2 opens the year with a multisensory experience, offering museum visitors nostalgia and human stories. The exhibitions of the coming year will guide you from the winding rally terrains of Central Finland to landmark works of architecture, the life of a Central Finnish artist’s home, and Finnish classic design.

Rally Finland – 75 Years of Gravel, Heroes, and a Travelling Circus

When it began in 1951, the Rally of the Thousand Lakes was a modest event – defined above all by its famously long route. Over the decades, “Jyskälä” (the event’s Finnish nickname) has grown into a World Rally Championship highlight: an international carnival of speed and Finland’s largest sporting event by audience numbers.

This exhibition takes museum visitors out to the gravel roads, pine forests, and makeshift field parking that define rallying in Central Finland. It also brings to life the camaraderie of the volunteers who make the event possible, and explores how the rally has evolved – sparking excitement, debate, and passion in the hundreds of thousands who experience it each year.

Visitors can get up close to legendary rally cars, immerse themselves in the most iconic moments of Rally Finland, and glimpse how Jyväskylä and the Central Finland region have transformed alongside the sport through the decades.

The exhibition is produced by the Museum of Central Finland, in collaboration with the Mobilia Automobile and Road Museum and AKK Sports Oy, organiser of today’s WRC event, Secto Rally Finland. The exhibition also draws on the expertise of rally communities and hobbyists from all over Finland.

13 June – 8 November 2026

13 Stories about Humane Design

13 Stories about Humane Design explores some of Alvar Aalto’s best-known buildings from various angles, some of them surprising. What did the Social Insurance Institution Main Office do with its clients’ gloves? Why does the University of Jyväskylä’s Main Building have such small toilets? The exhibition also takes a look at Sunila, and considers how Finland’s first forest suburb has gone from being a setting for the everyday lives of industrial workers to an internationally sought-after holiday-home destination. These and ten other Aalto sites form the Aalto Works series, which Finland is currently proposing be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO is expected to announce its decision on this in summer 2026.

13 Stories about Humane Design sets up a dialogue between the architect’s intentions and users’ experiences. What face does a building show to its residents, clients, or patients? What kind of everyday environment did this architecture that was soon to become world-famous offer people at the time of its construction – and what is it like today?

24 April – 10 January 2027

The year 2026 will also showcase insightful photography, designer lamps, and the rich art history of Central Finland

COLOUR – Highlights from the Art Collections of Central Finland

COLOUR is an ambitious exhibition that illuminates the central role of colour in Finnish modern art. Abstract paintings and sculptures from Central Finland’s collections are presented across two venues – Jyväskylä Art Museum and the Museum of Central Finland.

24 January – 26 April 2026

Freddy Fabris: The Renaissance Series

Photographer Freddy Fabris recreates iconic Renaissance masterpieces in an unexpected setting: a car repair shop. Insightful and witty tableaux have gone viral on social media and earned multiple international photography awards. Now, for the first time in the Nordic region, the complete series is on view at the Aalto2 Museum Centre in Jyväskylä.

13 June – 27 September 2026

The Contemplative Eye of Jonas Heiska – Quiet Poetics, Warm Humour

This exhibition presents the life and work of painter Jonas Heiska (1873–1937). It arose in response to requests from visitors to the Artist’s Home of the Heiska Family, a small museum operated by the Museum of Central Finland. The guests hoped to see additional works from the Heiska collection that are not permanently on view.

10 October 2026 – 18 April 2027

Architecture of Light

Architecture of Light -exhibition opens up the collaboration between Alvar Aalto and Valaistustyö Ky in such a broad way for the first time. The exhibition is based on the remaining assets of Valaistustyö Ky workshop, which were deposited to the Alvar Aalto Foundation in 2009 and are now an integral part of the foundation's design collection.

21 November 2026 – 14 March 2027