Helsinki City Museum is Finland’s Museum of the Year 2017
Rauma, in Western Finland, set the scene for a joyous evening of celebration on May 9 2017. As the sun was setting on the idyllic city’s shores, the prestigious Museum of the Year award was handed to the representatives of the Helsinki City Museum. The jury selected Helsinki City Museum out of four excellent finalists, basing the decision on a variety of factors: openness, communality, new ways of presentation and use of technology. The jury also specifically mentioned the success of the new museum quickly becoming a common space for all of Helsinki’s residents.
– I am extremely happy and taken by this recognition. It shows that shaking up the traditional role of museums is worth it, and that we have succeeded in creating a new entity in cooperation with the city’s residents. I believe that in rewarding us, the jury encourages other museums to question, experiment and renew, said Museum director Tiina Merisalo.
The Helsinki City Museum opened its new museum in the market blocks on 13 May 2016. The museum is an overall experience with the milieu, exhibitions and indoor decoration describing daily life in the Helsinki of past. By end of 2016, over 315 000 guests had visited the museum, raising it to the top three of museums in Finland. In 2017, over 115 000 citizens and tourists have spent time in various ways in the museum.
The Finnish Museums Association and the Finnish committee of the International Council of Museums grants the Museum of the Year award yearly to a museum that in their operational area has advanced the societal visibility and impact of the museum field, and that by their operation has brought new perspectives and ideas to museums. The other finalists in 2017 were the Lenin-museum, the Päivälehti Newspaper Museum and Vantaa’s Artsi Art Museum.
