Helsinki Biennial 2027 announces first group of artists and title of Unknowns

Helsinki Biennial 2027 brings together visionary artists from Finland and around the world in an edition shaped around Unknowns as its conceptual framework. A first group of 12 participating artists has now been announced. Taking place across Vallisaari Island, Esplanade Park, and HAM Helsinki Art Museum, the fourth Helsinki Biennial unfolds from 6 June to 19 September 2027.

Helsinki Biennial 2027 will present the work of approximately 45 artists and artist groups. The first confirmed participants include: Ari Bayuaji (Indonesia/Canada), Tara Donovan (United States), Laurent Grasso (France), Marguerite Humeau (France/United Kingdom), Matias Karsikas (Finland), Britta Marakatt-Labba (Sápmi/Sweden), Ragnhild May (Denmark), Yoshitomo Nara (Japan), Josefina Nelimarkka (Finland), Tawatchai Puntusawasdi (Thailand), Anna Retulainen (Finland), and Jakob Kudsk Steensen (Denmark).

The selected artists represent a range of practices and perspectives, engaging with uncertainty, imagination, and open-ended inquiry. Some of the works will be new commissions developed specifically for Helsinki Biennial, and leaving a lasting legacy in the Finnish capital.

Helsinki Biennial 2027 invites audiences to explore the Unknowns through art

In a world defined by political turmoil, environmental upheaval, and deepening uncertainty, the fourth edition of Helsinki Biennial turns towards unknowns not with fear but with curiosity. Taking Unknowns as its curatorial framework, the biennial approaches what lies beyond comprehension through imagination and artistic inquiry. It dwells in the unresolved and the hidden, where uncertainty itself becomes ground for wonder and for reimagining how we understand the world.

Curated by Mami Kataoka and Arja Miller, Helsinki Biennial 2027 approaches the unknown from perspectives including physical science, astronomy, geology, spirituality, mythology, and abstraction.

“For Unknowns, we have invited artists who expand the limits of what we think we know, while making us conscious of how deeply we belong to one another, as fellow living beings. We share an irrepressible enthusiasm to encounter these as-yet-unknown works, and to see the biennial itself take shape. We place great hope in the joy and force art carries – its power to renew our energy to imagine the future,” say Helsinki Biennial 2027 co-curators Mami Kataoka and Arja Miller.

The full list of artists, detailed programme, and additional information about artworks and events will be announced in early 2027.

Helsinki Biennial’s main supporter for 2025–2027 is the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation. The production of Helsinki Biennial 2027 is also supported by the Tiftö Foundation. Helsinki Biennial works in close collaboration with the City of Helsinki and Metsähallitus. The Helsinki Biennial Preview Programme is realised in collaboration with Frame Contemporary Art Finland and other art organisations in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

Head photo: Vallisaari Island. Photo: HAM / Helsinki Biennial / Matti Pyykkö