The power plant in Helsinki to be converted into a large arts center

Hansaari power plant will become the center of the developing Suvilahti cultural area in the port area.

The still-operating Helsinki power plant will be turned into a large center of culture and arts, follows from the document “Art and Culture in Helsinki – 2030”.At the request of the city authorities, it was prepared by a working group of independent artists and other representatives of culture, which, among others, included Professor of the Helsinki University of the Arts Elina Knikhtila and choreographer Sonia Lindfors.

At the request of the city authorities, it was prepared by a working group of independent artists and other representatives of culture, which, among others, included Professor of the Helsinki University of the Arts Elina Knikhtila and choreographer Sonia Lindfors.

If the project comes to fruition, this cultural initiative would be comparable to the Tate Modern, which was originally occupied by the Bankside Power Station on the banks of the Thames in London.

The initiative could also include the relocation of the Helsinki Art Museum, which is now located in the famous Tennispalatsi building, built in the late 1930s. The Helsinki City Hall is considering the possibility of equipping a new space for the Suvilahti Art Museum on the territory where there are now empty gas tanks. The new cultural and artistic project released this week also includes ideas related to the refurbishment of the Hanasaari power plant near the gas tanks in Suvilahti.

The authors of the project also remember about the already existing plans to create new institutions. Among them, there is the Museum of Architecture and Design, a joint project of foundations supporting city and state museums. They already have a plot of land reserved for it, and there is an interest in constructing a building for a new museum that will combine architecture and design, both at the city and at the state level. In terms of funding, the document assumes that the city of Helsinki will confirm an increase in the operating budget and in the allocation of grants for a culture so that their amounts at least correspond to population growth and spending.

In 2018, the city spent € 99.5 million on arts and culture (the Helsinki Art Museum received a government grant of € 6.3 million).