On January 18, 2011, at a news
conference held at the City Hall of Helsinki, Mayor Jussi Pajunen announced
that the city has commissioned the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation to conduct
a study exploring the possibility of developing a Guggenheim Museum in Finland.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum Director Richard Armstrong joined
the mayor and Deputy Mayor Tuula Haatainen for the announcement.
The concept and development study will
explore topics including the possible mission and structure of an innovative,
multidisciplinary museum of visual culture in Finland, the form that its
exhibition and education programs might take, its prospective relationship with
Helsinki’s existing visual-art institutions, the
museum’s potential economic impact, and the scope of the Guggenheim
Foundation’s involvement in its operation. The study is expected to conclude at
the end of 2011, at which time any initial recommendations about a new
Guggenheim Museum would be subject to approval by both the City Council of
Helsinki and the Board of Trustees of the Guggenheim Foundation. Under its
current agreement with the Foundation, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao must also
approve any agreement under which the Guggenheim would manage or operate the
new museum.
Helsinki is the largest city in Finland and the nation’s
administrative, economic, scientific, and cultural center. Known internationally for its
important tradition of architecture and design and outstanding musical culture,
Finland also has an active visual-art scene. The Helsinki metropolitan area has
some seventy art galleries and a strong group of museums, which include the
Helsinki Art Museum; the institutions of the Finnish National Gallery
(including the Ateneum Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, and
the Sinebrychoff Art Museum); and the Espoo Museum of Modern Art.
Mayor Pajunen stated, “As the capital of our country and
home to its greatest concentration of art museums, Helsinki has a special
responsibility to keep improving Finland’s cultural infrastructure. It is
widely recognized that cultural destinations can help drive economic growth for
a country, provided they are created within an intelligent overall plan for
development. We have such a plan—and the Guggenheim, as a truly global
institution, is the ideal institution to collaborate with us in studying how to
realize our goals. This is a collaboration that can help Helsinki and Finland
prosper in an increasingly interconnected and competitive world.”
The principal managers of
the study team will be Juan Ignacio Vidarte, Deputy Director and Chief Officer
for Global Strategies of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and Ari Wiseman,
Deputy Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Mr. Vidarte, who is
also Director General of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, was intimately involved
in the development of that institution and brings extensive experience to the
project.
Read more about the announcement at hel.fi/guggenheim-study.
Richard
Armstrong, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation (left)
and Jussi Pajunen, Mayor, City of Helsinki. Photo courtesy City of
Helsinki